302 Found

302

Found

→

Example HTTP Response

HTTP Response

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: /temporary-page

Common Causes

Temporary maintenance redirect
A/B testing redirects
Temporary URL changes

Technical Details

What does this mean?

Detour ahead! The page is temporarily hanging out somewhere else. We'll point you there!

Technical Definition

The URI of the requested resource has been changed temporarily.

RFC Says

"The 302 (Found) status code indicates that the target resource resides temporarily under a different URI. Since the redirection might be altered on occasion, the client ought to continue to use the effective request URI for future requests."

Plain English:

The resource has temporarily moved to a different URL. Keep using the original URL for future requests since this redirect might change. The redirect is not permanent.

"Note: For historical reasons, a user agent MAY change the request method from POST to GET for the subsequent request."

Plain English:

Due to old browser behavior, a POST request might become a GET request after following a 302 redirect. If you need to preserve the HTTP method, use 307 (Temporary Redirect) instead.

Common Misinterpretation

Many developers don't realize 302 can change POST to GET, just like 301. For modern applications, prefer 307 for temporary redirects when method preservation matters (APIs, form submissions). Use 303 when you explicitly want POST to become GET (redirect-after-POST pattern).

View RFC Documentation

Code Snippets

Ready-to-use code for returning this HTTP status in your application:

Node.js

// Express.js
app.get('/example', (req, res) => {
  res.status(302).json({
    error: 'Found',
    message: 'Your error message here'
  });
});

// Native HTTP
const http = require('http');

http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(302, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
  res.end(JSON.stringify({
    error: 'Found',
    message: 'Your error message here'
  }));
}).listen(3000);

When to Use This Code

Legacy compatibility - prefer 307 for temporary redirects in new code
The redirect is temporary and the original URL should continue to be used
Warning: Historically changed POST to GET; behavior varies by client

SEO Handling

Indexing

The original URL remains in the index. Google does not pass ranking signals to the destination URL for temporary redirects.

Crawler Behavior

Crawlers follow the redirect but continue to re-crawl the original URL, expecting it to eventually return content.

Canonical URL Notes

302 is a weak canonical signal. If used long-term, Google may eventually treat it like a 301 and index the destination instead.

Google Notes

Use 302 only for truly temporary situations (A/B tests, maintenance). Long-running 302s confuse search engines and can dilute SEO.

Google Search Documentation →

Related Status Codes

📦301Moved Permanently 👀303See Other ↪️307Temporary Redirect 🏠308Permanent Redirect

Commonly Confused With

📦301Moved Permanently ↪️307Temporary Redirect

302 Found FAQ

What causes a 302 Found error?

Temporary maintenance redirect. A/B testing redirects. Temporary URL changes.

When should I use 302 Found?

Legacy compatibility - prefer 307 for temporary redirects in new code. The redirect is temporary and the original URL should continue to be used. Warning: Historically changed POST to GET; behavior varies by client.

// Express.js app.get('/example', (req, res) => { res.status(302).json({ error: 'Found', message: 'Your error message here' }); }); // Native HTTP const http = require('http'); http.createServer((req, res) => { res.writeHead(302, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }); res.end(JSON.stringify({ error: 'Found', message: 'Your error message here' })); }).listen(3000);

302 Found FAQ

What causes a 302 Found error?

Temporary maintenance redirect. A/B testing redirects. Temporary URL changes.

When should I use 302 Found?