205 Reset Content

HTTP 205 Reset Content tells the client that the request succeeded and, unlike 204, that the user agent should reset whatever view or input generated the request back to its original state. The canonical example is a form submission: after a successful 205 response, a browser is expected to clear the fields the user filled in, ready for another entry, rather than leaving the submitted values on screen. Like 204, the response carries no body, since there is nothing for the client to display beyond resetting its own state.

In practice 205 is rarely seen because most web applications handle form resets client-side with JavaScript rather than relying on the browser's built-in behavior for this status code, and browser support for actually performing the reset has historically been inconsistent. It shows up more often in specialized clients, internal tools, or protocols built directly on HTTP where the semantics of resetting an input view are well understood by both ends, rather than in typical consumer-facing web applications.

Because so few HTTP clients implement the reset behavior automatically, API designers should not depend on 205 alone to clear client state; explicit application logic that reacts to a successful response is far more reliable across browsers, mobile clients, and API consumers. Where 205 is used, it should be reserved for exactly the case the spec describes, confirming success while asking the client to discard the input that produced the request, not as a general substitute for 204.