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Headers.set

The set() method of the Headers interface sets a new value for an existing header inside a Headers object, or adds the header if it does not already exist.

The difference between set() and Headers.append is that if the specified header already exists and accepts multiple values, set() overwrites the existing value with the new one, whereas Headers.append appends the new value to the end of the set of values.

For security reasons, some headers can only be controller by the user agent. These headers include the forbidden header names and forbidden response header names.

Syntax

myHeaders.set(name,value);

Parameters

name
The name of the HTTP header you want to set to a new value. If the given name is not the name of an HTTP header, this method throws a TypeError.
value
The new value you want to set.

Returns

Void.

Example

Creating an empty Headers object is simple:

var myHeaders = new Headers(); // Currently empty

You could add a header to this using Headers.append, then set a new value for this header using set():

myHeaders.append('Content-Type', 'image/jpeg');
myHeaders.set('Content-Type', 'text/html');

If the specified header does not already exist, set() will create it and set its value to the specified value. If the specified header does already exist and does accept multiple values, set() will overwrite the existing value with the new one:

myHeaders.set('Accept-Encoding', 'deflate');
myHeaders.set('Accept-Encoding', 'gzip');
myHeaders.get('Accept-Encoding'); // Returns 'gzip'

You'd need Headers.append to append the new value onto the values, not overwrite it.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Fetch
The definition of 'set()' in that specification.
Living Standard

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 42
42
41
Disabled
Disabled From version 41: this feature is behind the Experimental Web Platform Features preference. To change preferences in Chrome, visit chrome://flags.
Yes 39
39
34
Disabled
Disabled From version 34: this feature is behind the dom.fetch.enabled preference. To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.
No 29
29
28
Disabled
Disabled From version 28: this feature is behind the Experimental Web Platform Features preference.
No
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support 42
42
41
Disabled
Disabled From version 41: this feature is behind the Experimental Web Platform Features preference.
42
42
41
Disabled
Disabled From version 41: this feature is behind the Experimental Web Platform Features preference. To change preferences in Chrome, visit chrome://flags.
Yes No 29
29
28
Disabled
Disabled From version 28: this feature is behind the Experimental Web Platform Features preference.
No 4.0

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Headers/set