HTTP 302 Found: Temporary Redirect

TL;DR: 302 Found means temporary redirect. The resource is at a different URL for now, but use the original URL for future requests.

What is 302 Found?

A 302 redirect tells clients the resource is temporarily at a different location. Unlike 301, the original URL remains the “real” address.

GET /promo HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
```text

```http
HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: /current-sale

When to Use 302

• A/B testing - Temporarily redirect to test variants
• Maintenance - Redirect to status page during downtime
• Geolocation - Redirect to regional site
• Login redirect - Send to login, then back to original page
• Temporary promotions - /sale → /black-friday-2024

301 vs 302

Aspect	301 Permanent	302 Temporary
Meaning	URL changed forever	URL temporarily different
Caching	Browsers cache aggressively	May not cache
SEO	Transfers link equity	Keeps original indexed
Bookmarks	Should update	Keep original

Implementation

Express.js

// Temporary redirect (302 is default)
app.get('/promo', (req, res) => {
  res.redirect('/current-sale')
})

// Explicit 302
app.get('/promo', (req, res) => {
  res.redirect(302, '/current-sale')
})

// Login redirect pattern
app.get('/dashboard', (req, res, next) => {
  if (!req.user) {
    return res.redirect(`/login?returnTo=${req.url}`)
  }
  next()
})
```nginx

### Nginx

```nginx
location = /promo {
    return 302 /current-sale;
}

302 vs 307

Both are temporary, but differ in method handling:

# 302: Browser MAY change POST to GET (legacy)
POST /form → 302 → GET /result

# 307: Browser MUST keep POST
POST /form → 307 → POST /new-form
```text

Use **307** when you need to preserve POST/PUT/DELETE methods.

## Common Mistakes

```javascript
// ❌ Wrong: Using 302 for permanent URL changes
app.get('/old-blog/*', (req, res) => {
  res.redirect('/new-blog' + req.path) // Should be 301
})

// ✅ Correct: 301 for permanent changes
app.get('/old-blog/*', (req, res) => {
  res.redirect(301, '/new-blog' + req.path)
})

Related

• 301 Moved Permanently - Permanent redirect
• 307 Temporary Redirect - Temporary, preserves method
• 303 See Other - Redirect after POST
• Location header - Redirect target

The Post/Redirect/Get Pattern

The most important practical use of 302 is the Post/Redirect/Get (PRG) pattern, which prevents duplicate form submissions. When a user submits a form, the server processes it and responds with a 302 redirect to a results page. The browser follows the redirect with a GET request. If the user then refreshes the page, they refresh the GET request (the results page), not the original POST, so the form is not resubmitted.

Without PRG, refreshing after a form submission triggers a browser warning (“Resend form data?”) and potentially resubmits the form, creating duplicate orders, duplicate comments, or duplicate database records. PRG eliminates this problem entirely.

The redirect target is typically a confirmation page or the updated resource. For example, after creating a new blog post, the server processes the POST, saves the post, and redirects to GET /posts/123. The user sees the new post, and refreshing the page simply reloads the post without creating another one.

302 is the correct status code for PRG because the redirect is genuinely temporary — the form submission URL is still valid for future submissions. Using 301 would cause browsers to cache the redirect and skip the POST entirely on subsequent visits, which would break the form. The method change behavior of 302 (POST becomes GET on redirect) is actually the desired behavior for PRG, which is why 302 is preferred over 307 for this pattern.