Overview

You should reset the document view. Clear any form data, reset canvases, refresh the UI.

Takeaways

  1. The server has fulfilled the request and desires that the user agent reset the "document view", which caused the request to be sent, to its original state as received from the origin server.
  2. This response is intended to support a common data entry use case where the user receives content that supports data entry (a form, notepad, canvas, etc.), enters or manipulates data in that space, causes the entered data to be submitted in a request, and then the data entry mechanism is reset for the next entry so that the user can easily initiate another input action.
  3. Since the 205 status code implies that no additional content will be provided, a server must not generate a payload in a 205 response.

A server must do one of the following for a 205 response:

Information

The 205 Reset Content response status tells the client to reset the document view, so for example to clear the content of a form, reset a canvas state, or to refresh the UI.

Related

Further Reading

Specification

205 Reset Content | The HTTP Working Group

205 Reset Content

MDN web docs