What is the difference between PUT and PATCH methods?

HTTP methods PUT and PATCH are used for updating resources but differ in their meaning and application:

• PUT is an idempotent method that replaces the entire resource. When using PUT, the client sends a complete representation of the resource, and the server replaces the existing resource with this new state. If the resource does not exist, the server may create it.

• PATCH is a method for partial updates of a resource. The client sends only the fields that need to be changed, and the server updates them without touching other parts of the resource. PATCH is not necessarily idempotent, although it can be.

Example: If you have a user object with fields name, email, age:

• A PUT request should contain all fields, for example:

{
  "name": "Ivan",
  "email": "ivan@example.com",
  "age": 30
}

• A PATCH request can contain only the fields to be changed, for example:

{
  "email": "newemail@example.com"
}

Thus, PUT is for replacing the entire resource, PATCH is for partial updates.