Axios Default HTTP Method for Requests

When making a network call using the Axios HTTP client without explicitly specifying an HTTP method, Axios automatically defaults to sending a GET request. This article explains how Axios handles unspecified methods in its configuration object, how the internal default settings resolve these requests, and how developers can leverage or modify this default behavior in their applications.

The Default Method: GET

In Axios, if you invoke the library directly by passing a URL string or a configuration object without defining the method property, the client treats the operation as an HTTP GET request.

For example, both of the following implementations perform an identical GET request:

// Passing a URL string directly
axios('https://api.example.com/users')
  .then(response => console.log(response.data));

// Passing a configuration object without a 'method' property
axios({
  url: 'https://api.example.com/users'
})
  .then(response => console.log(response.data));

How Axios Resolves Unspecified Methods Internally

Axios merges user-provided configuration objects with its default settings before executing a request. Within the Axios core defaults (axios.defaults), the method property is set to 'get' by default.

During the request execution pipeline:

1. Config Merging: Axios checks if a method property exists in the request configuration.
2. Fallback Assignment: If config.method is undefined, it adopts the value from defaults.method ('get').
3. Normalization: Axios normalizes the method string to lowercase before dispatching the request to the underlying adapter (such as XMLHttpRequest in browsers or the http/https module in Node.js).

Sending Payloads Without a Defined Method

Because an omitted method defaults to GET, attempting to pass a payload via the data property without declaring a method can lead to unexpected behavior:

// This will still execute as a GET request
axios({
  url: 'https://api.example.com/users',
  data: {
    name: 'Jane Doe'
  }
});

While Axios will transmit the request, many servers and proxies discard the body of incoming GET requests, or they may reject the request entirely. For operations requiring a request body (such as creating or updating resources), you must explicitly specify POST, PUT, or PATCH.

Changing the Global Default Method

While rare, it is possible to change the global default method for an Axios instance:

// Change default method globally
axios.defaults.method = 'post';

// Creates a custom Axios instance with a different default method
const customClient = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.example.com',
  method: 'post'
});

Setting an explicit method—either through the method config property or by using shorthand helper methods like axios.get() and axios.post()—is generally recommended to maintain readability and prevent unintentional GET calls.