HTTP 206 Partial Content

What is HTTP 206 Partial Content?

The 206 (Partial Content) status code indicates that the server is successfully fulfilling a range request for the target resource by transferring one or more parts of the selected representation. This enables resumable downloads and streaming media playback where the client can request specific byte ranges.

Common Use Cases

• Resumable file downloads
• Video streaming with seeking
• Large file downloads with chunked transfer

// PHP - serving partial content for video streaming
$file = 'videos/large.mp4';
$size = filesize($file);
$range = $_SERVER['HTTP_RANGE'] ?? null;

if ($range && preg_match('/bytes=(\d+)-(\d*)/', $range, $m)) {
    http_response_code(206);
    header("Content-Range: bytes {$m[1]}-{$m[2]}/$size");
    // Output only the requested byte range
}