If-None-Match
The HTTP If-None-Match request header is used to transform the HTTP request into one that is conditional based on a set of HTTP ETag headers not matching.
Usage
The If-None-Match request header is included by the client to indicate that the server is only to complete the HTTP request if none of the specified HTTP ETag headers match. In the case of safe methods, HTTP GET and HTTP HEAD, the resource will only be returned if one of the specified HTTP ETag headers matches. Otherwise, the server will return the HTTP 304 Not Modified status code.
When the server returns the HTTP 304 Not Modified status code, it must include appropriate HTTP headers following what is sent had the HTTP response succeeded and resulted in an HTTP 200 OK status code. Specifically, it must include one of the following HTTP headers: Cache-Control, Content-Location, Date, ETag, Expires, or Vary.
A common use of If-None-Match is to update a local cache for resources obtained using HTTP GET or HTTP HEAD. For unsafe methods such as HTTP PUT, this can be used to ensure that an existing file is not being overwritten, resulting in the lost update problem.
The only directive is the ETag value. Multiple HTTP ETag headers can be specified on different lines or instead as a comma-delimited list on a single line. Including the asterisk * acts as a wildcard, meaning that every resource matches.
Example
In this example, the HTTP request will only be processed if the ETag does not match one that is already on the server.
Request
If-None-Match: "1234567890"
Takeaway
The If-None-Match request header is used to transform the HTTP request into a condition request, where the specified ETag must not already exist on the server.