PHP http_get_last_response_headers Function
last modified April 4, 2025
The PHP http_get_last_response_headers function retrieves HTTP
response headers from the last request. It's useful for debugging and
processing web responses.
Basic Definition
http_get_last_response_headers returns an array of response
headers from the most recent HTTP request. Works with HTTP extension
functions.
Syntax: http_get_last_response_headers(): array|null.
Returns associative array of headers or null if no request was made.
Requires pecl_http extension.
Basic Header Retrieval
This example shows how to fetch and display all response headers from a simple HTTP request.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
http_get("https://example.com");
$headers = http_get_last_response_headers();
print_r($headers);
This makes a GET request to example.com then retrieves all response headers. The headers are printed in an array format showing keys and values.
Checking Specific Header
This demonstrates checking for a specific header (Content-Type) in the response.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
http_get("https://example.com");
$headers = http_get_last_response_headers();
if (isset($headers['Content-Type'])) {
echo "Content-Type: " . $headers['Content-Type'];
} else {
echo "Content-Type header not found";
}
This checks if the Content-Type header exists in the response. Content-Type indicates the media type of the returned resource.
Processing All Headers
This example processes all headers from a response in a foreach loop.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
http_get("https://example.com");
$headers = http_get_last_response_headers();
foreach ($headers as $name => $value) {
echo "$name: $value\n";
}
This iterates through all response headers displaying each name-value pair. Useful for debugging or logging complete header information.
Checking Response Status
This shows how to verify the HTTP status code from the response headers.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
http_get("https://example.com");
$headers = http_get_last_response_headers();
if (isset($headers['Status'])) {
echo "Response status: " . $headers['Status'];
} else {
echo "Status header not found";
}
The Status header contains the HTTP response status code. This helps determine if the request was successful or encountered an error.
Header Case Sensitivity
This example demonstrates header name case sensitivity in PHP.
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
http_get("https://example.com");
$headers = http_get_last_response_headers();
$contentType1 = $headers['Content-Type'] ?? 'Not found';
$contentType2 = $headers['content-type'] ?? 'Not found';
echo "Content-Type: $contentType1\n";
echo "content-type: $contentType2\n";
Header names are case-insensitive in HTTP but PHP preserves the original case. This shows how to handle both cases when checking headers.
Best Practices
- Error Handling: Always check if headers exist before access
- Performance: Make requests only when headers are needed
- Security: Sanitize header values before processing
- Compatibility: Verify pecl_http extension is installed
Source
PHP http_get_last_response_headers Documentation
This tutorial covered the PHP http_get_last_response_headers
function with practical examples for HTTP header processing in PHP.