# Header-Based Versioning

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/header-versioning/  
**Provider:** Versioning Protocols — https://apis.io/providers/versioning-protocols/  
**Documentation:** https://redocly.com/blog/api-versioning-best-practices

Header-Based Versioning is one of 5 APIs that [Versioning Protocols](https://apis.io/providers/versioning-protocols/) publishes on the [APIs.io](https://apis.io/) network. Tagged areas include Header Versioning, Content Negotiation, REST, and API Design. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes API documentation.

Header-based versioning passes the API version in a custom HTTP request header (e.g., API-Version: 2026-04-01 or Accept: application/vnd.api.v2+json), keeping URLs clean and enabling more granular version control. Aligns well with full SemVer strings and content negotiation patterns.

## Machine-readable artifacts (1)

- **Documentation** — https://redocly.com/blog/api-versioning-best-practices

## Other Versioning Protocols APIs (4)

- [Semantic Versioning (SemVer)](https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/semver/)
- [Calendar Versioning (CalVer)](https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/calver/)
- [URI Path Versioning](https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/uri-path-versioning/)
- [OpenAPI Versioning](https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/openapi-versioning/)

## Tags

Header Versioning, Content Negotiation, REST, API Design

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/apis/versioning-protocols/header-versioning/). The API's provider profile, Kin Score and agent-readiness rating are at https://apis.io/providers/versioning-protocols/.