remix-run · brophdawg11 · Nov 6, 2025 · Oct 31, 2025 · Nov 3, 2025 · Nov 3, 2025
diff --git a/.changeset/tame-moons-train.md b/.changeset/tame-moons-train.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@react-router/dev": patch
+---
+
+Short circuit `HEAD` document requests before calling `renderToPipeableStream` in the default `entry.server.tsx` to more closely align with the [spec](https://httpwg.org/specs/rfc9110.html#HEAD)
diff --git a/integration/http-test.ts b/integration/http-test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
+
+import { UNSAFE_ServerMode as ServerMode } from "react-router";
+import { createFixture, js } from "./helpers/create-fixture.js";
+import type { Fixture } from "./helpers/create-fixture.js";
+
+test.describe("HTTP behavior", () => {
+  let appFixture: Fixture;
+
+  test.beforeAll(async () => {
+    appFixture = await createFixture({
+      files: {
+        "app/root.tsx": js`
+            import { Links, Meta, Outlet, Scripts } from "react-router";
+
+            export default function Root() {
+              return (
+                <html lang="en">
+                  <head>
+                    <Meta />
+                    <Links />
+                  </head>
+                  <body>
+                    <Outlet />
+                    <Scripts />
+                  </body>
+                </html>
+              );
+            }
+          `,
+
+        "app/routes/_index.tsx": js`
+            import { data } from "react-router";
+
+            export function loader() {
+              return data("INDEX", { status: 202 })
+            }
+
+            export default function Index() {
+              return <div>Heyo!</div>
+            }
+          `,
+
+        "app/routes/resource.tsx": js`
+            export function loader() {
+              return new Response("RESOURCE", { status: 202 })
+            }
+          `,
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("includes body on GET request", async () => {
+    let response = await appFixture.requestDocument("/");
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(await response.text()).toContain("<div>Heyo!</div>");
+
+    response = await appFixture.requestResource("/resource");
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(await response.text()).toBe("RESOURCE");
+
+    let singleFetchResponse =
+      await appFixture.requestSingleFetchData("/_root.data");
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(singleFetchResponse.data).toEqual({
+      "routes/_index": { data: "INDEX" },
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("does not include body on HEAD request", async () => {
+    let response = await appFixture.requestDocument("/", { method: "HEAD" });
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(response.body).toBe(null);
+
+    response = await appFixture.requestResource("/resource", {
+      method: "HEAD",
+    });
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(response.body).toBe(null);
+
+    let singleFetchResponse = await appFixture.requestSingleFetchData(
+      "/_root.data",
+      { method: "HEAD" },
+    );
+    expect(response.status).toBe(202);
+    expect(singleFetchResponse.data).toBe(null);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/react-router-dev/config/defaults/entry.server.node.tsx b/packages/react-router-dev/config/defaults/entry.server.node.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,14 @@ export default function handleRequest(
   // If you have middleware enabled:
   // loadContext: RouterContextProvider
 ) {
+  // https://httpwg.org/specs/rfc9110.html#HEAD
+  if (request.method.toUpperCase() === "HEAD") {
+    return new Response(null, {
+      status: responseStatusCode,
+      headers: responseHeaders,
+    });
+  }
+
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     let shellRendered = false;
     let userAgent = request.headers.get("user-agent");