Node.js Http2ServerResponse.sendDate Method

Last Updated : 4 Aug, 2026

The Http2ServerResponse.sendDate property specifies whether Node.js automatically adds the Date header to an HTTP/2 response. It is enabled by default but can be disabled if needed.

  • It controls automatic sending of the Date header.
  • It is enabled by default.
  • It is useful when managing headers manually.

Syntax:

response.sendDate

Where:

  • response: The Http2ServerResponse object representing the HTTP/2 response.
  • sendDate: A boolean property that gets or sets whether the Date header is sent automatically.

Return Value: It returns a boolean value:

  • true if the Date header will be sent automatically.
  • false if the Date header will not be sent automatically.

Example 1:

JavaScript 
// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// Http2ServerResponse.sendDate method
const http2 = require('http2');
const fs = require('fs');

// Private key and public certificate for access
const options = {
    key: fs.readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
    cert: fs.readFileSync('public-cert.pem'),
};

// Request and response handler
const http2Handlers = (request, response) => {

    // Checking if the data header is sent or not
    const value = response.sendDate

    if (value)
        console.log("data header is sent")
    else
        console.log("data header is not sent")
};

// Creating and initializing server
// by using http2.createServer() method
const server = http2.createServer(options, http2Handlers);

server.on('stream', (stream, requestheader) => {
    stream.write('hello ');

    // Getting all information of this http2stream object
    // by using state method
    const status = stream.state;

    stream.end("priority weight : " + status.weight);

    // Stopping the server
    // by using the close() method
    server.close(() => {
        console.log("server destroyed");
    })
});

server.listen(8000);

// Creating and initializing client
// by using tls.connect() method
const client = http2.connect('http://localhost:8000');

const req = client.request({ ':method': 'GET', ':path': '/' });

req.on('response', (responsesocket) => {
    console.log("status : " + responsesocket[":status"]);
});

req.on('data', (data) => {
    console.log('Received: %s ',
    data.toString().replace(/(\n)/gm, ""));
});

req.on('end', () => {
    client.close(() => {
        console.log("client destroyed");
    })
});

Output:

data header is sent
status : 200
Received: hello
Received: priority weight : 16
client destroyed
server destroyed

Example 2:

JavaScript 
// Node.js program to demonstrate the
// Http2ServerResponse.sendDate method
const http2 = require('http2');
const fs = require('fs');

// Private key and public certificate for access
const options = {
    key: fs.readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
    cert: fs.readFileSync('public-cert.pem'),
};

// Request and response handler
const http2Handlers = (request, response) => {

    // Checking if the data header is sent or not
    const value = response.sendDate

    if (value)
        response.end("data header is sent")
    else
        response.end("data header is not sent")
};

// Creating and initializing server
// by using http2.createServer() method
const server = http2.createServer(options, http2Handlers);

server.on('stream', (stream, requestHeaders) => {

    // Getting all information of this http2stream object
    // by using state method
    const status = stream.state;

    stream.end("The sum weight of all Http2Stream : " + 
    status.sumDependencyWeight);

    // Stopping the server
    // by using the close() method
    server.close(() => {
        console.log("server destroyed");
    })
});

server.listen(8000);

// Creating and initializing client
// by using tls.connect() method
const client = http2.connect('http://localhost:8000');

const req = client.request({ ':method': 'GET', 
':path': '/www.geeksforgeeks.org' });

req.on('data', (data) => {
    console.log('Received: %s ',
    data.toString().replace(/(\n)/gm, ""));
});

req.on('end', () => {
    client.close(() => {
        console.log("client destroyed");
    })
});

Output:

Received: data header is sent
client destroyed
server destroyed

Use Cases of Http2ServerResponse.sendDate Property

  • It lets you disable the automatic Date header when required.
  • It helps when your application sets the Date header manually.
  • It is useful for testing responses with custom headers.
  • It gives greater control over HTTP response headers.

Reference: https://nodejs.org/dist/latest-v12.x/docs/api/http2.html#http2_response_senddate

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