Learn how to use @RequestHeader in Spring Boot to handle HTTP headers for authentication, metadata, and client information with practical real-world examples.

What is @RequestHeader

@RequestHeader is a Spring Boot annotation used to bind HTTP header values to method parameters in a controller. It is mainly used to handle metadata rather than core business data. For example, headers like Authorization, Content-Type, or User-Agent provide additional context about the request.

In real-world systems, it is commonly used for authentication (JWT tokens), request tracing (request IDs), and API versioning. It supports required, optional, and default values, making it flexible for different use cases.…