---
title: "What is the difference between sendRedirect and forward methods in Servlets?"  
description: "What is the difference between sendRedirect and forward methods in Servlets?"  
author: "Utpal Vishwas"  
published: 2023-11-15  
updated: 2023-11-16  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160499/what-is-the-difference-between-sendredirect-and-forward-methods-in-servlets  
category: "java"  
tags: ["java", "servlet", "java servlet"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# What is the difference between sendRedirect and forward methods in Servlets?

What is the [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between **sendRedirect** and [forward](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/33488/in-webview-disabling-uitoolbar-s-back-and-forward-butttons) [methods](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13060/runny-nose-remedy-methods-that-work-best) in Servlets?

## Replies

### Reply by Aryan Kumar

In the world of servlets, both **sendRedirect** and **forward** methods are used for directing requests to other resources, but they serve different purposes.

## sendRedirect:

- Think of **sendRedirect** as telling someone to go to a different location by providing a complete address.
- It sends a response to the browser with a new URL, and the browser makes a new request to that URL.
- It involves two separate requests: the client makes a request to the first servlet, which responds with a redirect instruction, and then the client makes a new request to the redirected URL.

## forward:

- Think of **forward** as asking a friend to handle part of a task for you. It's a server-side redirection.
- It forwards the request to another resource (servlet or JSP) on the server without the client's involvement.
- It is more efficient because it happens entirely on the server without involving the client in the process.

## Summary:

- Use **sendRedirect** when you want to tell the client to make a new request to a different URL, and it involves two separate requests.
- Use **forward** when you want to handle part of the processing on the server and forward the request internally to another resource within the same request/response cycle.

Choose the method that best fits your use case depending on whether you need a client-side or server-side redirection.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160499/what-is-the-difference-between-sendredirect-and-forward-methods-in-servlets

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