415 Unsupported MediaType for Content-Type = Mulitpart/form-data

Question

I have a REST API which ONLY @Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON) and does not @Consume any MediaType.

Even still when I am consuming this REST API by creating an HTTP Request where MediaType is being set to multipart/form-data , I am still recieving:

HTTP/1.1 415 Unsupported Media Type

in raw HTTP Response .

However, when I am setting Content-Type to application/json , which this REST API @Produces , I am getting a proper HTTP Response .

Below is the REST API Annotations:

@POST
@Path("/somePath")
@Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
public JSONObject addDocument(AddDocBean addDocBean) {
...

"Now why do I want to send Content-Type as Multipart/form-data ?"

That is because I am using this service to upload a file to the server and the file is to be sent in a BASE64 format. Now the size of file is about 20Mb which I have been suggested is better sent as multipart/form-data

But HTTP server is unable to process this request returning ERROR 415 Unsupported MediaType in response.

REST client being used : SoapUI 5.4.0

What could possibly be wrong?

Answer 1

• @Produces on Server Side corresponds to Accept: Header on the Client Side.
• @Consume on Server Side corresponds to Media-Type: Header on the Client Side.

The API snippet you showed doesn't specify any explicit @Consume annotation and hence defaults to plain/text. And hence when you send the Header of application/multipart with your request you get Unsupported Media Type

You need to add an explicit @Consume("MediaType.MULTIPART_FORM_DATA") // something similiar to this over your API to make your addDocument() method to support the form data that you are sending.