# HTTP POST with form data but content type application/json
**URL:** https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639
**Category:** General
**Created:** [30 November 2019 17:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639 "2019-11-30T17:38:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [30 November 2019 17:38 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/1 "2019-11-30T17:38:03Z")
I want to perform a HTTP POST request with form(?) data.
Function node:
```auto
msg.headers = {}
msg.method = "POST"
msg.url = "https://api.goslide.io/api/auth/login"
msg.payload = {"email": "email","password": "pass"}
msg.headers["content-type"] = "application/json"
msg.headers["X-Requested-With"] = "XMLHttpRequest"
return msg
```
[API](https://documenter.getpostman.com/view/6223391/S1Lu2pSf?version=latest) documentation states that headers should be:
> Content-Type : application/json
> X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest
The info for the http request node states:
> To encode the request as form data, `msg.headers["content-type"]` should be set to `application/x-www-form-urlencoded`.
With `application/json` I get authorisation failed, with the `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` it failed and expects `application/json`
How can I post this with the correct header(s) ?
---
### Author:  [@Andrei](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Andrei)
#### Post date: [1 December 2019 10:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/2 "2019-12-01T10:56:15Z")
> [@bakman2](#):
>
> application/json
A look in the API documentation confirms that the body of the POST request has to be JSON, like below to login and request a token
```auto
{
"email": "your@email.com",
"password": "yourpassword"
}
```
In such case the content-type should be application/JSON.
The reply I got when testing the API was:
```auto
"{"message":"Unauthorized"}"
```
which confirms that the POST request is OK, it is jus the server that is not authorizing.
---
### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [1 December 2019 11:13 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/3 "2019-12-01T11:13:35Z")
I was wondering about that.
What is the application/x-www-form-urlencoded used for?
---
### Author:  [@Andrei](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Andrei)
#### Post date: [1 December 2019 12:25 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/4 "2019-12-01T12:25:10Z")
> [@bakman2](#):
>
> application/x-www-form-urlencoded
In the case the body of the request will be like below, which is very similar to the query parameters of a GET request (key,values separated by &):
```auto
q=node+red&num=10
```
---
### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [1 December 2019 16:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/5 "2019-12-01T16:48:47Z")
Got it. makes sense.
I will contact the folks behind the api.
---
### Author:  [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)
#### Post date: [1 December 2019 20:40 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/http-post-with-form-data-but-content-type-application-json/18639/6 "2019-12-01T20:40:42Z")
Tried it via curl (should have done that earlier) and indeed same error.