> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bruno-a6972042-mintlify-35e3fd5a.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Request headers

Request headers are **key-value** pairs sent along with an HTTP request to provide additional information to the server about the request. The request headers give the server more information about how to process the incoming request.

**Default Headers**: Default headers are predefined headers that are part of the HTTP specification.

**Custom Headers**: Custom headers are headers that are **user-defined** and are not part of the official HTTP specification.

## Create request headers in Bruno

1. Create request inside collection.
2. Navigate to the **Headers** tab.
3. Enter the **Name**, **Value**, and an optional **Description** for each header.
4. Save and execute the request.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/bruno-a6972042-mintlify-35e3fd5a/oF02dyTI-AMz9BAS/images/screenshots/v4/description/header.webp?fit=max&auto=format&n=oF02dyTI-AMz9BAS&q=85&s=8ded153490a26a16ad4904c1cd01d1ae" alt="req-headers" width="2604" height="1094" data-path="images/screenshots/v4/description/header.webp" />

## View default headers

Bruno adds a set of default headers, such as `User-Agent`, `Accept`, `Accept-Encoding`, `Connection`, and `Host`, to every request at runtime. You can view them directly in the **Headers** tab:

1. Navigate to the **Headers** tab.
2. Click **Show Inherited Headers** at the bottom of the tab.

The tab now shows an **Inherited Headers** section with the default headers and a **Request Headers** section with your own headers. Click **Hide Inherited Headers** to collapse the view.

<Tip>
  To verify the headers that were actually sent with a request, check the **Timeline** tab.
</Tip>

### Omit a default header

You can omit individual default headers on a per-request basis:

1. Click **Show Inherited Headers** in the **Headers** tab.
2. Uncheck the default header you want to omit.

Bruno saves the omitted headers in the request file and skips them when sending the request, both in the app and in the [Bruno CLI](/bru-cli/overview).

<Note>
  Adding your own header with the same name overrides the default header. Bruno shows a warning icon next to both headers when this happens. The `Host` header is required by HTTP and cannot be omitted.
</Note>

## Streaming with Server-Sent Events

To work with Server-Sent Events (SSE), set:

```
Accept: text/event-stream
```

Bruno keeps the connection open, streams chunks into the response panel live, and swaps the Send button for Cancel while the stream is active. See [Server-Sent Events (SSE)](/send-requests/REST/sse) for details on cancellation, collection runs, and CLI behavior.