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CORS Header Generator

Generate validated CORS response headers for one origin, methods, request headers, exposed response headers, credentials, and preflight caching.

Validate one serialized HTTP or HTTPS origin Normalize and deduplicate method lists Validate request and exposed header names Block credentialed wildcard combinations
CORS is a browser response-sharing policy, not authentication. Never reflect an arbitrary Origin when credentials are enabled.
INPUT Allowed origin
0 chars0 words0 lines

Tool settings

Ctrl / ⌘ + Enter
CORS response headers Validated origin, methods, request headers, exposed headers, credentials, and cache policy.
About the tool

What CORS Header Generator does

CORS Header Generator creates response headers used by browsers to decide whether frontend JavaScript may read a cross-origin response. It validates a single serialized origin, HTTP method tokens, request header names, exposed response headers, credential mode, and preflight cache duration.

CORS is not authentication, authorization, CSRF protection, or a firewall. Non-browser clients can still send requests. The server must authenticate requests and verify permissions independently. When credentials are allowed, a wildcard origin is rejected and method or header wildcards must be replaced with explicit values.

CORS Header Generator building validated Access-Control response headers
Translate a browser sharing policy into reviewable response headers.

How to use

  1. Choose the allowed origin. Enter one origin such as https://app.example.com, the wildcard *, or the special value null.
  2. List methods. Include only methods the resource accepts, commonly GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, and OPTIONS.
  3. List request headers. Add non-safelisted headers the browser may send, such as Authorization or Content-Type.
  4. Expose response headers. Name response headers frontend code must read, such as Content-Disposition or X-Request-ID.
  5. Review credentials and caching. Use an explicit trusted origin for cookies or HTTP authentication, then choose a conservative preflight max age.
Built for the task

Why use CORS Header Generator?

Focused controls, predictable output, and a workflow designed around this exact transformation.

01

Unsafe combinations blocked

Reject wildcard origin, method, and header combinations that conflict with credentialed requests.

02

Validated header tokens

Catch line breaks, invalid names, duplicate values, and malformed origins before deployment.

03

Complete practical set

Generate allow, expose, credentials, max-age, and cache-variation headers.

04

Policy remains explicit

Every generated value comes from a visible field that can be reviewed with backend owners.

Useful answers

Questions about CORS Header Generator

Practical details about input, output, privacy, limits, and the best way to use this tool.

01 What does Access-Control-Allow-Origin contain?

It contains one serialized origin, the wildcard *, or the special value null. It is not a comma-separated origin list.

02 Can I use wildcard origin with credentials?

No. Browser requests whose credentials mode is include require an explicit origin and Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true.

03 Why is true lowercase in Allow-Credentials?

The Fetch Standard defines the value as the case-sensitive token true. Other capitalization is not equivalent.

04 What is Access-Control-Expose-Headers for?

It lists response headers that browser JavaScript may read beyond the CORS-safelisted response headers.

05 When should I add Vary Origin?

Add it when the response origin is chosen dynamically from a server-side allowlist. For a resource that always returns one static origin or wildcard, it may be disabled.

06 What does Access-Control-Max-Age do?

It controls how long a browser may cache a successful preflight response. Browser caps can differ, and long caching delays policy changes.

07 Does CORS protect an API from unauthorized requests?

No. It controls browser response sharing. The API still needs authentication, authorization, input validation, CSRF defenses where relevant, and rate limits.

08 Why can a correct header set still fail?

The actual server must return the headers on the relevant response, including errors and preflight OPTIONS responses. Redirects, proxies, caches, and route-specific configuration can change the result.

Examples

Allow one frontend origin

A specific-origin API policy includes preflight and readable-response metadata.

Input
Origin: https://app.example.com
Methods: GET, POST, OPTIONS
Request headers: Content-Type, Authorization
Expose: X-Request-ID
Credentials: off
Max age: 600
Output
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://app.example.com\nAccess-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, POST, OPTIONS\nAccess-Control-Allow-Headers: Content-Type, Authorization\nAccess-Control-Expose-Headers: X-Request-ID\nAccess-Control-Max-Age: 600\nVary: Origin

Generate a public read-only policy

A wildcard policy omits Vary Origin and does not allow credentialed browser access.

Input
Origin: *
Methods: GET, OPTIONS
Request headers: (empty)
Credentials: off
Max age: 300
Output
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *\nAccess-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, OPTIONS\nAccess-Control-Max-Age: 300

Allow credentialed requests safely

The full result also includes the explicit method and request-header lists.

Input
Origin: https://account.example.com
Methods: GET, POST
Request headers: Content-Type, X-CSRF-Token
Credentials: on
Output
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://account.example.com\nAccess-Control-Allow-Credentials: true\nVary: Origin

Reject an invalid origin list

Access-Control-Allow-Origin does not accept a comma-separated list of origins.

Input
Origin: https://a.example.com, https://b.example.com
Credentials: off
Output
Error: Allowed origin must be one serialized HTTP/HTTPS origin.

One allowed origin per response

Access-Control-Allow-Origin accepts one serialized origin, *, or null. A serialized origin contains scheme, host, and optional port without credentials, a path, trailing slash, query, or fragment. Supporting several trusted origins requires server logic that compares the request Origin with an allowlist and emits the one approved origin.

Do not reflect arbitrary request origins. Reflection without a trusted allowlist removes the intended access boundary, especially when credentials or sensitive response data are involved.

Methods, request headers, and exposed response headers

Access-Control-Allow-Methods and Access-Control-Allow-Headers answer a browser preflight request. They should describe the endpoint, not every capability of the whole server. Access-Control-Expose-Headers controls which response headers browser scripts can read.

The generator validates HTTP token syntax, removes duplicates, and normalizes methods to uppercase. It cannot determine whether the application actually supports the listed methods or headers.

Credentialed CORS

Credentials can include cookies and HTTP authentication. With credential mode include, wildcard allow-origin is invalid and allow-credentials must be exactly lowercase true. Wildcards for methods and header lists also do not act as wildcards for credentialed requests, so this generator requires explicit lists.

CORS credentials do not replace session security. Review SameSite cookies, CSRF protection, origin checking, authentication, and authorization separately.

Preflight caching and Vary Origin

Access-Control-Max-Age can reduce repeated OPTIONS requests but may cause old policy to remain cached. Choose a duration compatible with deployment rollback and incident response. Browser-specific caps may shorten the effective lifetime.

Use Vary: Origin when a cache can receive different Access-Control-Allow-Origin values for the same resource. It is unnecessary when the resource always sends a static wildcard or static origin on every response.

Generator limits and deployment checks

The output is a header block, not server configuration. It does not create OPTIONS routes, authenticate users, test a live preflight, validate CDN behavior, choose a framework middleware order, or prove that error responses include the same CORS policy.

After deployment, inspect the live response with HTTP Header Checker. Build a separate browser content policy with CSP Policy Builder; CSP and CORS solve different problems.

Official CORS and HTTP references

Review the Fetch Standard CORS protocol and HTTP Semantics RFC 9110.