Skip to main content
PATCH
/
books
/
{isbn}
Partial Update Book
curl --request PATCH \
  --url https://api.example.com/books/{isbn} \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "title": "<string>",
  "author": {
    "author.id": 123,
    "author.name": "<string>",
    "author.age": 123
  },
  "stock": 123,
  "coverImage": "<string>"
}
'
{
  "isbn": "<string>",
  "title": "<string>",
  "author": {
    "author.id": 123,
    "author.name": "<string>",
    "author.age": 123
  },
  "stock": 123,
  "coverImage": "<string>"
}
Partially update an existing book by ISBN. Unlike the PUT endpoint, this allows you to update only specific fields without providing the entire book object.

​
Authentication

This endpoint requires HTTP Basic Authentication.

​
Path Parameters

​
isbn
string
required
The ISBN of the book to update.

​
Request Body

All fields are optional. Only include the fields you want to update.
​
title
string
The title of the book.
​
author
object
The author information for the book.
​
author.id
integer
The unique identifier of the author.
​
author.name
string
The name of the author.
​
author.age
integer
The age of the author.
​
stock
integer
The number of copies available in stock.
​
coverImage
string
URL or path to the book’s cover image.

​
Response

​
isbn
string
The ISBN of the book.
​
title
string
The title of the book.
​
author
object
The author information.
​
author.id
integer
The unique identifier of the author.
​
author.name
string
The name of the author.
​
author.age
integer
The age of the author.
​
stock
integer
The number of copies available in stock.
​
coverImage
string
URL or path to the book’s cover image. Only included if set.

​
Status Codes

  • 200 OK: Book was successfully updated
  • 404 Not Found: Book with the specified ISBN does not exist
  • 401 Unauthorized: Authentication credentials are missing or invalid

​
Example Request

Update only the stock quantity: 
curl -X PATCH https://api.example.com/books/978-0-7475-3269-9 \
  -u username:password \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "stock": 20
  }'
Update multiple fields: 
curl -X PATCH https://api.example.com/books/978-0-7475-3269-9 \
  -u username:password \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone (Updated Edition)",
    "stock": 25,
    "coverImage": "https://example.com/covers/hp1-updated.jpg"
  }'

​
Example Response

{
  "isbn": "978-0-7475-3269-9",
  "title": "Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone (Updated Edition)",
  "author": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "J.K. Rowling",
    "age": 58
  },
  "stock": 25,
  "coverImage": "https://example.com/covers/hp1-updated.jpg"
}

​
Notes

  • PUT vs PATCH: Use PUT when you want to replace the entire book resource (all fields required). Use PATCH when you want to update only specific fields.
  • The book must exist before you can perform a partial update. If it doesn’t exist, you’ll receive a 404 error.
  • Only the fields included in the request body will be updated. All other fields will retain their existing values.
  • To update the author, you can provide partial author information as well.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us