What is the role of the OPTIONS HTTP method in RESTful APIs?

Short answer: Used for CORS preflight requests. Tells the client which HTTP methods and headers are allowed. 👉 Example Response: Allow: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Creating an order is POST /api/orders → 201 with Location header. Fetching is GET /api/orders/{id} → 200 or 404.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.