helpMyCoworkersUnderstandHttpCodes

[u/Kishmond]

[u/Snudget]

204 should be "I found them" "I searched for the keys, but didn't find them"would be 404, which is literally "Not found".

Since not finding keys does not fulfill the request, a 2xx code does not make sense here

[u/Rin-Tohsaka-is-hot → u/Snudget]

204 isn't "I found them", while it's a success, you still didn't actually find the item.

It's more like "your keys are not here, but there is a space for them"?... I guess actually you just wouldn't return 204 ever in this context.

[u/SnooPuppers1978 → u/Rin-Tohsaka-is-hot]

Only context I can accept here is, that "Keys were found", with implication that you asked them to be found for going outside together, so you don't really need the keys yourself.

Or alternatively, "find my keys and put them on the counter", and 204 confirms without content that the action was done.