HISTORY OF DEV

October 1994

HTTP cookies introduced in Netscape

Lou Montulli implemented HTTPHyperText Transfer Protocol — the protocol browsers use to request and receive web pages. cookies in NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. Navigator in October 1994 — letting servers store state in the browser.

What it was for

HTTP cookieCookies enabled shopping carts, login sessions, and analytics — every `Set-Cookie` header traces to this NetscapeA commercial web browser company — Navigator defined the early consumer web. feature. Developers gained stateful web apps on a stateless protocol, though privacy debates followed for decades.

People

  • Lou Montulli — creator

Companies

  • Netscape

Why it's here

Cookies made session state possible on the early web.

Why it mattered

They enabled e-commerce, authentication, and personalization at scale.

What it solved

HTTPHyperText Transfer Protocol — the protocol browsers use to request and receive web pages. had no memory between requests; servers could not track users.

Media

  • HTTP cookie
    ImageHTTP cookie

    IETF HTTP Working Group (HTTPbis), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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