HTTP Request Lifecycle Explained — What Really Happens When You Hit Enter

You type https://google.com into your browser and press Enter. In about 200 milliseconds, a fully rendered page appears. But what actually happened in those 200 milliseconds? Most developers — even experienced ones — have a vague idea. ‘DNS happens, then TCP, then… HTTP stuff.’ But if you’re building backends, designing APIs, debugging slow responses, or preparing for system design interviews, ‘vague’ is not good enough. In this post, we’re going to trace every single thing that happens — fr