diff --git a/src/htmx.js b/src/htmx.js
index 024baa612..424dad0ea 100644
--- a/src/htmx.js
+++ b/src/htmx.js
@@ -685,12 +685,13 @@ var htmx = (() => {
             }
             if (ctx.hx.location) { // HX-Location
                 let path = ctx.hx.location, opts = {};
-                if (path[0] === '{' || /[\s,]/.test(path)) {
-                    opts = HCON.parse(path);
+                let parsed = HCON.parse(path);
+                if (path[0] === '{' || parsed.path != null) {
+                    opts = parsed;
                     path = opts.path;
                     delete opts.path;
                 }
-                opts.push ??= 'true';
+                if (opts.push == null && opts.replace == null) opts.push = 'true';
                 this.ajax('GET', path, opts);
                 return true
             }
diff --git a/test/tests/unit/__handleHxHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly.js b/test/tests/unit/__handleHxHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly.js
index 2914ae1b1..89c1b2225 100644
--- a/test/tests/unit/__handleHxHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly.js
+++ b/test/tests/unit/__handleHxHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly.js
@@ -34,4 +34,73 @@ describe('__handleHxHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly unit tests', function() {
         assert.isNotOk(result)
     })
 
+    it('keeps commas in plain HX-Location paths', function() {
+        let originalAjax = htmx.ajax
+        let request
+        htmx.ajax = (...args) => request = args
+
+        try {
+            let result = htmx.__handleHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly({hx: {location: '/files/a,b'}})
+
+            assert.isTrue(result)
+            assert.deepEqual(request, ['GET', '/files/a,b', {push: 'true'}])
+        } finally {
+            htmx.ajax = originalAjax
+        }
+    })
+
+    it('parses an HCON HX-Location value', function() {
+        let originalAjax = htmx.ajax
+        let request
+        htmx.ajax = (...args) => request = args
+
+        try {
+            let result = htmx.__handleHeadersAndMaybeReturnEarly({hx: {location: 'path:/search'}})
+
+            assert.isTrue(result)
+            assert.deepEqual(request, ['GET', '/search', {push: 'true'}])
+        } finally {
+            htmx.ajax = originalAjax
+        }
+    })
+
+    it('honors HX-Location replace without pushing', async function() {
+        mockResponse('GET', '/test', 'ignored', {
+            headers: {
+                'HX-Location': '{"path":"/location-replaced","target":"#destination","replace":"/location-replaced"}'
+            }
+        })
+        mockResponse('GET', '/location-replaced', 'Located')
+        let source = createProcessedHTML('<div><div id="destination"></div><button id="source" hx-get="/test">Go</button></div>')
+            .querySelector('#source')
+        let requestFinished = new Promise(resolve => {
+            find('#destination').addEventListener('htmx:finally:request', resolve, {once: true})
+        })
+        let originalPushState = history.pushState
+        let originalReplaceState = history.replaceState
+        let pushes = 0
+        let replaces = 0
+
+        history.pushState = function(...args) {
+            pushes++
+            return originalPushState.apply(history, args)
+        }
+        history.replaceState = function(...args) {
+            replaces++
+            return originalReplaceState.apply(history, args)
+        }
+
+        try {
+            source.click()
+            await requestFinished
+
+            assert.equal(find('#destination').textContent, 'Located')
+            assert.equal(pushes, 0)
+            assert.equal(replaces, 1)
+        } finally {
+            history.pushState = originalPushState
+            history.replaceState = originalReplaceState
+        }
+    })
+
 });
diff --git a/www/src/content/reference/02-headers/11-HX-Location.md b/www/src/content/reference/02-headers/11-HX-Location.md
index 876926145..1272639a9 100644
--- a/www/src/content/reference/02-headers/11-HX-Location.md
+++ b/www/src/content/reference/02-headers/11-HX-Location.md
@@ -1,51 +1,34 @@
 ---
 title: "HX-Location"
-description: "Navigates with `htmx.ajax()`"
+description: "Redirect without a full page load"
 ---
 
-The `HX-Location` response header navigates to a new URL without a full page reload.
+The `HX-Location` response header redirects without reloading the page.
 
-Like clicking a boosted link—htmx fetches the content and updates the page via AJAX.
+## Usage
 
-## Simple Usage
-
-Redirect to a path:
+Return a path:
 
 ```http
 HX-Location: /dashboard
 ```
 
-## Advanced Usage
-
-Specify target and other options:
+`HX-Location` calls `htmx.ajax()`. The header above is equivalent to:
 
-```http
-HX-Location: {"path":"/search", "target":"#results", "push":"false"}
+```js
+htmx.ajax('GET', '/dashboard', { push: 'true' })
 ```
 
-## Options
+Use any serializable [`htmx.ajax()` option](/reference/methods/htmx-ajax#context). Include `path`:
 
-The JSON value mirrors the htmx ajax API. All fields except `path` are optional.
+```text
+# HCON
+HX-Location: path:/search target:#results select:#matches
 
-- `path` - URL to load the response from (required)
-- `target` - Element to swap the response into (defaults to `document.body`)
-- `source` - The source element of the request
-- `event` - Event that triggered the request
-- `handler` - Callback to handle the response HTML
-- `swap` - How to swap the response relative to the target
-- `values` - Values to submit with the request
-- `headers` - Headers to submit with the request
-- `select` - Selects content from the response to swap
-- `push` - Prevents or overrides the URL pushed to history (`'false'` or a path string)
-- `replace` - Path to replace in browser history instead of pushing
+# JSON
+HX-Location: {"path":"/search","target":"#results","select":"#matches"}
+```
 
 ## Notes
 
-Response headers are not processed on 3xx response codes. Return a 2xx status when using this header.
-
-## Example
-
-```python
-headers = {'HX-Location': '/profile'}
-return Response(content, headers=headers)
-```
+`HX-Location` is not processed on 3xx responses. Return a 2xx response instead.