2 # Request - Simplified HTTP client
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14 ## Super simple to use
16 Request is designed to be the simplest way possible to make http calls. It supports HTTPS and follows redirects by default.
19 var request = require('request');
20 request('http://www.google.com', function (error, response, body) {
21 console.log('error:', error); // Print the error if one occurred
22 console.log('statusCode:', response && response.statusCode); // Print the response status code if a response was received
23 console.log('body:', body); // Print the HTML for the Google homepage.
30 - [Streaming](#streaming)
32 - [HTTP Authentication](#http-authentication)
33 - [Custom HTTP Headers](#custom-http-headers)
34 - [OAuth Signing](#oauth-signing)
36 - [Unix Domain Sockets](#unix-domain-sockets)
37 - [TLS/SSL Protocol](#tlsssl-protocol)
38 - [Support for HAR 1.2](#support-for-har-12)
39 - [**All Available Options**](#requestoptions-callback)
41 Request also offers [convenience methods](#convenience-methods) like
42 `request.defaults` and `request.post`, and there are
43 lots of [usage examples](#examples) and several
44 [debugging techniques](#debugging).
52 You can stream any response to a file stream.
55 request('http://google.com/doodle.png').pipe(fs.createWriteStream('doodle.png'))
58 You can also stream a file to a PUT or POST request. This method will also check the file extension against a mapping of file extensions to content-types (in this case `application/json`) and use the proper `content-type` in the PUT request (if the headers don’t already provide one).
61 fs.createReadStream('file.json').pipe(request.put('http://mysite.com/obj.json'))
64 Request can also `pipe` to itself. When doing so, `content-type` and `content-length` are preserved in the PUT headers.
67 request.get('http://google.com/img.png').pipe(request.put('http://mysite.com/img.png'))
70 Request emits a "response" event when a response is received. The `response` argument will be an instance of [http.IncomingMessage](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_incomingmessage).
74 .get('http://google.com/img.png')
75 .on('response', function(response) {
76 console.log(response.statusCode) // 200
77 console.log(response.headers['content-type']) // 'image/png'
79 .pipe(request.put('http://mysite.com/img.png'))
82 To easily handle errors when streaming requests, listen to the `error` event before piping:
86 .get('http://mysite.com/doodle.png')
87 .on('error', function(err) {
90 .pipe(fs.createWriteStream('doodle.png'))
96 http.createServer(function (req, resp) {
97 if (req.url === '/doodle.png') {
98 if (req.method === 'PUT') {
99 req.pipe(request.put('http://mysite.com/doodle.png'))
100 } else if (req.method === 'GET' || req.method === 'HEAD') {
101 request.get('http://mysite.com/doodle.png').pipe(resp)
107 You can also `pipe()` from `http.ServerRequest` instances, as well as to `http.ServerResponse` instances. The HTTP method, headers, and entity-body data will be sent. Which means that, if you don't really care about security, you can do:
110 http.createServer(function (req, resp) {
111 if (req.url === '/doodle.png') {
112 var x = request('http://mysite.com/doodle.png')
119 And since `pipe()` returns the destination stream in ≥ Node 0.5.x you can do one line proxying. :)
122 req.pipe(request('http://mysite.com/doodle.png')).pipe(resp)
125 Also, none of this new functionality conflicts with requests previous features, it just expands them.
128 var r = request.defaults({'proxy':'http://localproxy.com'})
130 http.createServer(function (req, resp) {
131 if (req.url === '/doodle.png') {
132 r.get('http://google.com/doodle.png').pipe(resp)
137 You can still use intermediate proxies, the requests will still follow HTTP forwards, etc.
139 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
147 `request` supports `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` and `multipart/form-data` form uploads. For `multipart/related` refer to the `multipart` API.
150 #### application/x-www-form-urlencoded (URL-Encoded Forms)
152 URL-encoded forms are simple.
155 request.post('http://service.com/upload', {form:{key:'value'}})
157 request.post('http://service.com/upload').form({key:'value'})
159 request.post({url:'http://service.com/upload', form: {key:'value'}}, function(err,httpResponse,body){ /* ... */ })
163 #### multipart/form-data (Multipart Form Uploads)
165 For `multipart/form-data` we use the [form-data](https://github.com/form-data/form-data) library by [@felixge](https://github.com/felixge). For the most cases, you can pass your upload form data via the `formData` option.
170 // Pass a simple key-value pair
171 my_field: 'my_value',
172 // Pass data via Buffers
173 my_buffer: new Buffer([1, 2, 3]),
174 // Pass data via Streams
175 my_file: fs.createReadStream(__dirname + '/unicycle.jpg'),
176 // Pass multiple values /w an Array
178 fs.createReadStream(__dirname + '/attachment1.jpg'),
179 fs.createReadStream(__dirname + '/attachment2.jpg')
181 // Pass optional meta-data with an 'options' object with style: {value: DATA, options: OPTIONS}
182 // Use case: for some types of streams, you'll need to provide "file"-related information manually.
183 // See the `form-data` README for more information about options: https://github.com/form-data/form-data
185 value: fs.createReadStream('/dev/urandom'),
187 filename: 'topsecret.jpg',
188 contentType: 'image/jpeg'
192 request.post({url:'http://service.com/upload', formData: formData}, function optionalCallback(err, httpResponse, body) {
194 return console.error('upload failed:', err);
196 console.log('Upload successful! Server responded with:', body);
200 For advanced cases, you can access the form-data object itself via `r.form()`. This can be modified until the request is fired on the next cycle of the event-loop. (Note that this calling `form()` will clear the currently set form data for that request.)
203 // NOTE: Advanced use-case, for normal use see 'formData' usage above
204 var r = request.post('http://service.com/upload', function optionalCallback(err, httpResponse, body) {...})
206 form.append('my_field', 'my_value');
207 form.append('my_buffer', new Buffer([1, 2, 3]));
208 form.append('custom_file', fs.createReadStream(__dirname + '/unicycle.jpg'), {filename: 'unicycle.jpg'});
210 See the [form-data README](https://github.com/form-data/form-data) for more information & examples.
213 #### multipart/related
215 Some variations in different HTTP implementations require a newline/CRLF before, after, or both before and after the boundary of a `multipart/related` request (using the multipart option). This has been observed in the .NET WebAPI version 4.0. You can turn on a boundary preambleCRLF or postamble by passing them as `true` to your request options.
222 uri: 'http://service.com/upload',
225 'content-type': 'application/json',
226 body: JSON.stringify({foo: 'bar', _attachments: {'message.txt': {follows: true, length: 18, 'content_type': 'text/plain' }}})
228 { body: 'I am an attachment' },
229 { body: fs.createReadStream('image.png') }
231 // alternatively pass an object containing additional options
236 'content-type': 'application/json',
237 body: JSON.stringify({foo: 'bar', _attachments: {'message.txt': {follows: true, length: 18, 'content_type': 'text/plain' }}})
239 { body: 'I am an attachment' }
243 function (error, response, body) {
245 return console.error('upload failed:', error);
247 console.log('Upload successful! Server responded with:', body);
251 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
257 ## HTTP Authentication
260 request.get('http://some.server.com/').auth('username', 'password', false);
262 request.get('http://some.server.com/', {
266 'sendImmediately': false
270 request.get('http://some.server.com/').auth(null, null, true, 'bearerToken');
272 request.get('http://some.server.com/', {
274 'bearer': 'bearerToken'
279 If passed as an option, `auth` should be a hash containing values:
281 - `user` || `username`
282 - `pass` || `password`
283 - `sendImmediately` (optional)
284 - `bearer` (optional)
286 The method form takes parameters
287 `auth(username, password, sendImmediately, bearer)`.
289 `sendImmediately` defaults to `true`, which causes a basic or bearer
290 authentication header to be sent. If `sendImmediately` is `false`, then
291 `request` will retry with a proper authentication header after receiving a
292 `401` response from the server (which must contain a `WWW-Authenticate` header
293 indicating the required authentication method).
295 Note that you can also specify basic authentication using the URL itself, as
296 detailed in [RFC 1738](http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt). Simply pass the
297 `user:password` before the host with an `@` sign:
300 var username = 'username',
301 password = 'password',
302 url = 'http://' + username + ':' + password + '@some.server.com';
304 request({url: url}, function (error, response, body) {
305 // Do more stuff with 'body' here
309 Digest authentication is supported, but it only works with `sendImmediately`
310 set to `false`; otherwise `request` will send basic authentication on the
311 initial request, which will probably cause the request to fail.
313 Bearer authentication is supported, and is activated when the `bearer` value is
314 available. The value may be either a `String` or a `Function` returning a
315 `String`. Using a function to supply the bearer token is particularly useful if
316 used in conjunction with `defaults` to allow a single function to supply the
317 last known token at the time of sending a request, or to compute one on the fly.
319 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
325 ## Custom HTTP Headers
327 HTTP Headers, such as `User-Agent`, can be set in the `options` object.
328 In the example below, we call the github API to find out the number
329 of stars and forks for the request repository. This requires a
330 custom `User-Agent` header as well as https.
333 var request = require('request');
336 url: 'https://api.github.com/repos/request/request',
338 'User-Agent': 'request'
342 function callback(error, response, body) {
343 if (!error && response.statusCode == 200) {
344 var info = JSON.parse(body);
345 console.log(info.stargazers_count + " Stars");
346 console.log(info.forks_count + " Forks");
350 request(options, callback);
353 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
361 [OAuth version 1.0](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5849) is supported. The
362 default signing algorithm is
363 [HMAC-SHA1](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5849#section-3.4.2):
366 // OAuth1.0 - 3-legged server side flow (Twitter example)
368 var qs = require('querystring')
370 { callback: 'http://mysite.com/callback/'
371 , consumer_key: CONSUMER_KEY
372 , consumer_secret: CONSUMER_SECRET
374 , url = 'https://api.twitter.com/oauth/request_token'
376 request.post({url:url, oauth:oauth}, function (e, r, body) {
377 // Ideally, you would take the body in the response
378 // and construct a URL that a user clicks on (like a sign in button).
379 // The verifier is only available in the response after a user has
380 // verified with twitter that they are authorizing your app.
383 var req_data = qs.parse(body)
384 var uri = 'https://api.twitter.com/oauth/authenticate'
385 + '?' + qs.stringify({oauth_token: req_data.oauth_token})
386 // redirect the user to the authorize uri
389 // after the user is redirected back to your server
390 var auth_data = qs.parse(body)
392 { consumer_key: CONSUMER_KEY
393 , consumer_secret: CONSUMER_SECRET
394 , token: auth_data.oauth_token
395 , token_secret: req_data.oauth_token_secret
396 , verifier: auth_data.oauth_verifier
398 , url = 'https://api.twitter.com/oauth/access_token'
400 request.post({url:url, oauth:oauth}, function (e, r, body) {
401 // ready to make signed requests on behalf of the user
402 var perm_data = qs.parse(body)
404 { consumer_key: CONSUMER_KEY
405 , consumer_secret: CONSUMER_SECRET
406 , token: perm_data.oauth_token
407 , token_secret: perm_data.oauth_token_secret
409 , url = 'https://api.twitter.com/1.1/users/show.json'
411 { screen_name: perm_data.screen_name
412 , user_id: perm_data.user_id
415 request.get({url:url, oauth:oauth, qs:qs, json:true}, function (e, r, user) {
422 For [RSA-SHA1 signing](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5849#section-3.4.3), make
423 the following changes to the OAuth options object:
424 * Pass `signature_method : 'RSA-SHA1'`
425 * Instead of `consumer_secret`, specify a `private_key` string in
426 [PEM format](http://how2ssl.com/articles/working_with_pem_files/)
428 For [PLAINTEXT signing](http://oauth.net/core/1.0/#anchor22), make
429 the following changes to the OAuth options object:
430 * Pass `signature_method : 'PLAINTEXT'`
432 To send OAuth parameters via query params or in a post body as described in The
433 [Consumer Request Parameters](http://oauth.net/core/1.0/#consumer_req_param)
434 section of the oauth1 spec:
435 * Pass `transport_method : 'query'` or `transport_method : 'body'` in the OAuth
437 * `transport_method` defaults to `'header'`
439 To use [Request Body Hash](https://oauth.googlecode.com/svn/spec/ext/body_hash/1.0/oauth-bodyhash.html) you can either
440 * Manually generate the body hash and pass it as a string `body_hash: '...'`
441 * Automatically generate the body hash by passing `body_hash: true`
443 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
451 If you specify a `proxy` option, then the request (and any subsequent
452 redirects) will be sent via a connection to the proxy server.
454 If your endpoint is an `https` url, and you are using a proxy, then
455 request will send a `CONNECT` request to the proxy server *first*, and
456 then use the supplied connection to connect to the endpoint.
458 That is, first it will make a request like:
461 HTTP/1.1 CONNECT endpoint-server.com:80
462 Host: proxy-server.com
463 User-Agent: whatever user agent you specify
466 and then the proxy server make a TCP connection to `endpoint-server`
467 on port `80`, and return a response that looks like:
473 At this point, the connection is left open, and the client is
474 communicating directly with the `endpoint-server.com` machine.
476 See [the wikipedia page on HTTP Tunneling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_tunnel)
477 for more information.
479 By default, when proxying `http` traffic, request will simply make a
480 standard proxied `http` request. This is done by making the `url`
481 section of the initial line of the request a fully qualified url to
484 For example, it will make a single request that looks like:
487 HTTP/1.1 GET http://endpoint-server.com/some-url
488 Host: proxy-server.com
489 Other-Headers: all go here
491 request body or whatever
494 Because a pure "http over http" tunnel offers no additional security
495 or other features, it is generally simpler to go with a
496 straightforward HTTP proxy in this case. However, if you would like
497 to force a tunneling proxy, you may set the `tunnel` option to `true`.
499 You can also make a standard proxied `http` request by explicitly setting
500 `tunnel : false`, but **note that this will allow the proxy to see the traffic
501 to/from the destination server**.
503 If you are using a tunneling proxy, you may set the
504 `proxyHeaderWhiteList` to share certain headers with the proxy.
506 You can also set the `proxyHeaderExclusiveList` to share certain
507 headers only with the proxy and not with destination host.
509 By default, this set is:
538 Note that, when using a tunneling proxy, the `proxy-authorization`
539 header and any headers from custom `proxyHeaderExclusiveList` are
540 *never* sent to the endpoint server, but only to the proxy server.
543 ### Controlling proxy behaviour using environment variables
545 The following environment variables are respected by `request`:
547 * `HTTP_PROXY` / `http_proxy`
548 * `HTTPS_PROXY` / `https_proxy`
549 * `NO_PROXY` / `no_proxy`
551 When `HTTP_PROXY` / `http_proxy` are set, they will be used to proxy non-SSL requests that do not have an explicit `proxy` configuration option present. Similarly, `HTTPS_PROXY` / `https_proxy` will be respected for SSL requests that do not have an explicit `proxy` configuration option. It is valid to define a proxy in one of the environment variables, but then override it for a specific request, using the `proxy` configuration option. Furthermore, the `proxy` configuration option can be explicitly set to false / null to opt out of proxying altogether for that request.
553 `request` is also aware of the `NO_PROXY`/`no_proxy` environment variables. These variables provide a granular way to opt out of proxying, on a per-host basis. It should contain a comma separated list of hosts to opt out of proxying. It is also possible to opt of proxying when a particular destination port is used. Finally, the variable may be set to `*` to opt out of the implicit proxy configuration of the other environment variables.
555 Here's some examples of valid `no_proxy` values:
557 * `google.com` - don't proxy HTTP/HTTPS requests to Google.
558 * `google.com:443` - don't proxy HTTPS requests to Google, but *do* proxy HTTP requests to Google.
559 * `google.com:443, yahoo.com:80` - don't proxy HTTPS requests to Google, and don't proxy HTTP requests to Yahoo!
560 * `*` - ignore `https_proxy`/`http_proxy` environment variables altogether.
562 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
568 ## UNIX Domain Sockets
570 `request` supports making requests to [UNIX Domain Sockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_domain_socket). To make one, use the following URL scheme:
573 /* Pattern */ 'http://unix:SOCKET:PATH'
574 /* Example */ request.get('http://unix:/absolute/path/to/unix.socket:/request/path')
577 Note: The `SOCKET` path is assumed to be absolute to the root of the host file system.
579 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
587 TLS/SSL Protocol options, such as `cert`, `key` and `passphrase`, can be
588 set directly in `options` object, in the `agentOptions` property of the `options` object, or even in `https.globalAgent.options`. Keep in mind that, although `agentOptions` allows for a slightly wider range of configurations, the recommended way is via `options` object directly, as using `agentOptions` or `https.globalAgent.options` would not be applied in the same way in proxied environments (as data travels through a TLS connection instead of an http/https agent).
591 var fs = require('fs')
592 , path = require('path')
593 , certFile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'ssl/client.crt')
594 , keyFile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'ssl/client.key')
595 , caFile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'ssl/ca.cert.pem')
596 , request = require('request');
599 url: 'https://api.some-server.com/',
600 cert: fs.readFileSync(certFile),
601 key: fs.readFileSync(keyFile),
602 passphrase: 'password',
603 ca: fs.readFileSync(caFile)
606 request.get(options);
609 ### Using `options.agentOptions`
611 In the example below, we call an API requires client side SSL certificate
612 (in PEM format) with passphrase protected private key (in PEM format) and disable the SSLv3 protocol:
615 var fs = require('fs')
616 , path = require('path')
617 , certFile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'ssl/client.crt')
618 , keyFile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'ssl/client.key')
619 , request = require('request');
622 url: 'https://api.some-server.com/',
624 cert: fs.readFileSync(certFile),
625 key: fs.readFileSync(keyFile),
626 // Or use `pfx` property replacing `cert` and `key` when using private key, certificate and CA certs in PFX or PKCS12 format:
627 // pfx: fs.readFileSync(pfxFilePath),
628 passphrase: 'password',
629 securityOptions: 'SSL_OP_NO_SSLv3'
633 request.get(options);
636 It is able to force using SSLv3 only by specifying `secureProtocol`:
640 url: 'https://api.some-server.com/',
642 secureProtocol: 'SSLv3_method'
647 It is possible to accept other certificates than those signed by generally allowed Certificate Authorities (CAs).
648 This can be useful, for example, when using self-signed certificates.
649 To require a different root certificate, you can specify the signing CA by adding the contents of the CA's certificate file to the `agentOptions`.
650 The certificate the domain presents must be signed by the root certificate specified:
654 url: 'https://api.some-server.com/',
656 ca: fs.readFileSync('ca.cert.pem')
661 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
666 ## Support for HAR 1.2
668 The `options.har` property will override the values: `url`, `method`, `qs`, `headers`, `form`, `formData`, `body`, `json`, as well as construct multipart data and read files from disk when `request.postData.params[].fileName` is present without a matching `value`.
670 a validation step will check if the HAR Request format matches the latest spec (v1.2) and will skip parsing if not matching.
673 var request = require('request')
677 uri: 'http://www.google.com',
679 // HTTP Archive Request Object
681 url: 'http://www.mockbin.com/har',
685 name: 'content-type',
686 value: 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
690 mimeType: 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
705 // a POST request will be sent to http://www.mockbin.com
706 // with body an application/x-www-form-urlencoded body:
707 // foo=bar&hello=world
710 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
715 ## request(options, callback)
717 The first argument can be either a `url` or an `options` object. The only required option is `uri`; all others are optional.
719 - `uri` || `url` - fully qualified uri or a parsed url object from `url.parse()`
720 - `baseUrl` - fully qualified uri string used as the base url. Most useful with `request.defaults`, for example when you want to do many requests to the same domain. If `baseUrl` is `https://example.com/api/`, then requesting `/end/point?test=true` will fetch `https://example.com/api/end/point?test=true`. When `baseUrl` is given, `uri` must also be a string.
721 - `method` - http method (default: `"GET"`)
722 - `headers` - http headers (default: `{}`)
726 - `qs` - object containing querystring values to be appended to the `uri`
727 - `qsParseOptions` - object containing options to pass to the [qs.parse](https://github.com/hapijs/qs#parsing-objects) method. Alternatively pass options to the [querystring.parse](https://nodejs.org/docs/v0.12.0/api/querystring.html#querystring_querystring_parse_str_sep_eq_options) method using this format `{sep:';', eq:':', options:{}}`
728 - `qsStringifyOptions` - object containing options to pass to the [qs.stringify](https://github.com/hapijs/qs#stringifying) method. Alternatively pass options to the [querystring.stringify](https://nodejs.org/docs/v0.12.0/api/querystring.html#querystring_querystring_stringify_obj_sep_eq_options) method using this format `{sep:';', eq:':', options:{}}`. For example, to change the way arrays are converted to query strings using the `qs` module pass the `arrayFormat` option with one of `indices|brackets|repeat`
729 - `useQuerystring` - If true, use `querystring` to stringify and parse
730 querystrings, otherwise use `qs` (default: `false`). Set this option to
731 `true` if you need arrays to be serialized as `foo=bar&foo=baz` instead of the
732 default `foo[0]=bar&foo[1]=baz`.
736 - `body` - entity body for PATCH, POST and PUT requests. Must be a `Buffer`, `String` or `ReadStream`. If `json` is `true`, then `body` must be a JSON-serializable object.
737 - `form` - when passed an object or a querystring, this sets `body` to a querystring representation of value, and adds `Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded` header. When passed no options, a `FormData` instance is returned (and is piped to request). See "Forms" section above.
738 - `formData` - Data to pass for a `multipart/form-data` request. See
739 [Forms](#forms) section above.
740 - `multipart` - array of objects which contain their own headers and `body`
741 attributes. Sends a `multipart/related` request. See [Forms](#forms) section
743 - Alternatively you can pass in an object `{chunked: false, data: []}` where
744 `chunked` is used to specify whether the request is sent in
745 [chunked transfer encoding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunked_transfer_encoding)
746 In non-chunked requests, data items with body streams are not allowed.
747 - `preambleCRLF` - append a newline/CRLF before the boundary of your `multipart/form-data` request.
748 - `postambleCRLF` - append a newline/CRLF at the end of the boundary of your `multipart/form-data` request.
749 - `json` - sets `body` to JSON representation of value and adds `Content-type: application/json` header. Additionally, parses the response body as JSON.
750 - `jsonReviver` - a [reviver function](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/parse) that will be passed to `JSON.parse()` when parsing a JSON response body.
751 - `jsonReplacer` - a [replacer function](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify) that will be passed to `JSON.stringify()` when stringifying a JSON request body.
755 - `auth` - A hash containing values `user` || `username`, `pass` || `password`, and `sendImmediately` (optional). See documentation above.
756 - `oauth` - Options for OAuth HMAC-SHA1 signing. See documentation above.
757 - `hawk` - Options for [Hawk signing](https://github.com/hueniverse/hawk). The `credentials` key must contain the necessary signing info, [see hawk docs for details](https://github.com/hueniverse/hawk#usage-example).
758 - `aws` - `object` containing AWS signing information. Should have the properties `key`, `secret`, and optionally `session` (note that this only works for services that require session as part of the canonical string). Also requires the property `bucket`, unless you’re specifying your `bucket` as part of the path, or the request doesn’t use a bucket (i.e. GET Services). If you want to use AWS sign version 4 use the parameter `sign_version` with value `4` otherwise the default is version 2. **Note:** you need to `npm install aws4` first.
759 - `httpSignature` - Options for the [HTTP Signature Scheme](https://github.com/joyent/node-http-signature/blob/master/http_signing.md) using [Joyent's library](https://github.com/joyent/node-http-signature). The `keyId` and `key` properties must be specified. See the docs for other options.
763 - `followRedirect` - follow HTTP 3xx responses as redirects (default: `true`). This property can also be implemented as function which gets `response` object as a single argument and should return `true` if redirects should continue or `false` otherwise.
764 - `followAllRedirects` - follow non-GET HTTP 3xx responses as redirects (default: `false`)
765 - `followOriginalHttpMethod` - by default we redirect to HTTP method GET. you can enable this property to redirect to the original HTTP method (default: `false`)
766 - `maxRedirects` - the maximum number of redirects to follow (default: `10`)
767 - `removeRefererHeader` - removes the referer header when a redirect happens (default: `false`). **Note:** if true, referer header set in the initial request is preserved during redirect chain.
771 - `encoding` - Encoding to be used on `setEncoding` of response data. If `null`, the `body` is returned as a `Buffer`. Anything else **(including the default value of `undefined`)** will be passed as the [encoding](http://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_buffer) parameter to `toString()` (meaning this is effectively `utf8` by default). (**Note:** if you expect binary data, you should set `encoding: null`.)
772 - `gzip` - If `true`, add an `Accept-Encoding` header to request compressed content encodings from the server (if not already present) and decode supported content encodings in the response. **Note:** Automatic decoding of the response content is performed on the body data returned through `request` (both through the `request` stream and passed to the callback function) but is not performed on the `response` stream (available from the `response` event) which is the unmodified `http.IncomingMessage` object which may contain compressed data. See example below.
773 - `jar` - If `true`, remember cookies for future use (or define your custom cookie jar; see examples section)
777 - `agent` - `http(s).Agent` instance to use
778 - `agentClass` - alternatively specify your agent's class name
779 - `agentOptions` - and pass its options. **Note:** for HTTPS see [tls API doc for TLS/SSL options](http://nodejs.org/api/tls.html#tls_tls_connect_options_callback) and the [documentation above](#using-optionsagentoptions).
780 - `forever` - set to `true` to use the [forever-agent](https://github.com/request/forever-agent) **Note:** Defaults to `http(s).Agent({keepAlive:true})` in node 0.12+
781 - `pool` - An object describing which agents to use for the request. If this option is omitted the request will use the global agent (as long as your options allow for it). Otherwise, request will search the pool for your custom agent. If no custom agent is found, a new agent will be created and added to the pool. **Note:** `pool` is used only when the `agent` option is not specified.
782 - A `maxSockets` property can also be provided on the `pool` object to set the max number of sockets for all agents created (ex: `pool: {maxSockets: Infinity}`).
783 - Note that if you are sending multiple requests in a loop and creating
784 multiple new `pool` objects, `maxSockets` will not work as intended. To
785 work around this, either use [`request.defaults`](#requestdefaultsoptions)
786 with your pool options or create the pool object with the `maxSockets`
787 property outside of the loop.
788 - `timeout` - Integer containing the number of milliseconds to wait for a
789 server to send response headers (and start the response body) before aborting
790 the request. Note that if the underlying TCP connection cannot be established,
791 the OS-wide TCP connection timeout will overrule the `timeout` option ([the
792 default in Linux can be anywhere from 20-120 seconds][linux-timeout]).
794 [linux-timeout]: http://www.sekuda.com/overriding_the_default_linux_kernel_20_second_tcp_socket_connect_timeout
798 - `localAddress` - Local interface to bind for network connections.
799 - `proxy` - An HTTP proxy to be used. Supports proxy Auth with Basic Auth, identical to support for the `url` parameter (by embedding the auth info in the `uri`)
800 - `strictSSL` - If `true`, requires SSL certificates be valid. **Note:** to use your own certificate authority, you need to specify an agent that was created with that CA as an option.
801 - `tunnel` - controls the behavior of
802 [HTTP `CONNECT` tunneling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_tunnel#HTTP_CONNECT_tunneling)
804 - `undefined` (default) - `true` if the destination is `https`, `false` otherwise
805 - `true` - always tunnel to the destination by making a `CONNECT` request to
807 - `false` - request the destination as a `GET` request.
808 - `proxyHeaderWhiteList` - A whitelist of headers to send to a
810 - `proxyHeaderExclusiveList` - A whitelist of headers to send
811 exclusively to a tunneling proxy and not to destination.
815 - `time` - If `true`, the request-response cycle (including all redirects) is timed at millisecond resolution, and the result provided on the response's `elapsedTime` property. The `responseStartTime` property is also available to indicate the timestamp when the response begins. In addition, there is a `.timings` object available with the following properties:
816 - `start`: Timestamp when `request()` was initialized
817 - `socket` Timestamp when the [`http`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_event_socket) module's `socket` event fires. This happens when the socket is assigned to the request (after DNS has been resolved).
818 - `connect`: Timestamp when the [`http`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_event_connect) module's `connect` event fires. This happens when the server acknowledges the TCP connection.
819 - `response`: Timestamp when the [`http`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_event_response) module's `response` event fires. This happens when the first bytes are received from the server.
820 - `end`: Timestamp when the last bytes of the response are received.
821 - `dns`: Duration of DNS lookup (`timings.socket` - `timings.start`)
822 - `tcp`: Duration of TCP connection (`timings.connect` - `timings.socket`)
823 - `firstByte`: Duration of HTTP server response (`timings.response` - `timings.connect`)
824 - `download`: Duration of HTTP download (`timings.end` - `timings.response`)
825 - `total`: Duration entire HTTP round-trip (`timings.end` - `timings.start`)
827 - `har` - A [HAR 1.2 Request Object](http://www.softwareishard.com/blog/har-12-spec/#request), will be processed from HAR format into options overwriting matching values *(see the [HAR 1.2 section](#support-for-har-1.2) for details)*
828 - `callback` - alternatively pass the request's callback in the options object
830 The callback argument gets 3 arguments:
832 1. An `error` when applicable (usually from [`http.ClientRequest`](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_clientrequest) object)
833 2. An [`http.IncomingMessage`](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_incomingmessage) object (Response object)
834 3. The third is the `response` body (`String` or `Buffer`, or JSON object if the `json` option is supplied)
836 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
841 ## Convenience methods
843 There are also shorthand methods for different HTTP METHODs and some other conveniences.
846 ### request.defaults(options)
848 This method **returns a wrapper** around the normal request API that defaults
849 to whatever options you pass to it.
851 **Note:** `request.defaults()` **does not** modify the global request API;
852 instead, it **returns a wrapper** that has your default settings applied to it.
854 **Note:** You can call `.defaults()` on the wrapper that is returned from
855 `request.defaults` to add/override defaults that were previously defaulted.
859 //requests using baseRequest() will set the 'x-token' header
860 var baseRequest = request.defaults({
861 headers: {'x-token': 'my-token'}
864 //requests using specialRequest() will include the 'x-token' header set in
865 //baseRequest and will also include the 'special' header
866 var specialRequest = baseRequest.defaults({
867 headers: {special: 'special value'}
873 Same as `request()`, but defaults to `method: "PUT"`.
881 Same as `request()`, but defaults to `method: "PATCH"`.
889 Same as `request()`, but defaults to `method: "POST"`.
897 Same as `request()`, but defaults to `method: "HEAD"`.
903 ### request.del / request.delete
905 Same as `request()`, but defaults to `method: "DELETE"`.
914 Same as `request()` (for uniformity).
921 Function that creates a new cookie.
924 request.cookie('key1=value1')
928 Function that creates a new cookie jar.
934 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
942 There are at least three ways to debug the operation of `request`:
944 1. Launch the node process like `NODE_DEBUG=request node script.js`
945 (`lib,request,otherlib` works too).
947 2. Set `require('request').debug = true` at any time (this does the same thing
950 3. Use the [request-debug module](https://github.com/request/request-debug) to
951 view request and response headers and bodies.
953 [back to top](#table-of-contents)
960 Most requests to external servers should have a timeout attached, in case the
961 server is not responding in a timely manner. Without a timeout, your code may
962 have a socket open/consume resources for minutes or more.
964 There are two main types of timeouts: **connection timeouts** and **read
965 timeouts**. A connect timeout occurs if the timeout is hit while your client is
966 attempting to establish a connection to a remote machine (corresponding to the
967 [connect() call][connect] on the socket). A read timeout occurs any time the
968 server is too slow to send back a part of the response.
970 These two situations have widely different implications for what went wrong
971 with the request, so it's useful to be able to distinguish them. You can detect
972 timeout errors by checking `err.code` for an 'ETIMEDOUT' value. Further, you
973 can detect whether the timeout was a connection timeout by checking if the
974 `err.connect` property is set to `true`.
977 request.get('http://10.255.255.1', {timeout: 1500}, function(err) {
978 console.log(err.code === 'ETIMEDOUT');
979 // Set to `true` if the timeout was a connection timeout, `false` or
980 // `undefined` otherwise.
981 console.log(err.connect === true);
986 [connect]: http://linux.die.net/man/2/connect
991 var request = require('request')
992 , rand = Math.floor(Math.random()*100000000).toString()
996 , uri: 'http://mikeal.iriscouch.com/testjs/' + rand
998 [ { 'content-type': 'application/json'
999 , body: JSON.stringify({foo: 'bar', _attachments: {'message.txt': {follows: true, length: 18, 'content_type': 'text/plain' }}})
1001 , { body: 'I am an attachment' }
1004 , function (error, response, body) {
1005 if(response.statusCode == 201){
1006 console.log('document saved as: http://mikeal.iriscouch.com/testjs/'+ rand)
1008 console.log('error: '+ response.statusCode)
1015 For backwards-compatibility, response compression is not supported by default.
1016 To accept gzip-compressed responses, set the `gzip` option to `true`. Note
1017 that the body data passed through `request` is automatically decompressed
1018 while the response object is unmodified and will contain compressed data if
1019 the server sent a compressed response.
1022 var request = require('request')
1025 , uri: 'http://www.google.com'
1028 , function (error, response, body) {
1029 // body is the decompressed response body
1030 console.log('server encoded the data as: ' + (response.headers['content-encoding'] || 'identity'))
1031 console.log('the decoded data is: ' + body)
1033 ).on('data', function(data) {
1034 // decompressed data as it is received
1035 console.log('decoded chunk: ' + data)
1037 .on('response', function(response) {
1038 // unmodified http.IncomingMessage object
1039 response.on('data', function(data) {
1040 // compressed data as it is received
1041 console.log('received ' + data.length + ' bytes of compressed data')
1046 Cookies are disabled by default (else, they would be used in subsequent requests). To enable cookies, set `jar` to `true` (either in `defaults` or `options`).
1049 var request = request.defaults({jar: true})
1050 request('http://www.google.com', function () {
1051 request('http://images.google.com')
1055 To use a custom cookie jar (instead of `request`’s global cookie jar), set `jar` to an instance of `request.jar()` (either in `defaults` or `options`)
1058 var j = request.jar()
1059 var request = request.defaults({jar:j})
1060 request('http://www.google.com', function () {
1061 request('http://images.google.com')
1068 var j = request.jar();
1069 var cookie = request.cookie('key1=value1');
1070 var url = 'http://www.google.com';
1071 j.setCookie(cookie, url);
1072 request({url: url, jar: j}, function () {
1073 request('http://images.google.com')
1077 To use a custom cookie store (such as a
1078 [`FileCookieStore`](https://github.com/mitsuru/tough-cookie-filestore)
1079 which supports saving to and restoring from JSON files), pass it as a parameter
1083 var FileCookieStore = require('tough-cookie-filestore');
1084 // NOTE - currently the 'cookies.json' file must already exist!
1085 var j = request.jar(new FileCookieStore('cookies.json'));
1086 request = request.defaults({ jar : j })
1087 request('http://www.google.com', function() {
1088 request('http://images.google.com')
1092 The cookie store must be a
1093 [`tough-cookie`](https://github.com/SalesforceEng/tough-cookie)
1094 store and it must support synchronous operations; see the
1095 [`CookieStore` API docs](https://github.com/SalesforceEng/tough-cookie#cookiestore-api)
1098 To inspect your cookie jar after a request:
1101 var j = request.jar()
1102 request({url: 'http://www.google.com', jar: j}, function () {
1103 var cookie_string = j.getCookieString(url); // "key1=value1; key2=value2; ..."
1104 var cookies = j.getCookies(url);
1105 // [{key: 'key1', value: 'value1', domain: "www.google.com", ...}, ...]
1109 [back to top](#table-of-contents)