View Source Req.Request (req v0.5.6)

The low-level API and the request struct.

Req is composed of:

  • Req - the high-level API

  • Req.Request - the low-level API and the request struct (you're here!)

  • Req.Steps - the collection of built-in steps

  • Req.Test - the testing conveniences

The low-level API and the request struct is the foundation of Req's extensibility. Virtually all of the functionality is broken down into individual pieces - steps. Req works by running the request struct through these steps. You can easily reuse or rearrange built-in steps or write new ones.

To make using custom steps by others even easier, they can be packaged up into plugins. See "Writing Plugins" section for more information.

The Low-level API

Most Req users would use it like this:

Req.get!("https://api.github.com/repos/wojtekmach/req").body["description"]
#=> "Req is a batteries-included HTTP client for Elixir."

Here is the equivalent using the low-level API:

url = "https://api.github.com/repos/wojtekmach/req"

req =
  Req.Request.new(method: :get, url: url)
  |> Req.Request.append_request_steps(
    put_user_agent: &Req.Steps.put_user_agent/1,
    # ...
  )
  |> Req.Request.append_response_steps(
    # ...
    decompress_body: &Req.Steps.decompress_body/1,
    decode_body: &Req.Steps.decode_body/1,
    # ...
  )
  |> Req.Request.append_error_steps(
    retry: &Req.Steps.retry/1,
    # ...
  )

{req, resp} = Req.Request.run_request(req)
resp.body["description"]
#=> "Req is a batteries-included HTTP client for Elixir."

By putting the request pipeline yourself you have precise control of exactly what is running and in what order.

The Request Struct

Public fields are:

  • :method - the HTTP request method.

  • :url - the HTTP request URL.

  • :headers - the HTTP request headers. The header names should be downcased. See also "Header Names" section in Req module documentation.

  • :body - the HTTP request body.

    Can be one of:

    • iodata - eagerly send request body

    • enumerable - stream request body

  • :into - where to send the response body. It can be one of:

    • nil - (default) read the whole response body and store it in the response.body field.

    • fun - stream response body using a function. The first argument is a {:data, data} tuple containing the chunk of the response body. The second argument is a {request, response} tuple. To continue streaming chunks, return {:cont, {req, resp}}. To cancel, return {:halt, {req, resp}}. For example:

      into: fn {:data, data}, {req, resp} ->
        IO.puts(data)
        {:cont, {req, resp}}
      end
    • collectable - stream response body into a Collectable.t/0. For example:

      into: File.stream!("path")
  • :options - the options to be used by steps. The exact representation of options is private. Calling request.options[key], put_in(request.options[key], value), and update_in(request.options[key], fun) is allowed. get_option/3 and delete_option/2 are also available for additional ways to manipulate the internal representation.

  • :halted - whether the request pipeline is halted. See halt/2.

  • :adapter - a request step that makes the actual HTTP request. Defaults to Req.Steps.run_finch/1. See "Adapter" section below for more information.

  • :request_steps - the list of request steps

  • :response_steps - the list of response steps

  • :error_steps - the list of error steps

  • :private - a map reserved for libraries and frameworks to use. The keys must be atoms. Prefix the keys with the name of your project to avoid any future conflicts. The req_ prefix is reserved for Req.

Steps

Req has three types of steps: request, response, and error.

Request steps are used to refine the data that will be sent to the server.

After making the actual HTTP request, we'll either get a HTTP response or an error. The request, along with the response or error, will go through response or error steps, respectively.

Nothing is actually executed until we run the pipeline with Req.Request.run_request/1.

Request Steps

A request step (request_step/0) is a function that accepts a request and returns one of the following:

  • A request.

  • A {request, response_or_error} tuple. In this case no further request steps are executed and the return value goes through response or error steps.

Examples

A request step that adds a user-agent header if it's not there already:

def put_default_headers(request) do
  Req.Request.put_new_header(request, "user-agent", "req")
end

The next is a request step that reads the response from cache if available. Note how, if the cached response is available, this step returns a {request, response} tuple so that the request doesn't actually go through:

def read_from_cache(request) do
  case ResponseCache.fetch(request) do
    {:ok, response} -> {request, response}
    :error -> request
  end
end

Response and Error Steps

A response step (response_step/0) is a function that accepts a {request, response} tuple and returns one of the following:

  • A {request, response} tuple.

  • A {request, exception} tuple. In that case, no further response steps are executed but the exception goes through error steps.

Similarly, an error step is a function that accepts a {request, exception} tuple and returns one of the following:

  • A {request, exception} tuple

  • A {request, response} tuple. In that case, no further error steps are executed but the response goes through response steps.

Examples:

def decode({request, response}) do
  case Req.Response.get_header(response, "content-type") do
    ["application/json" <> _] ->
      {request, update_in(response.body, &Jason.decode!/1)}

    [] ->
      {request, response}
  end
end

def log_error({request, exception}) do
  Logger.error(["#{request.method} #{request.uri}: ", Exception.message(exception)])
  {request, exception}
end

Halting

Any step can call halt/2 to halt the pipeline. This prevents any further steps from being invoked.

Examples:

def circuit_breaker(request) do
  if CircuitBreaker.open?() do
    Req.Request.halt(request, RuntimeError.exception("circuit breaker is open"))
  else
    request
  end
end

Writing Plugins

Custom steps can be packaged into plugins so that they are even easier to use by others.

Here's an example plugin:

defmodule PrintHeaders do
  @doc """
  Prints request and response headers.

  ## Request Options

    * `:print_headers` - if `true`, prints the headers. Defaults to `false`.

  """
  def attach(%Req.Request{} = request, options \\ []) do
    request
    |> Req.Request.register_options([:print_headers])
    |> Req.Request.merge_options(options)
    |> Req.Request.append_request_steps(print_headers: &print_request_headers/1)
    |> Req.Request.prepend_response_steps(print_headers: &print_response_headers/1)
  end

  defp print_request_headers(request) do
    if request.options[:print_headers] do
      print_headers("> ", request.headers)
    end

    request
  end

  defp print_response_headers({request, response}) do
    if request.options[:print_headers] do
      print_headers("< ", response.headers)
    end

    {request, response}
  end

  defp print_headers(prefix, headers) do
    for {name, value} <- headers do
      IO.puts([prefix, name, ": ", value])
    end
  end
end

And here is how we can use it:

req = Req.new() |> PrintHeaders.attach()

Req.get!(req, url: "https://httpbin.org/json").status
200

Req.get!(req, url: "https://httpbin.org/json", print_headers: true).status
# Outputs:
# > accept-encoding: br, gzip
# > user-agent: req/0.3.0-dev
# < date: Wed, 11 May 2022 11:10:47 GMT
# < content-type: application/json
# ...
200

req = Req.new() |> PrintHeaders.attach(print_headers: true)
Req.get!(req, url: "https://httpbin.org/json").status
# Outputs:
# > accept-encoding: br, gzip
# ...
200

As you can see a plugin is simply a module. While this is not enforced, the plugin should follow these conventions:

  • It should export an attach/1 function that takes and returns the request struct

  • The attach functions mostly just adds steps and it is the steps that do the actual work

  • A user should be able to attach your plugin alongside other plugins. For this reason, plugin functionality should usually only happen on a specific "trigger": on a specific option, on a specific URL scheme or host, etc. This is especially important for plugins that perform authentication; you don't want to accidentally expose a token from service A when a user makes request to service B.

  • If your plugin supports custom options, register them with register_options/2

  • Sometimes it is useful to pass options when attaching the plugin. For that, export an attach/2 function and call merge_options/2. Remember to first register options before merging!

Adapter

As noted in the "Request Steps" section, a request step besides returning the request, might also return {request, response} or {request, exception}, thus invoking either response or error steps next. This is exactly how Req makes the underlying HTTP call, by invoking a request step that follows this contract.

The default adapter is using Finch via the Req.Steps.run_finch/1 step.

Here is a mock adapter that always returns a successful response:

adapter = fn request ->
  response = %Req.Response{status: 200, body: "it works!"}
  {request, response}
end

Req.request!(url: "http://example", adapter: adapter).body
#=> "it works!"

Here is another one that uses the Req.Response.json/2 function to conveniently return a JSON response:

adapter = fn request ->
  response = Req.Response.json(%{hello: 42})
  {request, response}
end

resp = Req.request!(url: "http://example", adapter: adapter)
resp.headers
#=> [{"content-type", "application/json"}]
resp.body
#=> %{"hello" => 42}

And here is a naive Hackney-based adapter:

hackney = fn request ->
  case :hackney.request(
         request.method,
         URI.to_string(request.url),
         request.headers,
         request.body,
         [:with_body]
       ) do
    {:ok, status, headers, body} ->
      headers = for {name, value} <- headers, do: {String.downcase(name, :ascii), value}
      response = %Req.Response{status: status, headers: headers, body: body}
      {request, response}

    {:error, reason} ->
      {request, RuntimeError.exception(inspect(reason))}
  end
end

Req.get!("https://api.github.com/repos/wojtekmach/req", adapter: hackney).body["description"]
#=> "Req is a batteries-included HTTP client for Elixir."

Summary

Types

An error step is a function that takes a request/exception tuple and returns a request/response or a request/exception tuple.

A request step is a function that takes a request and returns a request or a tuple of request and response/exception.

A response step is a function that takes a request/response tuple and returns a request/response or a request/exception tuple.

t()

The request struct.

Functions

Appends error steps to the existing error steps.

Appends request steps to the existing request steps.

Appends response steps to the existing response steps.

Deletes the header given by name.

Deletes the given option key.

Drops the given keys from options.

Fetches the value for the option key.

Fetches the value for the option key or raises if it's not set.

Returns the values of the header specified by name.

Gets the value for the option key.

Gets the value for the option key.

Gets the value for a specific private key.

Halts the request pipeline preventing any further steps from executing.

Merges given options into the request.

Returns a new request struct.

Prepends error steps to the existing error steps.

Prepends request steps to the existing request steps.

Prepends response steps to the existing response steps.

Sets the header name to value.

Adds (or replaces) multiple request headers.

Adds a request header name unless already present.

Assigns a private key to value.

Registers options to be used by a custom steps.

run(request) deprecated
run!(request) deprecated

Runs the request pipeline.

Updates private key with the given function.

Types

Link to this type

error_step()

View Source (since 0.6.0)
@type error_step() ::
  ({t(), Exception.t()} -> {t(), Req.Response.t() | Exception.t()})
  | {module(), atom(), [term()]}

An error step is a function that takes a request/exception tuple and returns a request/response or a request/exception tuple.

The function can be an anonymous function, or a {module, function, args} tuple. In the latter case, the step is invoked as apply(module, function, [request | args]).

See also the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation.

Link to this type

request_step()

View Source (since 0.6.0)
@type request_step() ::
  (t() -> t() | {t(), Req.Response.t() | Exception.t()})
  | {module(), atom(), [term()]}

A request step is a function that takes a request and returns a request or a tuple of request and response/exception.

The function can be an anonymous function, or a {module, function, args} tuple. In the latter case, the step is invoked as apply(module, function, [request | args]).

See also the "Request Steps" section in the module documentation.

Link to this type

response_step()

View Source (since 0.6.0)
@type response_step() ::
  ({t(), Req.Response.t()} -> {t(), Req.Response.t() | Exception.t()})
  | {module(), atom(), [term()]}

A response step is a function that takes a request/response tuple and returns a request/response or a request/exception tuple.

The function can be an anonymous function, or a {module, function, args} tuple. In the latter case, the step is invoked as apply(module, function, [request | args]).

See also the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation.

@type t() :: %Req.Request{
  adapter: request_step(),
  async: term(),
  body: iodata() | Enumerable.t() | nil,
  current_request_steps: term(),
  error_steps: [{name :: atom(), error_step()}],
  halted: boolean(),
  headers: %{optional(binary()) => [binary()]},
  into:
    nil
    | iodata()
    | ({:data, binary()}, {t(), Req.Response.t()} ->
         {:cont | :halt, {t(), Req.Response.t()}})
    | Collectable.t(),
  method: atom(),
  options: options(),
  private: map(),
  registered_options: term(),
  request_steps: [{name :: atom(), request_step()}],
  response_steps: [{name :: atom(), response_step()}],
  url: URI.t()
}

The request struct.

Functions

Link to this function

append_error_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec append_error_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(error_step())
) :: t()

Appends error steps to the existing error steps.

See the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.append_error_steps(request,
  noop: fn {request, exception} -> {request, exception} end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

append_request_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec append_request_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(request_step())
) :: t()

Appends request steps to the existing request steps.

See the "Request Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.append_request_steps(request,
  noop: fn request -> request end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

append_response_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec append_response_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(response_step())
) :: t()

Appends response steps to the existing response steps.

See the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.append_response_steps(request,
  noop: fn {request, response} -> {request, response} end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

delete_header(request, name)

View Source
@spec delete_header(t(), binary()) :: t()

Deletes the header given by name.

All occurrences of the header are deleted, in case the header is repeated multiple times.

See also "Header Names" section in Req module documentation.

Examples

iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "cache-control")
["max-age=600", "no-transform"]
iex> req = Req.Request.delete_header(req, "cache-control")
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "cache-control")
[]
Link to this function

delete_option(request, key)

View Source
@spec delete_option(t(), atom()) :: t()

Deletes the given option key.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1])
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :a)
1
iex> req = Req.Request.delete_option(req, :a)
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :a)
nil
Link to this function

drop_options(request, keys)

View Source
@spec drop_options(t(), [atom()]) :: t()

Drops the given keys from options.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1, b: 2, c: 3])
iex> req = Req.Request.drop_options(req, [:a, :b])
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :a)
nil
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :c)
3
Link to this function

fetch_option(request, key)

View Source
@spec fetch_option(t(), atom()) :: {:ok, term()} | :error

Fetches the value for the option key.

See also get_option/3.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1])
iex> Req.Request.fetch_option(req, :a)
{:ok, 1}
iex> Req.Request.fetch_option(req, :b)
:error
Link to this function

fetch_option!(request, key)

View Source
@spec fetch_option!(t(), atom()) :: term()

Fetches the value for the option key or raises if it's not set.

See also get_option/3.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1])
iex> Req.Request.fetch_option!(req, :a)
1
iex> Req.Request.fetch_option!(req, :b)
** (KeyError) option :b is not set
Link to this function

get_header(request, name)

View Source
@spec get_header(t(), binary()) :: [binary()]

Returns the values of the header specified by name.

See also "Header Names" section in Req module documentation.

Examples

iex> req = Req.new(headers: [{"accept", "application/json"}])
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept")
["application/json"]
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "x-unknown")
[]
Link to this function

get_option(request, key, default \\ nil)

View Source
@spec get_option(t(), atom(), term()) :: term()

Gets the value for the option key.

See also fetch_option!/2.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1])
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :a)
1
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :b)
nil
iex> Req.Request.get_option(req, :b, 0)
0
Link to this function

get_option_lazy(request, key, fun)

View Source
@spec get_option_lazy(t(), atom(), (-> term())) :: term()

Gets the value for the option key.

This is useful if the default value is very expensive to calculate or generally difficult to setup and teardown again.

See also get_option/3.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(options: [a: 1])
iex> fun = fn ->
...>   # some expensive operation here
...>   42
...> end
iex> Req.Request.get_option_lazy(req, :a, fun)
1
iex> Req.Request.get_option_lazy(req, :b, fun)
42
Link to this function

get_private(request, key, default \\ nil)

View Source
@spec get_private(t(), atom(), default) :: term() | default when default: var

Gets the value for a specific private key.

Link to this function

halt(request, response_or_exception)

View Source
@spec halt(t(), response_or_exception) :: {t(), response_or_exception}
when response_or_exception: Req.Response.t() | Exception.t()

Halts the request pipeline preventing any further steps from executing.

This function returns an updated request and the response or exception that caused the halt. It's perfect when used in a request step to stop the pipeline.

See the "Halting" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.prepend_request_steps(request, circuit_breaker: fn request ->
  if CircuitBreaker.open?() do
    Req.Request.halt(request, RuntimeError.exception("circuit breaker is open"))
  else
    request
  end
end)
Link to this function

merge_options(request, options)

View Source
@spec merge_options(
  t(),
  keyword()
) :: t()

Merges given options into the request.

Examples

iex> req = Req.new(auth: {:basic, "alice:secret"}, http_errors: :raise)
iex> req = Req.Request.merge_options(req, auth: {:bearer, "abcd"}, base_url: "https://example.com")
iex> req.options[:auth]
{:bearer, "abcd"}
iex> req.options[:http_errors]
:raise
iex> req.options[:base_url]
"https://example.com"
@spec new(keyword()) :: t()

Returns a new request struct.

Options

  • :method - the request method, defaults to :get.

  • :url - the request URL.

  • :headers - the request headers, defaults to [].

  • :body - the request body, defaults to nil.

  • :adapter - the request adapter, defaults to calling run_finch.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(url: "https://api.github.com/repos/wojtekmach/req")
iex> {req, resp} = Req.Request.run_request(req)
iex> req.url.host
"api.github.com"
iex> resp.status
200
Link to this function

prepend_error_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec prepend_error_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(error_step())
) :: t()

Prepends error steps to the existing error steps.

See the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.prepend_error_steps(request,
  noop: fn {request, exception} -> {request, exception} end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

prepend_request_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec prepend_request_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(request_step())
) :: t()

Prepends request steps to the existing request steps.

See the "Request Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.prepend_request_steps(request,
  noop: fn request -> request end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

prepend_response_steps(request, steps)

View Source
@spec prepend_response_steps(
  t(),
  keyword(response_step())
) :: t()

Prepends response steps to the existing response steps.

See the "Response and Error Steps" section in the module documentation for more information.

Examples

Req.Request.prepend_response_steps(request,
  noop: fn {request, response} -> {request, response} end,
  inspect: &IO.inspect/1
)
Link to this function

put_header(request, name, value)

View Source
@spec put_header(t(), binary(), binary() | [binary()]) :: t()

Sets the header name to value.

The value can be a binary or a list of binaries,

If the header was previously set, its value is overwritten.

See also "Header Names" section in Req module documentation.

Examples

iex> req = Req.new()
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept")
[]
iex> req = Req.Request.put_header(req, "accept", "application/json")
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept")
["application/json"]
Link to this function

put_headers(request, headers)

View Source
@spec put_headers(t(), [{binary(), binary()}]) :: t()

Adds (or replaces) multiple request headers.

See put_header/3 for more information.

Examples

iex> req = Req.new()
iex> req = Req.Request.put_headers(req, [{"accept", "text/html"}, {"accept-encoding", "gzip"}])
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept")
["text/html"]
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept-encoding")
["gzip"]
Link to this function

put_new_header(request, name, value)

View Source
@spec put_new_header(t(), binary(), binary()) :: t()

Adds a request header name unless already present.

See put_header/3 for more information.

Examples

iex> req =
...>   Req.new()
...>   |> Req.Request.put_new_header("accept", "application/json")
...>   |> Req.Request.put_new_header("accept", "application/html")
iex> Req.Request.get_header(req, "accept")
["application/json"]
Link to this function

put_private(request, key, value)

View Source
@spec put_private(t(), atom(), term()) :: t()

Assigns a private key to value.

Link to this function

register_options(request, options)

View Source
@spec register_options(t(), [atom()]) :: t()

Registers options to be used by a custom steps.

Req ensures that all used options were previously registered which helps finding accidentally mistyped option names. If you're adding custom steps that are accepting options, call this function to register them.

Examples

iex> Req.request!(urll: "https://httpbin.org")
** (ArgumentError) unknown option :urll. Did you mean :url?

iex> Req.new(bas_url: "https://httpbin.org")
** (ArgumentError) unknown option :bas_url. Did you mean :base_url?

req =
  Req.new(base_url: "https://httpbin.org")
  |> Req.Request.register_options([:foo])

Req.get!(req, url: "/status/201", foo: :bar).status
#=> 201
This function is deprecated. Use Req.Request.run_request/1 instead.
This function is deprecated. Use Req.Request.run_request/1 instead.
@spec run_request(t()) :: {t(), Req.Response.t() | Exception.t()}

Runs the request pipeline.

Returns {request, response} or {request, exception}.

Examples

iex> req = Req.Request.new(url: "https://api.github.com/repos/wojtekmach/req")
iex> {request, response} = Req.Request.run_request(req)
iex> request.url.host
"api.github.com"
iex> response.status
200
Link to this function

update_private(request, key, default, fun)

View Source
@spec update_private(t(), key :: atom(), default :: term(), (term() -> term())) :: t()

Updates private key with the given function.

If key is present in request private map then the existing value is passed to fun and its result is used as the updated value of key. If key is not present, default is inserted as the value of key. The default value will not be passed through the update function.

Examples

iex> req = %Req.Request{private: %{a: 1}}
iex> Req.Request.update_private(req, :a, 11, & &1 + 1).private
%{a: 2}
iex> Req.Request.update_private(req, :b, 11, & &1 + 1).private
%{a: 1, b: 11}