Class

Class Net::HTTP provides a rich library that implements the client in a client-server model that uses the HTTP request-response protocol. For information about HTTP, see:

About the Examples

Strategies

  • If you will make only a few GET requests, consider using OpenURI.

  • If you will make only a few requests of all kinds, consider using the various singleton convenience methods in this class. Each of the following methods automatically starts and finishes a session that sends a single request:

    Example
    # Return string response body.
    Net::HTTP.get(hostname, path)
    Net::HTTP.get(uri)
    
    # Write string response body to $stdout.
    Net::HTTP.get_print(hostname, path)
    Net::HTTP.get_print(uri)
    
    # Return response as Net::HTTPResponse object.
    Net::HTTP.get_response(hostname, path)
    Net::HTTP.get_response(uri)
    data = '{"title": "foo", "body": "bar", "userId": 1}'
    Net::HTTP.post(uri, data)
    params = {title: 'foo', body: 'bar', userId: 1}
    Net::HTTP.post_form(uri, params)
    
  • If performance is important, consider using sessions, which lower request overhead. This session has multiple requests for HTTP methods and WebDAV methods:

    Example
    Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
      # Session started automatically before block execution.
      http.get(path)
      http.head(path)
      body = 'Some text'
      http.post(path, body)  # Can also have a block.
      http.put(path, body)
      http.delete(path)
      http.options(path)
      http.trace(path)
      http.patch(path, body) # Can also have a block.
      http.copy(path)
      http.lock(path, body)
      http.mkcol(path, body)
      http.move(path)
      http.propfind(path, body)
      http.proppatch(path, body)
      http.unlock(path, body)
      # Session finished automatically at block exit.
    end
    

The methods cited above are convenience methods that, via their few arguments, allow minimal control over the requests. For greater control, consider using request objects.

URIs

On the internet, a URI (Universal Resource Identifier) is a string that identifies a particular resource. It consists of some or all of: scheme, hostname, path, query, and fragment; see URI syntax.

A Ruby URI::Generic object represents an internet URI. It provides, among others, methods scheme, hostname, path, query, and fragment.

Schemes

An internet URI has a scheme.

The two schemes supported in Net::HTTP are 'https' and 'http':

Example
uri.scheme                       # => "https"
URI('http://example.com').scheme # => "http"

Hostnames

A hostname identifies a server (host) to which requests may be sent:

Example
hostname = uri.hostname # => "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com"
Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  # Some HTTP stuff.
end

Paths

A host-specific path identifies a resource on the host:

Example
_uri = uri.dup
_uri.path = '/todos/1'
hostname = _uri.hostname
path = _uri.path
Net::HTTP.get(hostname, path)

Queries

A host-specific query adds name/value pairs to the URI:

Example
_uri = uri.dup
params = {userId: 1, completed: false}
_uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)
_uri # => #<URI::HTTPS https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com?userId=1&completed=false>
Net::HTTP.get(_uri)

Fragments

A URI fragment has no effect in Net::HTTP; the same data is returned, regardless of whether a fragment is included.

Request Headers

Request headers may be used to pass additional information to the host, similar to arguments passed in a method call; each header is a name/value pair.

Each of the Net::HTTP methods that sends a request to the host has optional argument headers, where the headers are expressed as a hash of field-name/value pairs:

Example
headers = {Accept: 'application/json', Connection: 'Keep-Alive'}
Net::HTTP.get(uri, headers)

See lists of both standard request fields and common request fields at Request Fields. A host may also accept other custom fields.

HTTP Sessions

A session is a connection between a server (host) and a client that:

See example sessions at Strategies.

Session Using Net::HTTP.start

If you have many requests to make to a single host (and port), consider using singleton method Net::HTTP.start with a block; the method handles the session automatically by:

  • Calling start before block execution.

  • Executing the block.

  • Calling finish after block execution.

In the block, you can use these instance methods, each of which that sends a single request:

Session Using Net::HTTP.start and Net::HTTP.finish

You can manage a session manually using methods start and finish:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.start
http.get('/todos/1')
http.get('/todos/2')
http.delete('/posts/1')
http.finish # Needed to free resources.

Single-Request Session

Certain convenience methods automatically handle a session by:

  • Creating an HTTP object

  • Starting a session.

  • Sending a single request.

  • Finishing the session.

  • Destroying the object.

Such methods that send GET requests:

Such methods that send POST requests:

HTTP Requests and Responses

Many of the methods above are convenience methods, each of which sends a request and returns a string without directly using Net::HTTPRequest and Net::HTTPResponse objects.

You can, however, directly create a request object, send the request, and retrieve the response object; see:

Following Redirection

Each returned response is an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse. See the response class hierarchy.

In particular, class Net::HTTPRedirection is the parent of all redirection classes. This allows you to craft a case statement to handle redirections properly:

Example
def fetch(uri, limit = 10)
  # You should choose a better exception.
  raise ArgumentError, 'Too many HTTP redirects' if limit == 0

  res = Net::HTTP.get_response(URI(uri))
  case res
  when Net::HTTPSuccess     # Any success class.
    res
  when Net::HTTPRedirection # Any redirection class.
    location = res['Location']
    warn "Redirected to #{location}"
    fetch(location, limit - 1)
  else                      # Any other class.
    res.value
  end
end

fetch(uri)

Basic Authentication

Basic authentication is performed according to RFC2617:

Example
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req.basic_auth('user', 'pass')
res = Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  http.request(req)
end

Streaming Response Bodies

By default Net::HTTP reads an entire response into memory. If you are handling large files or wish to implement a progress bar you can instead stream the body directly to an IO.

Example
Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
  http.request(req) do |res|
    open('t.tmp', 'w') do |f|
      res.read_body do |chunk|
        f.write chunk
      end
    end
  end
end

HTTPS

HTTPS is enabled for an HTTP connection by Net::HTTP#use_ssl=:

Example
Net::HTTP.start(hostname, :use_ssl => true) do |http|
  req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
  res = http.request(req)
end

Or if you simply want to make a GET request, you may pass in a URI object that has an HTTPS URL. Net::HTTP automatically turns on TLS verification if the URI object has a ‘https’ URI scheme:

Example
uri # => #<URI::HTTPS https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/>
Net::HTTP.get(uri)

Proxy Server

An HTTP object can have a proxy server.

You can create an HTTP object with a proxy server using method Net::HTTP.new or method Net::HTTP.start.

The proxy may be defined either by argument p_addr or by environment variable 'http_proxy'.

Proxy Using Argument p_addr as a String

When argument p_addr is a string hostname, the returned http has the given host as its proxy:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname, nil, 'proxy.example')
http.proxy?          # => true
http.proxy_from_env? # => false
http.proxy_address   # => "proxy.example"
# These use default values.
http.proxy_port      # => 80
http.proxy_user      # => nil
http.proxy_pass      # => nil

The port, username, and password for the proxy may also be given:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname, nil, 'proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass')
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=false>
http.proxy?          # => true
http.proxy_from_env? # => false
http.proxy_address   # => "proxy.example"
http.proxy_port      # => 8000
http.proxy_user      # => "pname"
http.proxy_pass      # => "ppass"

Proxy Using ‘ENV['http_proxy']

When environment variable 'http_proxy' is set to a URI string, the returned http will have the server at that URI as its proxy; note that the URI string must have a protocol such as 'http' or 'https':

Example
ENV['http_proxy'] = 'http://example.com'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.proxy?          # => true
http.proxy_from_env? # => true
http.proxy_address   # => "example.com"
# These use default values.
http.proxy_port      # => 80
http.proxy_user      # => nil
http.proxy_pass      # => nil

The URI string may include proxy username, password, and port number:

Example
ENV['http_proxy'] = 'http://pname:ppass@example.com:8000'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.proxy?          # => true
http.proxy_from_env? # => true
http.proxy_address   # => "example.com"
http.proxy_port      # => 8000
http.proxy_user      # => "pname"
http.proxy_pass      # => "ppass"

Filtering Proxies

With method Net::HTTP.new (but not Net::HTTP.start), you can use argument p_no_proxy to filter proxies:

  • Reject a certain address:

    Example
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'proxy.example')
    http.proxy_address # => nil
    
  • Reject certain domains or subdomains:

    Example
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'my.proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'proxy.example')
    http.proxy_address # => nil
    
  • Reject certain addresses and port combinations:

    Example
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'proxy.example:1234')
    http.proxy_address # => "proxy.example"
    
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'proxy.example:8000')
    http.proxy_address # => nil
    
  • Reject a list of the types above delimited using a comma:

    Example
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'proxy.example', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'my.proxy,proxy.example:8000')
    http.proxy_address # => nil
    
    http = Net::HTTP.new('example.com', nil, 'my.proxy', 8000, 'pname', 'ppass', 'my.proxy,proxy.example:8000')
    http.proxy_address # => nil
    

Compression and Decompression

Net::HTTP does not compress the body of a request before sending.

By default, Net::HTTP adds header 'Accept-Encoding' to a new request object:

Example
Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)['Accept-Encoding']
# => "gzip;q=1.0,deflate;q=0.6,identity;q=0.3"

This requests the server to zip-encode the response body if there is one; the server is not required to do so.

Net::HTTP does not automatically decompress a response body if the response has header 'Content-Range'.

Otherwise decompression (or not) depends on the value of header Content-Encoding:

  • 'deflate', 'gzip', or 'x-gzip': decompresses the body and deletes the header.

  • 'none' or 'identity': does not decompress the body, but deletes the header.

  • Any other value: leaves the body and header unchanged.

What’s Here

This is a categorized summary of methods and attributes.

Net::HTTP Objects

  • ::new: Creates a new instance.

  • #inspect: Returns a string representation of self.

Sessions

  • ::start: Begins a new session in a new Net::HTTP object.

  • #started? (aliased as #active?): Returns whether in a session.

  • #finish: Ends an active session.

  • #start: Begins a new session in an existing Net::HTTP object (self).

Connections

Requests

  • ::get: Sends a GET request and returns the string response body.

  • ::get_print: Sends a GET request and write the string response body to $stdout.

  • ::get_response: Sends a GET request and returns a response object.

  • ::post_form: Sends a POST request with form data and returns a response object.

  • ::post: Sends a POST request with data and returns a response object.

  • #copy: Sends a COPY request and returns a response object.

  • #delete: Sends a DELETE request and returns a response object.

  • #get: Sends a GET request and returns a response object.

  • #head: Sends a HEAD request and returns a response object.

  • #lock: Sends a LOCK request and returns a response object.

  • #mkcol: Sends a MKCOL request and returns a response object.

  • #move: Sends a MOVE request and returns a response object.

  • #options: Sends a OPTIONS request and returns a response object.

  • #patch: Sends a PATCH request and returns a response object.

  • #post: Sends a POST request and returns a response object.

  • #propfind: Sends a PROPFIND request and returns a response object.

  • #proppatch: Sends a PROPPATCH request and returns a response object.

  • #put: Sends a PUT request and returns a response object.

  • #request: Sends a request and returns a response object.

  • #request_get (aliased as #get2): Sends a GET request and forms a response object; if a block given, calls the block with the object, otherwise returns the object.

  • #request_head (aliased as #head2): Sends a HEAD request and forms a response object; if a block given, calls the block with the object, otherwise returns the object.

  • #request_post (aliased as #post2): Sends a POST request and forms a response object; if a block given, calls the block with the object, otherwise returns the object.

  • #send_request: Sends a request and returns a response object.

  • #trace: Sends a TRACE request and returns a response object.

  • #unlock: Sends an UNLOCK request and returns a response object.

Responses

Proxies

Security

Addresses and Ports

  • :address: Returns the string host name or host IP.

  • ::default_port: Returns integer 80, the default port to use for HTTP requests.

  • ::http_default_port: Returns integer 80, the default port to use for HTTP requests.

  • ::https_default_port: Returns integer 443, the default port to use for HTTPS requests.

  • #ipaddr: Returns the IP address for the connection.

  • #ipaddr=: Sets the IP address for the connection.

  • :local_host: Returns the string local host used to establish the connection.

  • :local_host=: Sets the string local host used to establish the connection.

  • :local_port: Returns the integer local port used to establish the connection.

  • :local_port=: Sets the integer local port used to establish the connection.

  • :port: Returns the integer port number.

HTTP Version

Debugging

Constants
No documentation available
No documentation available
No documentation available
No documentation available
Attributes
Read

Returns the string host name or host IP given as argument address in ::new.

Read

Returns the integer port number given as argument port in ::new.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the string local host used to establish the connection; initially nil.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the integer local port used to establish the connection; initially nil.

Returns the encoding to use for the response body; see response_body_encoding=.

Sets whether to determine the proxy from environment variable ‘ENV['http_proxy']’; see Proxy Using ENV[‘http_proxy’].

Sets the proxy address; see Proxy Server.

Write

Sets the proxy port; see Proxy Server.

Write

Sets the proxy user; see Proxy Server.

Write

Sets the proxy password; see Proxy Server.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the numeric (Integer or Float) number of seconds to wait for a connection to open; initially 60. If the connection is not made in the given interval, an exception is raised.

Returns the numeric (Integer or Float) number of seconds to wait for one block to be read (via one read(2) call); see read_timeout=.

Returns the numeric (Integer or Float) number of seconds to wait for one block to be written (via one write(2) call); see write_timeout=.

Returns the maximum number of times to retry an idempotent request; see max_retries=.

Returns the continue timeout value; see continue_timeout=.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the numeric (Integer or Float) number of seconds to keep the connection open after a request is sent; initially 2. If a new request is made during the given interval, the still-open connection is used; otherwise the connection will have been closed and a new connection is opened.

Read & Write

Sets or returns whether to ignore end-of-file when reading a response body with Content-Length headers; initially true.

Sets or returns whether to close the connection when the response is empty; initially false.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the path to a CA certification file in PEM format.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the path of to CA directory containing certification files in PEM format.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the OpenSSL::X509::Certificate object to be used for client certification.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the X509::Store to be used for verifying peer certificate.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the available SSL ciphers. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#ciphers=.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the extra X509 certificates to be added to the certificate chain. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#add_certificate.

key

Read & Write

Sets or returns the OpenSSL::PKey::RSA or OpenSSL::PKey::DSA object.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the SSL timeout seconds.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the SSL version. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#ssl_version=.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the minimum SSL version. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#min_version=.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the maximum SSL version. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#max_version=.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the callback for the server certification verification.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the maximum depth for the certificate chain verification.

Read & Write

Sets or returns the flags for server the certification verification at the beginning of the SSL/TLS session. OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE or OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_PEER are acceptable.

Read & Write

Sets or returns whether to verify that the server certificate is valid for the hostname. See OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext#verify_hostname=.

Returns the address of the proxy host, or nil if none; see Proxy Server at Net::HTTP.

Read

Returns the port number of the proxy host, or nil if none; see Proxy Server at Net::HTTP.

Read

Returns the user name for accessing the proxy, or nil if none; see Proxy Server at Net::HTTP.

Read

Returns the password for accessing the proxy, or nil if none; see Proxy Server at Net::HTTP.

Class Methods

Returns integer 80, the default port to use for HTTP requests:

Example
Net::HTTP.default_port # => 80

Sends a GET request and returns the HTTP response body as a string.

With string arguments hostname and path:

Example
hostname = 'jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
path = '/todos/1'
puts Net::HTTP.get(hostname, path)

Output:

Example
{
  "userId": 1,
  "id": 1,
  "title": "delectus aut autem",
  "completed": false
}

With URI object uri and optional hash argument headers:

Example
uri = URI('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1')
headers = {'Content-type' => 'application/json; charset=UTF-8'}
Net::HTTP.get(uri, headers)

Related:

Like Net::HTTP.get, but writes the returned body to $stdout; returns nil.

Like Net::HTTP.get, but returns a Net::HTTPResponse object instead of the body string.

Returns integer 80, the default port to use for HTTP requests:

Example
Net::HTTP.http_default_port # => 80

Returns integer 443, the default port to use for HTTPS requests:

Example
Net::HTTP.https_default_port # => 443

Returns a new Net::HTTP object http (but does not open a TCP connection or HTTP session).

With only string argument address given (and ENV['http_proxy'] undefined or nil), the returned http:

Example:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=false>
http.address # => "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com"
http.port    # => 80
http.proxy?  # => false

With integer argument port also given, the returned http has the given port:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname, 8000)
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:8000 open=false>
http.port # => 8000

For proxy-defining arguments p_addr through p_no_proxy, see Proxy Server.

Posts data to a host; returns a Net::HTTPResponse object.

Argument url must be a URL; argument data must be a string:

Example
_uri = uri.dup
_uri.path = '/posts'
data = '{"title": "foo", "body": "bar", "userId": 1}'
headers = {'content-type': 'application/json'}
res = Net::HTTP.post(_uri, data, headers) # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>
puts res.body

Output:

Example
{
  "title": "foo",
  "body": "bar",
  "userId": 1,
  "id": 101
}

Related:

Posts data to a host; returns a Net::HTTPResponse object.

Argument url must be a URI; argument data must be a hash:

Example
_uri = uri.dup
_uri.path = '/posts'
data = {title: 'foo', body: 'bar', userId: 1}
res = Net::HTTP.post_form(_uri, data) # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>
puts res.body

Output:

Example
{
  "title": "foo",
  "body": "bar",
  "userId": "1",
  "id": 101
}

Returns true if self is a class which was created by HTTP::Proxy.

Creates a new Net::HTTP object, http, via Net::HTTP.new:

  • For arguments address and port, see Net::HTTP.new.

  • For proxy-defining arguments p_addr through p_pass, see Proxy Server.

  • For argument opts, see below.

With no block given:

  • Calls http.start with no block (see start), which opens a TCP connection and HTTP session.

  • Returns http.

  • The caller should call finish to close the session:

    Example
    http = Net::HTTP.start(hostname)
    http.started? # => true
    http.finish
    http.started? # => false
    

With a block given:

  • Calls http.start with the block (see start), which:

    • Opens a TCP connection and HTTP session.

    • Calls the block, which may make any number of requests to the host.

    • Closes the HTTP session and TCP connection on block exit.

    • Returns the block’s value object.

  • Returns object.

Example:

Example
hostname = 'jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  puts http.get('/todos/1').body
  puts http.get('/todos/2').body
end

Output:

Example
{
  "userId": 1,
  "id": 1,
  "title": "delectus aut autem",
  "completed": false
}
{
  "userId": 1,
  "id": 2,
  "title": "quis ut nam facilis et officia qui",
  "completed": false
}

If the last argument given is a hash, it is the opts hash, where each key is a method or accessor to be called, and its value is the value to be set.

The keys may include:

Note: If port is nil and opts[:use_ssl] is a truthy value, the value passed to new is Net::HTTP.https_default_port, not port.

Returns true; retained for compatibility.

Returns true; retained for compatibility.

Instance Methods
An alias for debug

utils

No documentation available
No documentation available

Sets the continue timeout value, which is the number of seconds to wait for an expected 100 Continue response. If the HTTP object does not receive a response in this many seconds it sends the request body.

Sends a COPY request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Copy object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.copy('/todos/1')

Adds a message to debugging output

Sends a DELETE request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Delete object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.delete('/todos/1')
No documentation available
No documentation available
No documentation available
No documentation available

Finishes the HTTP session:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.start
http.started? # => true
http.finish   # => nil
http.started? # => false

Raises IOError if not in a session.

Sends a GET request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Get object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

With a block given, calls the block with the response body:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.get('/todos/1') do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Output:

Example
"{\n  \"userId\": 1,\n  \"id\": 1,\n  \"title\": \"delectus aut autem\",\n  \"completed\": false\n}"

With no block given, simply returns the response object:

Example
http.get('/') # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Related:

Sends a HEAD request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Head object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader:

Example
res = http.head('/todos/1') # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>
res.body                    # => nil
res.to_hash.take(3)
# =>
[["date", ["Wed, 15 Feb 2023 15:25:42 GMT"]],
 ["content-type", ["application/json; charset=utf-8"]],
 ["connection", ["close"]]]

Returns a string representation of self:

Example
Net::HTTP.new(hostname).inspect
# => "#<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=false>"

Returns the IP address for the connection.

If the session has not been started, returns the value set by ipaddr=, or nil if it has not been set:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.ipaddr # => nil
http.ipaddr = '172.67.155.76'
http.ipaddr # => "172.67.155.76"

If the session has been started, returns the IP address from the socket:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.start
http.ipaddr # => "172.67.155.76"
http.finish

Sets the IP address for the connection:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.ipaddr # => nil
http.ipaddr = '172.67.155.76'
http.ipaddr # => "172.67.155.76"

The IP address may not be set if the session has been started.

No documentation available

Sends a LOCK request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Lock object created from string path, string body, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.lock('/todos/1', data)

Sets the maximum number of times to retry an idempotent request in case of Net::ReadTimeout, IOError, EOFError, Errno::ECONNRESET, Errno::ECONNABORTED, Errno::EPIPE, OpenSSL::SSL::SSLError, Timeout::Error. The initial value is 1.

Argument retries must be a non-negative numeric value:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.max_retries = 2   # => 2
http.max_retries       # => 2

Sends a MKCOL request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Mkcol object created from string path, string body, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http.mkcol('/todos/1', data)
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)

Sends a MOVE request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Move object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.move('/todos/1')
No documentation available

Sends an Options request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Options object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.options('/')

Sends a PATCH request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Patch object created from string path, string data, and initial headers hash initheader.

With a block given, calls the block with the response body:

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.patch('/todos/1', data) do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Output:

Example
"{\n  \"userId\": 1,\n  \"id\": 1,\n  \"title\": \"delectus aut autem\",\n  \"completed\": false,\n  \"{\\\"userId\\\": 1, \\\"id\\\": 1, \\\"title\\\": \\\"delectus aut autem\\\", \\\"completed\\\": false}\": \"\"\n}"

With no block given, simply returns the response object:

Example
http.patch('/todos/1', data) # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

Returns the X509 certificate chain (an array of strings) for the session’s socket peer, or nil if none.

Sends a POST request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Post object created from string path, string data, and initial headers hash initheader.

With a block given, calls the block with the response body:

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.post('/todos', data) do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

Output:

Example
"{\n  \"{\\\"userId\\\": 1, \\\"id\\\": 1, \\\"title\\\": \\\"delectus aut autem\\\", \\\"completed\\\": false}\": \"\",\n  \"id\": 201\n}"

With no block given, simply returns the response object:

Example
http.post('/todos', data) # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

Related:

Sends a PROPFIND request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Propfind object created from string path, string body, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.propfind('/todos/1', data)

Sends a PROPPATCH request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Proppatch object created from string path, string body, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.proppatch('/todos/1', data)

Returns true if a proxy server is defined, false otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Returns the address of the proxy server, if defined, nil otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Returns true if the proxy server is defined in the environment, false otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Returns the password of the proxy server, if defined, nil otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Returns the port number of the proxy server, if defined, nil otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Returns the user name of the proxy server, if defined, nil otherwise; see Proxy Server.

Sends a PUT request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Put object created from string path, string data, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.put('/todos/1', data) # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Sets the read timeout, in seconds, for self to integer sec; the initial value is 60.

Argument sec must be a non-negative numeric value:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.read_timeout # => 60
http.get('/todos/1') # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>
http.read_timeout = 0
http.get('/todos/1') # Raises Net::ReadTimeout.

Sends the given request req to the server; forms the response into a Net::HTTPResponse object.

The given req must be an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPRequest. Argument body should be given only if needed for the request.

With no block given, returns the response object:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new('/todos/1')
http.request(req)
# => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

req = Net::HTTP::Post.new('/todos')
http.request(req, 'xyzzy')
# => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

With a block given, calls the block with the response and returns the response:

Example
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new('/todos/1')
http.request(req) do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Output:

Example
#<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=false>

Sends a GET request to the server; forms the response into a Net::HTTPResponse object.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Get object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

With no block given, returns the response object:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.request_get('/todos') # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

With a block given, calls the block with the response object and returns the response object:

Example
http.request_get('/todos') do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Output:

Example
#<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=false>

Sends a HEAD request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Head object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.head('/todos/1') # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Sends a POST request to the server; forms the response into a Net::HTTPResponse object.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Post object created from string path, string data, and initial headers hash initheader.

With no block given, returns the response object:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.post('/todos', 'xyzzy')
# => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

With a block given, calls the block with the response body and returns the response object:

Example
http.post('/todos', 'xyzzy') do |res|
  p res
end # => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

Output:

Example
"{\n  \"xyzzy\": \"\",\n  \"id\": 201\n}"

Sets the encoding to be used for the response body; returns the encoding.

The given value may be:

  • An Encoding object.

  • The name of an encoding.

  • An alias for an encoding name.

See Encoding.

Examples:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.response_body_encoding = Encoding::US_ASCII # => #<Encoding:US-ASCII>
http.response_body_encoding = 'US-ASCII'         # => "US-ASCII"
http.response_body_encoding = 'ASCII'            # => "ASCII"

Executes a request which uses a representation and returns its body.

Sends an HTTP request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTPRequest object created from string path, string data, and initial headers hash header. That object is an instance of the subclass of Net::HTTPRequest, that corresponds to the given uppercase string name, which must be an HTTP request method or a WebDAV request method.

Examples:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.send_request('GET', '/todos/1')
# => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>
http.send_request('POST', '/todos', 'xyzzy')
# => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>

WARNING This method opens a serious security hole. Never use this method in production code.

Sets the output stream for debugging:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
File.open('t.tmp', 'w') do |file|
  http.set_debug_output(file)
  http.start
  http.get('/nosuch/1')
  http.finish
end
puts File.read('t.tmp')

Output:

opening connection to jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80...
opened
<- "GET /nosuch/1 HTTP/1.1\r\nAccept-Encoding: gzip;q=1.0,deflate;q=0.6,identity;q=0.3\r\nAccept: */*\r\nUser-Agent: Ruby\r\nHost: jsonplaceholder.typicode.com\r\n\r\n"
-> "HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found\r\n"
-> "Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2022 21:14:11 GMT\r\n"
-> "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8\r\n"
-> "Content-Length: 2\r\n"
-> "Connection: keep-alive\r\n"
-> "X-Powered-By: Express\r\n"
-> "X-Ratelimit-Limit: 1000\r\n"
-> "X-Ratelimit-Remaining: 999\r\n"
-> "X-Ratelimit-Reset: 1670879660\r\n"
-> "Vary: Origin, Accept-Encoding\r\n"
-> "Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true\r\n"
-> "Cache-Control: max-age=43200\r\n"
-> "Pragma: no-cache\r\n"
-> "Expires: -1\r\n"
-> "X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff\r\n"
-> "Etag: W/\"2-vyGp6PvFo4RvsFtPoIWeCReyIC8\"\r\n"
-> "Via: 1.1 vegur\r\n"
-> "CF-Cache-Status: MISS\r\n"
-> "Server-Timing: cf-q-config;dur=1.3000000762986e-05\r\n"
-> "Report-To: {\"endpoints\":[{\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/a.nel.cloudflare.com\\/report\\/v3?s=yOr40jo%2BwS1KHzhTlVpl54beJ5Wx2FcG4gGV0XVrh3X9OlR5q4drUn2dkt5DGO4GDcE%2BVXT7CNgJvGs%2BZleIyMu8CLieFiDIvOviOY3EhHg94m0ZNZgrEdpKD0S85S507l1vsEwEHkoTm%2Ff19SiO\"}],\"group\":\"cf-nel\",\"max_age\":604800}\r\n"
-> "NEL: {\"success_fraction\":0,\"report_to\":\"cf-nel\",\"max_age\":604800}\r\n"
-> "Server: cloudflare\r\n"
-> "CF-RAY: 778977dc484ce591-DFW\r\n"
-> "alt-svc: h3=\":443\"; ma=86400, h3-29=\":443\"; ma=86400\r\n"
-> "\r\n"
reading 2 bytes...
-> "{}"
read 2 bytes
Conn keep-alive
No documentation available
No documentation available

Starts an HTTP session.

Without a block, returns self:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=false>
http.start
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=true>
http.started? # => true
http.finish

With a block, calls the block with self, finishes the session when the block exits, and returns the block’s value:

Example
http.start do |http|
  http
end
# => #<Net::HTTP jsonplaceholder.typicode.com:80 open=false>
http.started? # => false

Returns true if the HTTP session has been started:

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.started? # => false
http.start
http.started? # => true
http.finish # => nil
http.started? # => false

Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  http.started?
end # => true
http.started? # => false

Sends a TRACE request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Trace object created from string path and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.trace('/todos/1')
No documentation available
No documentation available

Sends an UNLOCK request to the server; returns an instance of a subclass of Net::HTTPResponse.

The request is based on the Net::HTTP::Unlock object created from string path, string body, and initial headers hash initheader.

Example
data = '{"userId": 1, "id": 1, "title": "delectus aut autem", "completed": false}'
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.unlock('/todos/1', data)

Sets whether a new session is to use Transport Layer Security:

Raises IOError if attempting to change during a session.

Raises OpenSSL::SSL::SSLError if the port is not an HTTPS port.

Returns true if self uses SSL, false otherwise. See Net::HTTP#use_ssl=.

Sets the write timeout, in seconds, for self to integer sec; the initial value is 60.

Argument sec must be a non-negative numeric value:

Example
_uri = uri.dup
_uri.path = '/posts'
body = 'bar' * 200000
data = <<EOF
{"title": "foo", "body": "#{body}", "userId": "1"}
EOF
headers = {'content-type': 'application/json'}
http = Net::HTTP.new(hostname)
http.write_timeout # => 60
http.post(_uri.path, data, headers)
# => #<Net::HTTPCreated 201 Created readbody=true>
http.write_timeout = 0
http.post(_uri.path, data, headers) # Raises Net::WriteTimeout.