This class is the base class for Net::HTTP request classes.

About the Examples

Examples here assume that net/http has been required (which also requires uri):

require 'net/http'

Many code examples here use these example websites:

• jsonplaceholder.typicode.com.

• example.com.

Some examples also assume these variables:

uri = URI('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com')
uri.freeze # Examples may not modify.
hostname = uri.hostname # => "jsonplaceholder.typicode.com"
port = uri.port         # => 443

So that example requests may be written as:

Net::HTTP.get(uri)
Net::HTTP.get(hostname, '/index.html')
Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  http.get('/todos/1')
  http.get('/todos/2')
end

An example that needs a modified URI first duplicates uri, then modifies the duplicate:

_uri = uri.dup
_uri.path = '/todos/1'

Returned Responses

Method Net::HTTP.get_response returns an instance of one of the subclasses of Net::HTTPResponse:

Net::HTTP.get_response(uri)
# => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>
Net::HTTP.get_response(hostname, '/nosuch')
# => #<Net::HTTPNotFound 404 Not Found readbody=true>

As does method Net::HTTP#request:

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
Net::HTTP.start(hostname) do |http|
  http.request(req)
end # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>

Class Net::HTTPResponse includes module Net::HTTPHeader, which provides access to response header values via (among others):

• Hash-like method [].

• Specific reader methods, such as content_type.

Examples:

res = Net::HTTP.get_response(uri) # => #<Net::HTTPOK 200 OK readbody=true>
res['Content-Type']               # => "text/html; charset=UTF-8"
res.content_type                  # => "text/html"

Response Subclasses

Class Net::HTTPResponse has a subclass for each HTTP status code. You can look up the response class for a given code:

Net::HTTPResponse::CODE_TO_OBJ['200'] # => Net::HTTPOK
Net::HTTPResponse::CODE_TO_OBJ['400'] # => Net::HTTPBadRequest
Net::HTTPResponse::CODE_TO_OBJ['404'] # => Net::HTTPNotFound

And you can retrieve the status code for a response object:

Net::HTTP.get_response(uri).code                 # => "200"
Net::HTTP.get_response(hostname, '/nosuch').code # => "404"

The response subclasses (indentation shows class hierarchy):

• Net::HTTPUnknownResponse (for unhandled HTTP extensions).

• Net::HTTPInformation:

  • Net::HTTPContinue (100)

  • Net::HTTPSwitchProtocol (101)

  • Net::HTTPProcessing (102)

  • Net::HTTPEarlyHints (103)

• Net::HTTPSuccess:

  • Net::HTTPOK (200)

  • Net::HTTPCreated (201)

  • Net::HTTPAccepted (202)

  • Net::HTTPNonAuthoritativeInformation (203)

  • Net::HTTPNoContent (204)

  • Net::HTTPResetContent (205)

  • Net::HTTPPartialContent (206)

  • Net::HTTPMultiStatus (207)

  • Net::HTTPAlreadyReported (208)

  • Net::HTTPIMUsed (226)

• Net::HTTPRedirection:

  • Net::HTTPMultipleChoices (300)

  • Net::HTTPMovedPermanently (301)

  • Net::HTTPFound (302)

  • Net::HTTPSeeOther (303)

  • Net::HTTPNotModified (304)

  • Net::HTTPUseProxy (305)

  • Net::HTTPTemporaryRedirect (307)

  • Net::HTTPPermanentRedirect (308)

• Net::HTTPClientError:

  • Net::HTTPBadRequest (400)

  • Net::HTTPUnauthorized (401)

  • Net::HTTPPaymentRequired (402)

  • Net::HTTPForbidden (403)

  • Net::HTTPNotFound (404)

  • Net::HTTPMethodNotAllowed (405)

  • Net::HTTPNotAcceptable (406)

  • Net::HTTPProxyAuthenticationRequired (407)

  • Net::HTTPRequestTimeOut (408)

  • Net::HTTPConflict (409)

  • Net::HTTPGone (410)

  • Net::HTTPLengthRequired (411)

  • Net::HTTPPreconditionFailed (412)

  • Net::HTTPRequestEntityTooLarge (413)

  • Net::HTTPRequestURITooLong (414)

  • Net::HTTPUnsupportedMediaType (415)

  • Net::HTTPRequestedRangeNotSatisfiable (416)

  • Net::HTTPExpectationFailed (417)

  • Net::HTTPMisdirectedRequest (421)

  • Net::HTTPUnprocessableEntity (422)

  • Net::HTTPLocked (423)

  • Net::HTTPFailedDependency (424)

  • Net::HTTPUpgradeRequired (426)

  • Net::HTTPPreconditionRequired (428)

  • Net::HTTPTooManyRequests (429)

  • Net::HTTPRequestHeaderFieldsTooLarge (431)

  • Net::HTTPUnavailableForLegalReasons (451)

• Net::HTTPServerError:

  • Net::HTTPInternalServerError (500)

  • Net::HTTPNotImplemented (501)

  • Net::HTTPBadGateway (502)

  • Net::HTTPServiceUnavailable (503)

  • Net::HTTPGatewayTimeOut (504)

  • Net::HTTPVersionNotSupported (505)

  • Net::HTTPVariantAlsoNegotiates (506)

  • Net::HTTPInsufficientStorage (507)

  • Net::HTTPLoopDetected (508)

  • Net::HTTPNotExtended (510)

  • Net::HTTPNetworkAuthenticationRequired (511)

There is also the Net::HTTPBadResponse exception which is raised when there is a protocol error.