A simple HTTP and REST client for Ruby with a Sinatra-inspired DSL for specifying actions.
REST Client is a Ruby gem that provides a simple and intuitive interface for making HTTP requests to RESTful web services and APIs. It abstracts the complexities of the underlying Net::HTTP library, offering a DSL inspired by Sinatra for specifying actions like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. The library handles common tasks such as multipart file uploads, automatic redirection following, cookie management, and SSL/TLS configuration, making it easier for developers to interact with external APIs.
Ruby developers who need to interact with HTTP-based web services or REST APIs, from simple GET requests to complex operations involving file uploads, authentication, and custom SSL settings.
Developers choose REST Client for its balance of simplicity and power—its clean DSL reduces boilerplate code while still providing fine-grained control over request parameters, headers, and response handling. It's a mature, widely adopted library with robust support for real-world HTTP complexities like streaming, cookie jars, and advanced SSL configurations.
Simple HTTP and REST client for Ruby, inspired by microframework syntax for specifying actions.
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Uses familiar HTTP verb methods like get and post for concise request specification, making code readable and reducing boilerplate, as highlighted in the README's basic usage examples.
Detects file objects and automatically handles multipart/form-data encoding, simplifying file uploads without manual configuration, demonstrated in the Multipart section.
Provides detailed response objects with easy access to headers, cookies, and redirection history, enhancing debugging and data extraction, as shown in the Result handling section.
Allows streaming of large request payloads and responses directly to/from files to manage memory efficiently, with examples using raw_response and block_response options.
Requires manual serialization and deserialization for JSON payloads, adding extra boilerplate code compared to libraries with built-in JSON handling, as noted in the Query parameters section.
Version 2.0 introduced significant API changes, such as Response becoming a subclass of String, which could disrupt existing codebases during upgrades, as warned in the Upgrading section.
Depends on several gems like mime-types and netrc, increasing bundle size and potential for dependency conflicts, listed in the Requirements section.