Introduction

Making HTTP requests is one of the core skills in software development. And Node.js provides many easy and efficient ways to achieve this.

In this article, we will go over 6 different ways to make a HTTP request in Node.js. And we will use test data from JSON Placeholder to test the HTTP requests.

To get the code snippets in this article to work, you need to have Node.js installed on your machine.

If you need one, we created a guide on installing Node.js.

Table of Contents

1. HTTP - Node.js Standard Library Module

The first method we'll go over is the built-in Node.js HTTP module. This one comes bundled with Node.js when you install it, so you don't need to install any additional dependencies. But the downside is this module isn't as user-friendly compared to other methods.

The code below will send a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const https = require("https") https.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1", function(response) { response.setEncoding("utf8") response.on("data", console.log) response.on("error", console.error) }).on("error", console.error)

Compared to the other methods in this article, it may take more effort to get the data you're after. But the upside with using this module is that you won't have to add any additional dependencies to your project.

For more information on the Node.js HTTP module or additional use cases and methods, head on over to the Node.js documentation website.

2. Axios

Axios is a promise-based HTTP client for both the browser and Node.js. This package could be a good choice if you are making requests and need to handle them in a chain of events.

To install the NPM package:

Command Copy npm install axios

The code below will accomplish the same goal as before, sending a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const axios = require("axios") axios.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1") .then(function(response) { console.log(response.data) }) .catch(function(error) { console.log(error) })

Making requests where callbacks or async behavior is involved can be an unpleasant experience. Axios aims to tackle that problem by making those things easier to deal with.

For more information on the Axios package or for additional use cases and methods, check out their Github page.

3. Node-Fetch

Node-Fetch is a light-weight module that brings the browser window.fetch method to Node.js.

To install the NPM package:

Command Copy npm install node-fetch

The code below will accomplish the same goal as before, sending a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const fetch = require("node-fetch") fetch("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1") .then(function(response) { return response.json() }).then(function(data) { console.log(data) }).catch(function(error) { console.log(error) })

For more information on the Node-Fetch package or for additional use cases and methods, check out their Github page.

4. Request-Promise

Request-Promise is a simplified version of the HTTP Request client with Promise support added. Powered by Bluebird. In short, Request Promise adds Bluebird powered .then(...) method to the Request call objects.

Let's see one in action!

To install the NPM package:

Command Copy npm install request request-promise

request is a peer-dependency, so it must be installed separately.

The code below will accomplish the same goal as before, sending a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const requestPromise = require("request-promise") requestPromise({uri: "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1", headers: { "User-Agent": "Request-Promise" }, json: true}) .then(function(response) { console.log(response) }) .catch(function(error) { console.log(error) })

For more information on the Request-Promise package or for additional use cases and methods, check out their Github page.

5. Got

Got is a human-friendly and powerful HTTP request package. It was created to provide a less bloated version of the Request package.

To install the NPM package:

Command Copy npm install got

The code below will accomplish the same goal as before, sending a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const got = require("got") got("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1", { json: true }) .then(function(response) { console.log(response.body) }) .catch(function(error) { console.log(error) })

For more information on the Got package or for additional use cases and methods, check out their Github page.

6. Simple-Get

Simple-Get is a package that provides a light wrapper on top of the Node.js HTTP module. And does so in less than 100 lines of code.

To install the NPM package:

Command Copy npm install simple-get

The code below will accomplish the same goal as before, sending a GET request to the JSON Placeholder REST API and return data.

Node.js Copy const simpleGet = require("request-promise") simpleGet("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1", function(error, response) { if (error) { console.log(error) } else { response.pipe(process.stdout) } })

For more information on the Simple-Get package or for additional use cases and methods, check out their Github page.

Conclusion

As you can see from this article, there are many ways to make a HTTP request in Node.js! And this article doesn't even cover all the solutions that are out there.

Thanks for reading and happy coding!