AllTheHTTPs

Why pick one HTTP client when you can use ALL of them?

Every long-lived Ruby application eventually accumulates every HTTP client library known to humankind. Your Gemfile.lock is a graveyard of good intentions: someone added faraday in 2019, then httparty showed up in a PR "just for this one service," and before you know it rest-client, http.rb, typhoeus, and excon are all living rent-free in your dependency tree.

AllTheHTTPs embraces this destiny. Instead of fighting the inevitable, it celebrates it. Each HTTP request randomly selects from whichever HTTP client libraries you have installed. You never know which one will answer the call.

🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... Typhoeus! (7/9 in pool)
🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... Net::HTTP! (7/9 in pool)
🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... HTTParty! (7/9 in pool)
🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... Faraday! (7/9 in pool)

Installation

Add it to your Gemfile alongside your existing collection:

gem "all_the_https"

# You probably already have most of these:
gem "faraday"
gem "httparty"
gem "rest-client"
gem "http"
gem "excon"
gem "typhoeus"
gem "httpclient"
# gem "patron"   # if you're feeling brave
# gem "curb"     # if you're feeling braver

Then:

$ bundle install

Usage

require "all_the_https"

# Simple GET — who knows which library will handle it!
response = AllTheHTTPs.get("https://api.example.com/users")
# => 🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... HTTP.rb! (8/9 in pool)

response.status       # => 200
response.body         # => '{"users": [...]}'
response.headers      # => {"content-type" => "application/json", ...}
response.adapter_used # => :http_gem
response.success?     # => true

# POST with a body
AllTheHTTPs.post("https://api.example.com/users",
  headers: { "Content-Type" => "application/json" },
  body: '{"name": "HTTP Maximalist"}'
)
# => 🎲 AllTheHTTPs rolled... RestClient! (8/9 in pool)

# All the verbs
AllTheHTTPs.put(url, headers: {}, body: "data")
AllTheHTTPs.patch(url, headers: {}, body: "data")
AllTheHTTPs.delete(url, headers: {})

Supported Adapters

AllTheHTTPs ships with adapters for 11 HTTP client libraries:

Adapter	Gem	Notes
Net::HTTP	stdlib	Always available. The cockroach of Ruby HTTP.
OpenURI	stdlib	GET only. It has boundaries.
Faraday	faraday	The adapter that itself uses adapters.
HTTParty	httparty	Making HTTP fun since 2008.
RestClient	rest-client	Sounds like a spa treatment.
HTTP.rb	http	Bold gem name. Respect.
Excon	excon	Sounds like a villain convention.
Typhoeus	typhoeus	Named after a Greek monster, like your deps.
HTTPClient	httpclient	The sensible one.
Patron	patron	Requires libcurl. How committed are you?
Curb	curb	C-level performance, Ruby-level chaos.

The gem auto-detects which libraries are installed. Only installed gems participate in the random pool. At minimum you'll always have Net::HTTP and OpenURI (stdlib).

The Response Object

Every adapter returns a normalized AllTheHTTPs::Response:

response.status       # Integer — HTTP status code
response.body         # String — response body
response.headers      # Hash — response headers
response.adapter_used # Symbol — which library handled the request
response.success?     # Boolean — true for 2xx status codes

FAQ

Q: Should I use this in production? A: Absolutely. What could go wrong?

Q: What if I only have Net::HTTP installed? A: Then every roll lands on Net::HTTP. Boring, but technically functional.

Q: Is this a joke? A: Yes. But it works. The best kind of joke.

Q: What's the performance like? A: Unpredictable, which is kind of the whole point.

Development

bundle install
bundle exec rspec

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.