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lua-resty-http

Lua HTTP client cosocket driver for OpenResty / ngx_lua.

Status

Ready for testing. Probably production ready in most cases, though not yet proven in the wild. Please check the issues list and let me know if you have any problems / questions.

Features

API

Synopsis

lua_package_path "/path/to/lua-resty-http/lib/?.lua;;";

server {


  location /simpleinterface {
    resolver 8.8.8.8;  # use Google's open DNS server for an example

    content_by_lua '

      -- For simple singleshot requests, use the URI interface.
      local httpc = http.new()
      local res, err = httpc:request_uri("http://example.com/helloworld", {
        method = "POST",
        body = "a=1&b=2",
        headers = {
          ["Content-Type"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded",
        }
      })

      if not res then
        ngx.say("failed to request: ", err)
        return
      end

      -- In this simple form, there is no manual connection step, so the body is read
      -- all in one go, including any trailers, and the connection closed or keptalive
      -- for you.

      ngx.status = res.status

      for k,v in pairs(res.headers) do
          --
      end

      ngx.say(res.body)
    ';
  }


  location /genericinterface {
    content_by_lua '

      local http = require "resty.http"
      local httpc = http.new()

      -- The generic form gives us more control. We must connect manually.
      httpc:set_timeout(500)
      httpc:connect("127.0.0.1", 80)

      -- And request using a path, rather than a full URI.
      local res, err = httpc:request{
          path = "/helloworld",
          headers = {
              ["Host"] = "example.com",
          },
      }

      if not res then
        ngx.say("failed to request: ", err)
        return
      end

      -- Now we can use the body_reader iterator, to stream the body according to our desired chunk size.
      local reader = res.body_reader

      repeat
        local chunk, err = reader(8192)
        if err then
          ngx.log(ngx.ERR, err)
          break
        end

        if chunk then
          -- process
        end
      until not chunk

      local ok, err = httpc:set_keepalive()
      if not ok then
        ngx.say("failed to set keepalive: ", err)
        return
      end
    ';
  }
}

Connection

new

syntax: httpc = http.new()

Creates the http object. In case of failures, returns nil and a string describing the error.

connect

syntax: ok, err = httpc:connect(host, port, options_table?)

syntax: ok, err = httpc:connect("unix:/path/to/unix.sock", options_table?)

Attempts to connect to the web server.

Before actually resolving the host name and connecting to the remote backend, this method will always look up the connection pool for matched idle connections created by previous calls of this method.

An optional Lua table can be specified as the last argument to this method to specify various connect options:

set_timeout

syntax: httpc:set_timeout(time)

Sets the timeout (in ms) protection for subsequent operations, including the connect method.

ssl_handshake

syntax: session, err = httpc:ssl_handshake(session, host, verify)

Performs an SSL handshake on the TCP connection, only availble in ngx_lua > v0.9.11

See docs for ngx.socket.tcp for details.

set_keepalive

syntax: ok, err = httpc:set_keepalive(max_idle_timeout, pool_size)

Attempts to puts the current connection into the ngx_lua cosocket connection pool.

You can specify the max idle timeout (in ms) when the connection is in the pool and the maximal size of the pool every nginx worker process.

Only call this method in the place you would have called the close method instead. Calling this method will immediately turn the current http object into the closed state. Any subsequent operations other than connect() on the current objet will return the closed error.

Note that calling this instead of close is "safe" in that it will conditionally close depending on the type of request. Specifically, a 1.0 request without Connection: Keep-Alive will be closed, as will a 1.1 request with Connection: Close.

In case of success, returns 1. In case of errors, returns nil, err. In the case where the conneciton is conditionally closed as described above, returns 2 and the error string connection must be closed.

get_reused_times

syntax: times, err = httpc:get_reused_times()

This method returns the (successfully) reused times for the current connection. In case of error, it returns nil and a string describing the error.

If the current connection does not come from the built-in connection pool, then this method always returns 0, that is, the connection has never been reused (yet). If the connection comes from the connection pool, then the return value is always non-zero. So this method can also be used to determine if the current connection comes from the pool.

close

syntax: ok, err = http:close()

Closes the current connection and returns the status.

In case of success, returns 1. In case of errors, returns nil with a string describing the error.

Requesting

request

syntax: res, err = httpc:request(params)

Returns a res table or nil and an error message.

The params table accepts the following fields:

When the request is successful, res will contain the following fields:

request_uri

syntax: res, err = httpc:request_uri(uri, params)

The simple interface. Options supplied in the params table are the same as in the generic interface, and will override components found in the uri itself.

In this mode, there is no need to connect manually first. The connection is made on your behalf, suiting cases where you simply need to grab a URI without too much hassle.

Additionally there is no ability to stream the response body in this mode. If the request is successful, res will contain the following fields:

request_pipeline

syntax: responses, err = httpc:request_pipeline(params)

This method works as per the request method above, but params is instead a table of param tables. Each request is sent in order, and responses is returned as a table of response handles. For example:

local responses = httpc:request_pipeline{
  {
    path = "/b",
  },
  {
    path = "/c",
  },
  {
    path = "/d",
  }
}

for i,r in ipairs(responses) do
  if r.status then
    ngx.say(r.status)
    ngx.say(r:read_body())
  end
end

Due to the nature of pipelining, no responses are actually read until you attempt to use the response fields (status / headers etc). And since the responses are read off in order, you must read the entire body (and any trailers if you have them), before attempting to read the next response.

Note this doesn't preclude the use of the streaming response body reader. Responses can still be streamed, so long as the entire body is streamed before attempting to access the next response.

Be sure to test at least one field (such as status) before trying to use the others, in case a socket read error has occurred.

Response

res.body_reader

The body_reader iterator can be used to stream the response body in chunk sizes of your choosing, as follows:

local reader = res.body_reader

repeat
  local chunk, err = reader(8192)
  if err then
    ngx.log(ngx.ERR, err)
    break
  end
  
  if chunk then
    -- process
  end
until not chunk

If the reader is called with no arguments, the behaviour depends on the type of connection. If the response is encoded as chunked, then the iterator will return the chunks as they arrive. If not, it will simply return the entire body.

Note that the size provided is actually a maximum size. So in the chunked transfer case, you may get chunks smaller than the size you ask, as a remainder of the actual HTTP chunks.

res:read_body

syntax: body, err = res:read_body()

Reads the entire body into a local string.

res:read_trailers

syntax: res:read_trailers()

This merges any trailers underneath the res.headers table itself. Must be called after reading the body.

Proxy

There are two convenience methods for when one simply wishes to proxy the current request to the connected upstream, and safely send it downstream to the client, as a reverse proxy. A complete example:

local http = require "resty.http"
local httpc = http.new()

httpc:set_timeout(500)
local ok, err = httpc:connect(HOST, PORT)

if not ok then
  ngx.log(ngx.ERR, err)
  return
end

httpc:set_timeout(2000)
httpc:proxy_response(httpc:proxy_request())
httpc:set_keepalive()

proxy_request

syntax: local res, err = httpc:proxy_request(request_body_chunk_size?)

Performs a request using the current client request arguments, effectively proxying to the connected upstream. The request body will be read in a streaming fashion, according to request_body_chunk_size (see documentation on the client body reader below).

proxy_response

syntax: httpc:proxy_response(res, chunksize?)

Sets the current response based on the given res. Ensures that hop-by-hop headers are not sent downstream, and will read the response according to chunksize (see documentation on the body reader above).

Utility

parse_uri

syntax: local scheme, host, port, path = unpack(httpc:parse_uri(uri))

This is a convenience function allowing one to more easily use the generic interface, when the input data is a URI.

get_client_body_reader

syntax: reader, err = httpc:get_client_body_reader()

Returns an iterator function which can be used to read the downstream client request body in a streaming fashion. For example:

local req_reader = httpc:get_client_body_reader()

repeat
  local chunk, err = req_reader(8192)
  if err then
    ngx.log(ngx.ERR, err)
    break
  end

  if chunk then
    -- process
  end
until not chunk

This iterator can also be used as the value for the body field in request params, allowing one to stream the request body into a proxied upstream request.

local client_body_reader, err = httpc:get_client_body_reader()

local res, err = httpc:request{
   path = "/helloworld",
   body = client_body_reader,
}

Author

James Hurst james@pintsized.co.uk

Originally started life based on https://github.com/bakins/lua-resty-http-simple. Cosocket docs and implementation borrowed from the other lua-resty-* cosocket modules.

Licence

This module is licensed under the 2-clause BSD license.

Copyright (c) 2013, James Hurst james@pintsized.co.uk

All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.