Class Client

The end user interface for doing HTTP requests.

Scoped clients

If you're doing multiple requests to the same hostname its often convenient to use the constructor arguments to create a scoped client. This allows you to keep your code DRY and not repeat hostnames, authentication, and other options.

Doing requests

Once you've created an instance of Client you can do requests using several methods. Each corresponds to a different HTTP method.

get()
post()
put()
delete()
patch()

Cookie management

Client will maintain cookies from the responses done with a client instance. These cookies will be automatically added to future requests to matching hosts. Cookies will respect the Expires, Path and Domain attributes. You can get the list of currently stored cookies using the cookies() method.

You can use the 'cookieJar' constructor option to provide a custom cookie jar instance you've restored from cache/disk. By default an empty instance of Cake\Http\Client\CookieCollection will be created.

Sending request bodies

By default any POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE request with $data will send their data as application/x-www-form-urlencoded unless there are attached files. In that case multipart/form-data will be used.

When sending request bodies you can use the type option to set the Content-Type for the request:

$http->get('/users', [], ['type' => 'json']);

The type option sets both the Content-Type and Accept header, to the same mime type. When using type you can use either a full mime type or an alias. If you need different types in the Accept and Content-Type headers you should set them manually and not use type

Using authentication

By using the auth key you can use authentication. The type sub option can be used to specify which authentication strategy you want to use. CakePHP comes with a few built-in strategies:

Basic
Digest
Oauth

Using proxies

By using the proxy key you can set authentication credentials for a proxy if you need to use one.. The type sub option can be used to specify which authentication strategy you want to use. CakePHP comes with built-in support for basic authentication.

Namespace: Cake\Http

Property Summary

$_adapter protected

Cake\Http\Client\Adapter\Stream

Adapter for sending requests. Defaults to Cake\Http\Client\Adapter\Stream
$_config protected

array

Runtime config
$_configInitialized protected

bool

Whether the config property has already been configured with defaults
$_cookies protected

Cake\Http\Client\CookieCollection

List of cookies from responses made with this client.
$_defaultConfig protected

array

Default configuration for the client.

Method Summary

__construct() public

Create a new HTTP Client.
_addAuthentication() protected

Add authentication headers to the request.
_addProxy() protected

Add proxy authentication headers.
_configDelete() protected

Deletes a single config key.
_configRead() protected

Reads a config key.
_configWrite() protected

Writes a config key.
_createAuth() protected

Create the authentication strategy.
_createRequest() protected

Creates a new request object based on the parameters.
_doRequest() protected

Helper method for doing non-GET requests.
_mergeOptions() protected

Does a recursive merge of the parameter with the scope config.
_sendRequest() protected

Send a request without redirection.
_typeHeaders() protected

Returns headers for Accept/Content-Type based on a short type or full mime-type.
buildUrl() public

Generate a URL based on the scoped client options.
config() public deprecated

Gets/Sets the config.
configShallow() public

Merge provided config with existing config. Unlike config() which does a recursive merge for nested keys, this method does a simple merge.
cookies() public

Get the cookies stored in the Client.
delete() public

Do a DELETE request.
get() public

Do a GET request.
getConfig() public

Returns the config.
head() public

Do a HEAD request.
options() public

Do an OPTIONS request.
patch() public

Do a PATCH request.
post() public

Do a POST request.
put() public

Do a PUT request.
send() public

Send a request.
setConfig() public

Sets the config.
trace() public

Do a TRACE request.

Method Detail

__construct() ¶ public

__construct(array $config = [])

Create a new HTTP Client.

Config options

You can set the following options when creating a client:

host - The hostname to do requests on.
port - The port to use.
scheme - The default scheme/protocol to use. Defaults to http.
timeout - The timeout in seconds. Defaults to 30
ssl_verify_peer - Whether or not SSL certificates should be validated. Defaults to true.
ssl_verify_peer_name - Whether or not peer names should be validated. Defaults to true.
ssl_verify_depth - The maximum certificate chain depth to travers. Defaults to 5.
ssl_verify_host - Verify that the certificate and hostname match. Defaults to true.
redirect - Number of redirects to follow. Defaults to false.

Parameters

array $config optional: Config options for scoped clients.

_addAuthentication() ¶ protected

_addAuthentication(Cake\Http\Client\Request $request, array $options): Cake\Http\Client\Request

Add authentication headers to the request.

Uses the authentication type to choose the correct strategy and use its methods to add headers.

Parameters

Cake\Http\Client\Request $request: The request to modify.
array $options: Array of options containing the 'auth' key.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Request

_addProxy() ¶ protected

_addProxy(Cake\Http\Client\Request $request, array $options): Cake\Http\Client\Request

Add proxy authentication headers.

Uses the authentication type to choose the correct strategy and use its methods to add headers.

Parameters

Cake\Http\Client\Request $request: The request to modify.
array $options: Array of options containing the 'proxy' key.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Request

_configDelete() ¶ protected

_configDelete(string $key): void

Deletes a single config key.

Parameters

string $key: Key to delete.

Returns

void

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
if attempting to clobber existing config

_configRead() ¶ protected

_configRead(string|null $key): mixed

Reads a config key.

Parameters

string|null $key: Key to read.

Returns

mixed

_configWrite() ¶ protected

_configWrite(string|array $key, mixed $value, bool|string $merge = false): void

Writes a config key.

Parameters

string|array $key: Key to write to.
mixed $value: Value to write.
bool|string $merge optional: True to merge recursively, 'shallow' for simple merge, false to overwrite, defaults to false.

Returns

void

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
if attempting to clobber existing config

_createAuth() ¶ protected

_createAuth(array $auth, array $options): mixed

Create the authentication strategy.

Use the configuration options to create the correct authentication strategy handler.

Parameters

array $auth: The authentication options to use.
array $options: The overall request options to use.

Returns

mixed

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
when an invalid strategy is chosen.

_createRequest() ¶ protected

_createRequest(string $method, string $url, mixed $data, array $options): Cake\Http\Client\Request

Creates a new request object based on the parameters.

Parameters

string $method: HTTP method name.
string $url: The url including query string.
mixed $data: The request body.
array $options: The options to use. Contains auth, proxy etc.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Request

_doRequest() ¶ protected

_doRequest(string $method, string $url, mixed $data, array $options): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Helper method for doing non-GET requests.

Parameters

string $method: HTTP method.
string $url: URL to request.
mixed $data: The request body.
array $options: The options to use. Contains auth, proxy etc.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

_mergeOptions() ¶ protected

_mergeOptions(array $options): array

Does a recursive merge of the parameter with the scope config.

Parameters

array $options: Options to merge.

Returns

array

_sendRequest() ¶ protected

_sendRequest(Cake\Http\Client\Request $request, array $options): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Send a request without redirection.

Parameters

Cake\Http\Client\Request $request: The request to send.
array $options: Additional options to use.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

_typeHeaders() ¶ protected

_typeHeaders(string $type): array

Returns headers for Accept/Content-Type based on a short type or full mime-type.

Parameters

string $type: short type alias or full mimetype.

Returns

array

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
When an unknown type alias is used.

buildUrl() ¶ public

buildUrl(string $url, string|array $query = [], array $options = []): string

Generate a URL based on the scoped client options.

Parameters

string $url: Either a full URL or just the path.
string|array $query optional: The query data for the URL.
array $options optional: The config options stored with Client::config()

Returns

string

config() ¶ public

config(string|array|null $key = null, mixed|null $value = null, bool $merge = true): mixed

Gets/Sets the config.

Usage

Reading the whole config:

$this->config();

Reading a specific value:

$this->config('key');

Reading a nested value:

$this->config('some.nested.key');

Setting a specific value:

$this->config('key', $value);

Setting a nested value:

$this->config('some.nested.key', $value);

Updating multiple config settings at the same time:

$this->config(['one' => 'value', 'another' => 'value']);

Parameters

string|array|null $key optional: The key to get/set, or a complete array of configs.
mixed|null $value optional: The value to set.
bool $merge optional: Whether to recursively merge or overwrite existing config, defaults to true.

Returns

mixed

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
When trying to set a key that is invalid.

configShallow() ¶ public

configShallow(string|array $key, mixed|null $value = null): $this

Merge provided config with existing config. Unlike config() which does a recursive merge for nested keys, this method does a simple merge.

Setting a specific value:

$this->configShallow('key', $value);

Setting a nested value:

$this->configShallow('some.nested.key', $value);

Updating multiple config settings at the same time:

$this->configShallow(['one' => 'value', 'another' => 'value']);

Parameters

string|array $key: The key to set, or a complete array of configs.
mixed|null $value optional: The value to set.

Returns

$this

cookies() ¶ public

cookies(): Cake\Http\Client\CookieCollection

Get the cookies stored in the Client.

Returns an array of cookie data arrays.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\CookieCollection

delete() ¶ public

delete(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a DELETE request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The request data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

get() ¶ public

get(string $url, array $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a GET request.

The $data argument supports a special _content key for providing a request body in a GET request. This is generally not used but services like ElasticSearch use this feature.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
array $data optional: The query data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

getConfig() ¶ public

getConfig(string|null $key = null): mixed

Returns the config.

Usage

Reading the whole config:

$this->getConfig();

Reading a specific value:

$this->getConfig('key');

Reading a nested value:

$this->getConfig('some.nested.key');

Parameters

string|null $key optional: The key to get or null for the whole config.

Returns

mixed

head() ¶ public

head(string $url, array $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a HEAD request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
array $data optional: The query string data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

options() ¶ public

options(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do an OPTIONS request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The request data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

patch() ¶ public

patch(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a PATCH request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The request data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

post() ¶ public

post(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a POST request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The post data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

put() ¶ public

put(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a PUT request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The request data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

send() ¶ public

send(Cake\Http\Client\Request $request, array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Send a request.

Used internally by other methods, but can also be used to send handcrafted Request objects.

Parameters

Cake\Http\Client\Request $request: The request to send.
array $options optional: Additional options to use.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

setConfig() ¶ public

setConfig(string|array $key, mixed|null $value = null, bool $merge = true): $this

Sets the config.

Usage

Setting a specific value:

$this->setConfig('key', $value);

Setting a nested value:

$this->setConfig('some.nested.key', $value);

Updating multiple config settings at the same time:

$this->setConfig(['one' => 'value', 'another' => 'value']);

Parameters

string|array $key: The key to set, or a complete array of configs.
mixed|null $value optional: The value to set.
bool $merge optional: Whether to recursively merge or overwrite existing config, defaults to true.

Returns

$this

Throws

Cake\Core\Exception\Exception
When trying to set a key that is invalid.

trace() ¶ public

trace(string $url, mixed $data = [], array $options = []): Cake\Http\Client\Response

Do a TRACE request.

Parameters

string $url: The url or path you want to request.
mixed $data optional: The request data you want to send.
array $options optional: Additional options for the request.

Returns

Cake\Http\Client\Response

Property Detail

`$_adapter` ¶ protected

Adapter for sending requests. Defaults to Cake\Http\Client\Adapter\Stream

Type

Cake\Http\Client\Adapter\Stream

`$_config` ¶ protected

Runtime config

Type

array

`$_configInitialized` ¶ protected

Whether the config property has already been configured with defaults

Type

bool

`$_cookies` ¶ protected

List of cookies from responses made with this client.

Cookies are indexed by the cookie's domain or request host name.

Type

Cake\Http\Client\CookieCollection

`$_defaultConfig` ¶ protected

Default configuration for the client.

Type

array

Namespaces

Class Client

Scoped clients

Doing requests

Cookie management

Sending request bodies

Using authentication

Using proxies

Property Summary

Method Summary

__construct() public

_addAuthentication() protected

_addProxy() protected

_configDelete() protected

_configRead() protected

_configWrite() protected

_createAuth() protected

_createRequest() protected

_doRequest() protected

_mergeOptions() protected

_sendRequest() protected

_typeHeaders() protected

buildUrl() public

config() public deprecated

configShallow() public

cookies() public

delete() public

get() public

getConfig() public

head() public

options() public

patch() public

post() public

put() public

send() public

setConfig() public

trace() public

Method Detail

__construct() ¶ public

Config options

Parameters

_addAuthentication() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_addProxy() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_configDelete() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

Throws

_configRead() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_configWrite() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

Throws

_createAuth() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

Throws

_createRequest() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_doRequest() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_mergeOptions() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_sendRequest() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

_typeHeaders() ¶ protected

Parameters

Returns

Throws

buildUrl() ¶ public

Parameters

`$_adapter` ¶ protected

`$_config` ¶ protected

`$_configInitialized` ¶ protected

`$_cookies` ¶ protected

`$_defaultConfig` ¶ protected