This is a full-fledged tutorial on one of a very popular Java-based API i.e ‘Apache HttpClient‘ library. In this guide, we are going to present solutions which are easily understandable and quick to implement and use.

Check out: REST ASSURED TUTORIAL with examples

This tutorial revolves around HttpClient library which is provided by Apache Foundation to access HTTP resources. This tutorial is based on Apache HttpClient version 4.5+.

Primary objective of HttpClient is to handle HTTP requests. This is one of the most famous library provided by Apache.

Well, as per documentation by Apache on their website, java.net package provides basic functionality only but it’s not expandable and flexible. That’s where HttpClient comes to fill this void by providing an efficient, up-to-date, and feature-rich package implementing the client side of the most recent HTTP standards and recommendations.

Designed for extension while providing robust support for the base HTTP protocol, HttpClient may be of interest to anyone building HTTP-aware client applications such as web browsers, web service clients, or systems that leverage or extend the HTTP protocol for distributed communication.

As it is a Java-based library, so it would be very easy to integrate with the UI test code in the automation testing framework.

Lets jump on the thorough Apache HttpClient tutorial for beginners/advanced users, here we are going to cover the below topics:

• • GET Request using HttpClient
  • POST Request with JSON as Request Body using HttpClient
  • PUT Request with JSON as Request Body using HttpClient
  • DELETE Request using HttpClient
  • Basic Authentication using HttpClient
  • File Upload using HttpClient

• Other Useful References:
  • HttpClient 4 Tutorial – Baeldung
  • HttpClient Tutorial – Apache HC