centra

What is centra?

Centra is a lightweight HTTP client for Node.js that allows you to make HTTP requests with a simple and intuitive API. It supports various HTTP methods, setting headers, sending data, and handling responses.

What are centra's main functionalities?

Basic GET Request

This feature allows you to make a basic GET request to a specified URL and handle the response. In this example, it fetches a post from a placeholder API and logs the JSON response.

const centra = require('centra');

async function fetchData() {
  const res = await centra('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1').send();
  console.log(await res.json());
}

fetchData();

POST Request with JSON Body

This feature allows you to make a POST request with a JSON body. The example sends a new post to the placeholder API and logs the response.

const centra = require('centra');

async function postData() {
  const res = await centra('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', 'POST')
    .body({ title: 'foo', body: 'bar', userId: 1 }, 'json')
    .send();
  console.log(await res.json());
}

postData();

Setting Headers

This feature allows you to set custom headers for your HTTP requests. The example demonstrates setting an Authorization header before making a GET request.

const centra = require('centra');

async function fetchDataWithHeaders() {
  const res = await centra('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1')
    .header('Authorization', 'Bearer token')
    .send();
  console.log(await res.json());
}

fetchDataWithHeaders();

Handling Different Response Types

This feature allows you to handle different response types such as text, JSON, or buffers. The example fetches a post and logs the response as plain text.

const centra = require('centra');

async function fetchData() {
  const res = await centra('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1').send();
  const text = await res.text();
  console.log(text);
}

fetchData();

Other packages similar to centra

axios

Axios is a promise-based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js. It provides a more feature-rich API compared to Centra, including request and response interceptors, automatic JSON data transformation, and support for older browsers.

node-fetch

Node-fetch is a lightweight module that brings `window.fetch` to Node.js. It is similar to Centra in terms of simplicity and ease of use but is designed to be a minimal implementation of the Fetch API.

got

Got is a human-friendly and powerful HTTP request library for Node.js. It offers a more extensive feature set than Centra, including retry mechanisms, advanced error handling, and support for streams.

README

The core lightweight HTTP client for Node

GitHub | NPM

Install

npm i centra

Why centra?

centra is the best request library for developers; it provides a number of extremely useful features while still being one of the most lightweight Node.js HTTP client libraries available.

Use centra!

First, require the library.

const c = require('centra')

Then let's make a request in an async function!

;(async () => {
	const res = await c('https://example.com').send()

	console.log(await res.text())
})()

More advanced usage

Send data in a JSON body

c('https://example.com/nonexistentJSONAPI', 'POST').body({
	'name': 'Ethan'
}, 'json').send().then((res) => {
	/*...*/
})

Send data in a form body

c('https://example.com/nonexistentJSONAPI', 'POST').body({
	'name': 'Ethan'
}, 'form').send().then((res) => {
	/*...*/
})

Set query string parameters

One at a time:

c('https://example.com/user').query('id', 'u1817760').send().then((res) => {
	/*...*/
})

Many at a time:

c('https://example.com/user').query({
	'id', 'u1817760',
	'name': 'Ethan'
}).send().then((res) => {
	/*...*/
})

Set a request timeout

c('https://example.com').timeout(2000).send().then((res) => {
	// Success!
}).catch((err) => {
	// Has the request timed out?
})

Stream a request's response

In this example, the stream is piped to a file:

// require the fs module beforehand

c('https://example.com').stream().send().then((stream) => stream.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(path.join(__dirname, 'logo.png'))))

Follow redirects

c('https://example.com/').followRedirects(5).send()

Switch paths on the fly

c('https://example.com/test').path('/hello').send()

// This will make a request to https://example.com/test/hello

Specify request headers

One at a time:

c('https://example.com').header('Content-Type', 'application/json').send()

Many at a time:

c('https://example.com').header({
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'X-Connecting-With': 'centra'
}).send()

Modify core HTTP request options

See http.request's options for more information about core HTTP request options. Let's change our localAddress as an example.

c('https://example.com').option('localAddress', '127.0.0.2').send()

Accept compressed responses

c('https://example.com').compress().send()

// This will cause centra to accept compressed content from the server. (gzip and deflate are currently supported)