Java Academy · Lesson

java.net.http.HttpClient

Send synchronous requests.

The Modern HTTP Client

Since Java 11, the JDK ships a modern HTTP client in the java.net.http package. It replaces the old HttpURLConnection with a clean, fluent API that supports HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2.

The three core types are:

HttpClient — sends requests and manages config (timeouts, proxies, redirects).
HttpRequest — an immutable description of what to send.
HttpResponse — the result, including status, headers, and body.

Creating an HttpClient

You build a client with the static newBuilder() method. A single client can be reused for many requests, and it is thread-safe.

Here we configure HTTP/2 and a connect timeout. newHttpClient() is also available for a quick default instance.

import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.time.Duration;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        HttpClient client = HttpClient.newBuilder()
            .version(HttpClient.Version.HTTP_2)
            .connectTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(10))
            .build();
        System.out.println("Client version: " + client.version());
    }
}

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