# got [](https://travis-ci.org/sindresorhus/got)
> Simplified HTTP/HTTPS requests
A nicer interface to the built-in [`http`](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html) module.
It also supports following redirects, streams, and automagically handling gzip/deflate.
Created because [`request`](https://github.com/mikeal/request) is bloated *(several megabytes!)* and slow.
## Install
```sh
$ npm install --save got
```
## Usage
```js
var got = require('got');
// Callback mode
got('todomvc.com', function (err, data, res) {
console.log(data);
//=> <!doctype html> ...
});
// Stream mode
got('todomvc.com').pipe(fs.createWriteStream('index.html'));
// For POST, PUT and PATCH methods got returns a WritableStream
fs.createReadStream('index.html').pipe(got.post('todomvc.com'));
```
### API
It's a `GET` request by default, but can be changed in `options`.
#### got(url, [options], [callback])
##### url
*Required*
Type: `string`
The URL to request.
##### options
Type: `object`
Any of the [`http.request`](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_http_request_options_callback) options.
##### options.encoding
Type: `string`, `null`
Default: `'utf8'`
Encoding to be used on `setEncoding` of the response data. If null, the body is returned as a Buffer.
##### options.body
Type: `string`, `Buffer`, `ReadableStream`
Body, that will be sent with `POST` request. If present in `options` and `options.method` is not set - `options.method` will be set to `POST`.
This option and stream mode are mutually exclusive.
##### options.timeout
Type: `number`
Milliseconds after which the request will be aborted and an error event with `ETIMEDOUT` code will be emitted.
##### options.agent
[http.Agent](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_class_http_agent) instance.
Node HTTP/HTTPS Agent in [0.10](https://github.com/joyent/node/blob/v0.10.35-release/lib/http.js#L1261) by default limits number of open sockets to 5 — which is too low. If `options.agent` is not defined `got` will use [infinity-agent](https://github.com/floatdrop/infinity-agent) to backport `defaultMaxSockets` from [0.11](https://github.com/joyent/node/blob/v0.11.14-release/lib/_http_agent.js#L110).
[Why pooling is evil](https://github.com/substack/hyperquest#pooling-is-evil).
To use default [globalAgent](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_http_globalagent) just pass `null` to this option.
##### callback(err, data, response)
###### err
`Error` object with HTTP status code as `code` property.
###### data
The data you requested.
###### response
The [response object](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_http_incomingmessage).
##### .on('response', response)
When in stream mode, you can listen for the `response` event to get the response object.
###### response
The [response object](http://nodejs.org/api/http.html#http_http_incomingmessage).
#### got.get(url, [options], [callback])
#### got.post(url, [options], [callback])
#### got.put(url, [options], [callback])
#### got.patch(url, [options], [callback])
#### got.head(url, [options], [callback])
#### got.delete(url, [options], [callback])
Sets `options.method` to the method name and makes a request.
## Proxy
You can use the [`tunnel`](https://github.com/koichik/node-tunnel) module with the `agent` option to work with proxies:
```js
var got = require('got');
var tunnel = require('tunnel');
got('todomvc.com', {
agent: tunnel.httpOverHttp({
proxy: {
host: 'localhost'
}
})
}, function () {});
```
## Tip
It's a good idea to set the `'user-agent'` header so the provider can more easily see how their resource is used. By default it's the URL to this repo.
```js
var got = require('got');
got('todomvc.com', {
headers: {
'user-agent': 'https://github.com/your-username/repo-name'
}
}, function () {});
```
## License
MIT © [Sindre Sorhus](http://sindresorhus.com)