Read Response Content

FluentHttpClient provides a set of extensions for reading the body of an HttpResponseMessage as a string, stream, or byte array that work both on a raw HttpResponseMessage and on Task<HttpResponseMessage> returned by fluent send operations.

These methods are intended for callers who want direct access to the raw response content. They are different from the fluent deserialization (JSON/XML).

important

In many cases, HttpClient buffers response content, especially when using the default HttpCompletionOption.ResponseContentRead behavior. However, buffering is not guaranteed, and when the response is streamed (such as when using HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead), the content can only be read once.

If you plan to deserialize the content using ReadJsonAsync or ReadXmlAsync, you should probably avoid calling these content readers first.

Oh, and the cancellation tokens here apply only to the read operation, not to the original HTTP request.

Reading Content As A String

// In the fluent chain
var text = await builder.GetAsync()
    .ReadContentAsStringAsync();

// After awaiting the response
var text = await response.ReadContentAsStringAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<string> ReadContentAsStringAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage)
• Task<string> ReadContentAsStringAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<string> ReadContentAsStringAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask)
• Task<string> ReadContentAsStringAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

These overloads wait for the response task, then read the content, and return string.Empty when content is null.

Reading Content As A Stream

// In the fluent chain
await using var stream = await builder.GetAsync()
    .ReadContentAsStreamAsync();

// After awaiting the response
await using var stream = await response.ReadContentAsStreamAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<Stream> ReadContentAsStreamAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage)
• Task<Stream> ReadContentAsStreamAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<Stream> ReadContentAsStreamAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask)
• Task<Stream> ReadContentAsStreamAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

These overloads wait for the response task, then return the content as a stream. On older platform, may return Stream.Null when the content is null.

Reading Content As A Byte Array

// in the fluent chain
var bytes = await builder.GetAsync()
    .ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync();

// After awaiting the response
var bytes = await response.ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<byte[]> ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage)
• Task<byte[]> ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(this HttpResponseMessage responseMessage, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<byte[]> ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask)
• Task<byte[]> ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(this Task<HttpResponseMessage> responseTask, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

These overloads wait for the response task, then return the content as a byte array or an empty array when content is null. This is useful when you need to preserve content for multiple reads.

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Quick Reference

Category	Methods
String	ReadContentAsStringAsync(), ReadContentAsStringAsync(CancellationToken)
Stream	ReadContentAsStreamAsync(), ReadContentAsStreamAsync(CancellationToken)
Bytes	ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(), ReadContentAsByteArrayAsync(CancellationToken)

These methods are ideal when you need the raw response content. For typed deserialization (JSON or XML), see the FluentHttpClient deserialization extensions.