Sending Requests

Once you have configured an HttpRequestBuilder with a route, headers, query string, content, and any conditional behaviors, you eventually need to send the request. FluentHttpClient provides method-specific send extensions that mirror the familiar HttpClient API while preserving the fluent builder experience.

Method Specific Extensions

For each common HTTP verb, FluentHttpClient provides a family of *Async methods that send the request using that verb.

Each method:

• Uses the configured builder state to construct an HttpRequestMessage.
• Applies any deferred configurators, headers, cookies, and options.
• Delegates to the underlying HttpClient.SendAsync with the selected HttpMethod, HttpCompletionOption, and CancellationToken.

GET

Use GET for retrieving resources without a request body.

var response = await builder.GetAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> GetAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> GetAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> GetAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> GetAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

POST

Use POST for creating resources or sending commands, typically with a request body.

var response = await builder
    .WithJsonContent(requestModel)
    .PostAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PostAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PostAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PostAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PostAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

PUT

Use PUT for idempotent updates or full resource replacement.

var response = await builder
    .WithJsonContent(updateModel)
    .PutAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PutAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PutAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PutAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PutAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

DELETE

Use DELETE for removing resources.

var response = await builder.DeleteAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> DeleteAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> DeleteAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> DeleteAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> DeleteAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

HEAD

HEAD requests retrieve only headers (no response body), which can be useful for:

• Checking whether a resource exists.
• Inspecting metadata (e.g., content length, ETag) without downloading full content.

var response = await builder.HeadAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> HeadAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> HeadAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> HeadAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> HeadAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

OPTIONS

OPTIONS requests ask the server which HTTP methods and features are supported for a resource.

They can be used to:

• Inspect allowed methods.
• Probe CORS or other capabilities.

var response = await builder.OptionsAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> OptionsAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> OptionsAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> OptionsAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> OptionsAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

PATCH

PATCH is commonly used for partial updates.

var response = await builder
    .WithJsonContent(patchDocument)
    .PatchAsync();

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PatchAsync()
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PatchAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PatchAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> PatchAsync(HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

Using Custom Methods

FluentHttpClient includes a set of core SendAsync methods on HttpRequestBuilder that allow you to send requests using any HttpMethod - including methods that do not have dedicated convenience extensions, such as TRACE, LINK, UNLINK, PROPFIND, or entirely custom methods.

These overloads are useful when:

• You need to call an API that uses uncommon HTTP verbs.
• You want to send requests using a custom HttpMethod instance.

// Example using TRACE
var response = await builder.SendAsync(HttpMethod.Trace);

// Example using custom method (as a string)
var response = await builder.SendAsync("purge");

Available overloads

• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpMethod method)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(string method)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpMethod method, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(string method, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpMethod method, HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(string method, HttpCompletionOption completionOption)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpMethod method, HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
• Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(string method, HttpCompletionOption completionOption, CancellationToken cancellationToken)

tip

When a string parameter is provided, the underlying method will automatically convert the string to upper case and use it to create a new HttpMethod instance.

In both cases, the method parameter must not be null; otherwise an ArgumentNullException is thrown.

Http Completion Options

All overloads that accept HttpCompletionOption control how much of the response is buffered before the Task completes.

• HttpCompletionOption.ResponseContentRead (default)

  • The Task only completes after the entire response body has been read.
  • Simplifies typical scenarios where you immediately read or deserialize the content.

• HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead

  • The Task completes as soon as response headers are available.
  • The response body is streamed and can be read later.
  • Useful for large payloads or when you want more control over streaming.

Example:

var response = await builder
    .GetAsync(HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead, cancellationToken);

await using var stream = await response.ReadContentAsStreamAsync(cancellationToken);
// Process stream as it arrives

Cancellation Tokens

Every verb helper has overloads that accept a CancellationToken.

using var cts = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10));

var response = await builder.GetAsync(cts.Token);

Cancellation tokens are passed down to the underlying HttpClient.SendAsync call and:

• Allow callers to stop requests that take too long.
• Integrate with higher-level cancellation (e.g., ASP.NET Core request cancellation).

You can combine HttpCompletionOption and CancellationToken in a single call:

var response = await builder
    .PostAsync(HttpCompletionOption.ResponseHeadersRead, cancellationToken);

Behavior Notes

• A valid request URI is required - either from HttpClient.BaseAddress or builder.Route.
• All headers, cookies, query parameters, options, and deferred configurators are applied before sending.
• The request is built fresh each time - safe for reuse across multiple requests.

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Quick Reference

Method group	Overloads
GetAsync	GetAsync(), GetAsync(CancellationToken), GetAsync(HttpCompletionOption), GetAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
PostAsync	PostAsync(), PostAsync(CancellationToken), PostAsync(HttpCompletionOption), PostAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
PutAsync	PutAsync(), PutAsync(CancellationToken), PutAsync(HttpCompletionOption), PutAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
DeleteAsync	DeleteAsync(), DeleteAsync(CancellationToken), DeleteAsync(HttpCompletionOption), DeleteAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
HeadAsync	HeadAsync(), HeadAsync(CancellationToken), HeadAsync(HttpCompletionOption), HeadAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
OptionsAsync	OptionsAsync(), OptionsAsync(CancellationToken), OptionsAsync(HttpCompletionOption), OptionsAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
PatchAsync	PatchAsync(), PatchAsync(CancellationToken), PatchAsync(HttpCompletionOption), PatchAsync(HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)
SendAsync	SendAsync(HttpMethod), SendAsync(string), SendAsync(HttpMethod, CancellationToken), SendAsync(string, CancellationToken), SendAsync(HttpMethod, HttpCompletionOption), SendAsync(string, HttpCompletionOption), SendAsync(HttpMethod, HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken), SendAsync(string, HttpCompletionOption, CancellationToken)

note

All method-specific overloads ultimately delegate to HttpRequestBuilder.SendAsync, which handles message construction and forwards the call to the underlying HttpClient.