# HTTP Request

> Make HTTP requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH) to any API endpoint. Use when: the user asks to call an API, test an endpoint, fetch JSON/data from a URL, or interact with a REST API. NOT for: web scraping (use web_scraper), web search (use tavily_search), or file downloads (use curl/wget).

- Skill: `ericwang915/http-request` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ericwang915/http-request`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ericwang915/http-request/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Integrations & APIs
- Author: ericwang915 (https://skillmd.com/u/ericwang915)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ericwang915/http-request

---

# HTTP Request

## When to Use

- [ ] Call REST APIs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH)
- [ ] Test or probe API endpoints
- [ ] Fetch JSON or data from a URL
- [ ] Send request bodies and custom headers

## When NOT to Use

- [ ] Web search — use `tavily_search` (web_search tool)
- [ ] Scraping page content — use `web_scraper`
- [ ] Simple file downloads — use `curl` or `wget`
- [ ] GitHub operations — use `github` skill

## Setup

Install dependency: `pip install requests`

## Usage/Commands

```bash
python {skill_path}/request.py URL [options]
```

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `--method GET|POST|PUT|DELETE|PATCH` | HTTP method (default: GET) |
| `--data '{"key": "value"}'` | JSON request body |
| `--header "Name: Value"` | Custom header (repeatable) |
| `--timeout N` | Timeout in seconds |
| `--format text|json|headers` | Output format |

## Notes

- For APIs requiring auth, use `--header "Authorization: Bearer <token>"`
- JSON body must be valid; escape quotes properly for shell
- Prefer this for structured API calls; use web_scraper for HTML extraction