10 Golang HTTP Client Best Practices

Golang is a popular programming language for building web applications. It is fast, efficient, and reliable, making it a great choice for developers. One of the most important aspects of web development is making HTTP requests. Golang provides a powerful HTTP client library that makes it easy to make HTTP requests.

However, there are certain best practices that should be followed when making HTTP requests with Golang. In this article, we will discuss 10 Golang HTTP client best practices that will help you make the most of the Golang HTTP client library. We will cover topics such as authentication, error handling, and performance optimization.

1. Use the Default HTTP Client

The Default HTTP Client is a singleton that’s initialized when the program starts. It has sensible defaults, such as timeouts and connection pooling, which can help improve performance and reduce errors.

Using the Default HTTP Client also makes it easier to share state between requests. For example, if you need to authenticate with an API before making requests, you can store the authentication token in the Default HTTP Client and use it for all subsequent requests. This eliminates the need to manually manage authentication tokens across multiple requests.

2. Set a Timeout for Your Requests

When you make an HTTP request, the server may take a long time to respond. If your code doesn’t have a timeout set, it will wait indefinitely for a response from the server. This can cause your application to become unresponsive and lead to poor user experience.

To avoid this issue, always set a timeout when making an HTTP request in Golang. You can do this by using the http.Client type’s Timeout field. By setting a reasonable timeout value, you ensure that your requests won’t hang forever if the server takes too long to respond.

3. Handle Redirects with Care

When a client sends an HTTP request, the server may respond with a redirect status code (3xx). This means that the requested resource is not available at the original URL and the client should make another request to the new location.

However, if the client does not handle redirects properly, it can lead to security issues such as open redirects or infinite loops. To avoid these problems, Golang clients should always check for valid redirect URLs before making requests. Additionally, they should limit the number of redirects allowed in order to prevent malicious actors from exploiting this feature.

4. Reuse Connections

When you make an HTTP request, the client needs to establish a connection with the server. This process is time-consuming and can be expensive in terms of resources.

By reusing connections, you can reduce the overhead associated with establishing new connections for each request. Golang provides several ways to reuse connections, such as using persistent connections or connection pools. Reusing connections also helps improve performance by reducing latency and increasing throughput.

5. Disable Keep-Alives

When a client sends an HTTP request, the server will respond with a connection header that tells the client whether or not to keep the connection open. This is known as Keep-Alive. If enabled, the client will maintain the same connection for multiple requests, which can lead to performance issues and timeouts.

By disabling Keep-Alives, you ensure that each request is sent on its own connection, reducing latency and improving overall performance. To do this in Golang, simply set the “Connection” header to “close”.

6. Do Not Follow Redirects Automatically

When a client follows redirects automatically, it can lead to unexpected behavior. For example, if the server sends back an HTTP 301 (Moved Permanently) response code, then the client will follow that redirect and make subsequent requests to the new URL. This could potentially cause issues with authentication or other security measures in place on the original URL.

Therefore, it’s best practice to not follow redirects automatically and instead handle them manually. This allows you to inspect the response codes and decide whether or not to follow the redirect based on your own criteria.

7. Use TLS 1.3 and Enable HTTP/2

TLS 1.3 is the latest version of the Transport Layer Security protocol, and it provides improved security over previous versions. It also offers better performance due to its reduced handshake time and faster encryption/decryption times.

HTTP/2 is an upgrade to HTTP 1.1 that improves page loading speeds by allowing multiple requests to be sent in parallel. This reduces latency and makes webpages load faster. Enabling HTTP/2 on your Golang HTTP Client will improve user experience and make your website more competitive.

8. Don’t Ignore Errors

When you make an HTTP request, there are a number of potential errors that can occur. These include connection timeouts, invalid URLs, and server-side errors.

If you ignore these errors, your application will continue to run without any indication that something has gone wrong. This could lead to unexpected behavior or even data loss.

To ensure that your application is robust and reliable, it’s important to handle all possible errors gracefully. Make sure to check the response code for each request and take appropriate action if an error occurs. Additionally, consider logging errors so that they can be investigated later on.

9. Use Context to Cancel Requests

Context allows you to set a timeout for your requests, so that if the request takes too long, it will be automatically cancelled. This is important because it prevents your application from getting stuck waiting for a response that may never come. It also helps prevent memory leaks and other issues caused by requests that take too long.

Additionally, Context can help you manage multiple requests at once. You can use Context to cancel all of the requests in a group when one of them fails or times out. This ensures that your application won’t get bogged down with unnecessary requests.

10. Avoid Using Basic Authentication

Basic authentication sends the username and password in plain text, which is a major security risk. Instead, use token-based authentication or OAuth to authenticate users securely.

Token-based authentication works by generating a unique token for each user that can be used to access protected resources. This token is sent with each request and verified on the server side before granting access. OAuth is an open standard for authorization that allows users to grant third-party applications access to their data without sharing their passwords.

By following these best practices, you can ensure your Golang HTTP Client is secure and reliable.