Spring WebFlux includes a reactive, non-blocking `WebClient` for performing HTTP requests
using a functional-style API that exposes Reactor `Flux` and `Mono` types, see
<<web-reactive.adoc#webflux-reactive-libraries>>. The client relies on the same
<<web-reactive.adoc#webflux-codecs,codecs>> that WebFlux server applications use to work
with request and response content.
Spring WebFlux includes a reactive, non-blocking `WebClient` for HTTP requests. The client
has a functional, fluent API with reactive types for declarative composition, see
<<web-reactive.adoc#webflux-reactive-libraries>>. WebFlux client and server rely on the
same non-blocking <<web-reactive.adoc#webflux-codecs,codecs>> to encode and decode request
and response content.
Internally `WebClient` delegates to an HTTP client library. By default, it uses
https://github.com/reactor/reactor-netty[Reactor Netty], there is built-in support for
@ -22,15 +22,14 @@ The simplest way to create a `WebClient` is through one of the static factory me
@@ -22,15 +22,14 @@ The simplest way to create a `WebClient` is through one of the static factory me
* `WebClient.create()`
* `WebClient.create(String baseUrl)`
The preceding methods use Reactor Netty `HttpClient` from `io.projectreactor.netty:reactor-netty`
with default settings and participates in global resources for event loop threads and
a connection pool. See <<webflux-client-builder-reactor, Reactor Netty configuration>>.
The above methods use the Reactor Netty `HttpClient` with default settings and expect
`io.projectreactor.netty:reactor-netty` to be on the classpath.
You can use the `WebClient.Builder` for access to further options:
You can also use `WebClient.builder()` with further options:
* `uriBuilderFactory`: Customized `UriBuilderFactory` to use as a base URL.
* `defaultHeader`: Headers for every request.
* `defaultCookie)`: Cookies for every request.
* `defaultCookie`: Cookies for every request.
* `defaultRequest`: `Consumer` to customize every request.
@ -78,19 +77,24 @@ modified copy without affecting the original instance, as the following example
@@ -78,19 +77,24 @@ modified copy without affecting the original instance, as the following example
[[webflux-client-builder-reactor]]
=== Reactor Netty
You can customize Reactor Netty settings:
To customize Reactor Netty settings, simple provide a pre-configured `HttpClient`:
By default, `HttpClient` participates in the global Reactor Netty resources held in
`reactor.netty.http.HttpResources`, including event loop threads and a connection pool.
This is the recommended mode, since fixed, shared resources are preferred for event loop
@ -148,6 +152,41 @@ instances use shared resources, as the following example shows:
@@ -148,6 +152,41 @@ instances use shared resources, as the following example shows:
@ -204,7 +243,7 @@ Spring-managed bean of type `JettyResourceFactory`, as the following example sho
@@ -204,7 +243,7 @@ Spring-managed bean of type `JettyResourceFactory`, as the following example sho
[[webflux-client-retrieve]]
== Using the `retrieve` Method
== Using `retrieve()`
The `retrieve()` method is the easiest way to get a response body and decode it.
The following example shows how to do so:
@ -257,7 +296,7 @@ as the following example shows:
@@ -257,7 +296,7 @@ as the following example shows:
[[webflux-client-exchange]]
== Using the `exchange` Method
== Using `exchange()`
The `exchange()` method provides more control than the `retrieve` method. The following example is equivalent
to `retrieve()` but also provides access to the `ClientResponse`: