Http Request

Call any web address or API and use the response in the next steps.

Can use a Http Request connection — 

Optional: pick a saved connection in the Authentication field when the service needs one.

Create a connection →

What it does

Http Request sends one request (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS or HEAD) to URL, with the headers, query parameters and body you set, and returns what the server sends back.

• Authentication adds an Authorization header from a saved credential, so API keys stay out of the workflow.
• Query Params are added to the URL for you.
• Body is sent as JSON, as a URL-encoded form or as multipart form data, depending on Body Content Type.
• Redirects are followed (up to Max redirects) unless you turn that off.
• The response is read as JSON, text or a file. Response format set to autodetect decides from the server’s content type.

A file response (an image, a PDF, a download) arrives as binary data under the data key, ready for file uploads such as Slack File → Upload, Google Drive File → Create or Gmail attachments.

When to use it

• Call an API that has no dedicated node.
• Download a file or a JSON feed.
• Send data to a webhook (Zapier, Make, your own server).

For apps that have their own node, such as Slack or Notion, that node is easier. To read a web page as text, Get All Text from Link is simpler.

Inputs and settings

Setting	Type	What it does
Method	Choice	The request method to use. Options: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS, HEAD. Default: GET
URL REQ(required)	URL	Security: Ensure the URL is from a trusted source. Avoid including sensitive data in URL parameters.
Authentication	Credential	The authentication to use to make the request.
Headers	Key-value pairs	The headers to send with the request.
Query Params	Key-value pairs	The query params to send with the request.
Body	Group	The body to send with the request.
Body › Body Content Type	Choice	Content-Type to use to send body parameters. Options: application/json, application/x-www-form-urlencoded, multipart/form-data. Default: application/json
Body › Body	Key-value pairs	The body to send with the request.
Options	Group	The options to send with the request.
Options › Redirects	Group	The options to send with the request.
Options › Redirects › Follow redirects	Toggle	Follow redirects. Default: On
Options › Redirects › Max redirects	Number	The maximum number of redirects to follow. Default: 10
Options › Response	Group	The options for the response.
Options › Response › Include response header and status	Toggle	Whether to return the full response (headers and response status code) data instead of only the body. Default: Off
Options › Response › Response format	Choice	The format in which the data gets returned from the URL. Options: autodetect, json, text, file. Default: autodetect
Options › Timeout (ms)	Number	Time in ms to wait for the server to send response headers (and start the response body) before aborting the request. Default: 10000

Outputs

• Output

By default the item is { data }, the response body. Turn on Include response header and status to also get status, statusText, headers and the final url after redirects.

Dependencies and credentials

• Authentication (connection): optional. See Create a connection.

Choose a credential of the type your API expects, for example a bearer token or basic auth. See Create a credential.

Example workflow

1. A Context Menu trigger on a link.
2. Http Request, POST to your webhook URL, Body Content Type application/json, with a body field url = {{ $input.linkUrl }}.
3. Browser Notification: “Sent”.

Common issues

• “Response status: 401” or “403”. The credential is missing, wrong or lacks permission. Check the Authentication field and the key’s rights.
• “Response status: 404”. Check the URL and the query parameters.
• “URL validation failed”. The URL is malformed or not allowed. Use a full https:// address.
• “Maximum redirects exceeded”. The site redirects in a loop, or more times than Max redirects allows.
• It works in the extension but fails in the web app. Some sites refuse requests sent from another website (a browser rule called CORS). Run the workflow from the extension.
• The request times out. Raise Timeout (ms) under Options; the default is 10 seconds.

Related nodes

• Poll Until: call a URL repeatedly until it reports done.
• HTML Extract: pull values out of an HTML response.
• JSON: reshape a JSON response.
• HTTP Request Tool: let an AI agent make requests.