HttpClientHandler Class

.NET Framework (current version)

The default message handler used by HttpClient.

Namespace: System.Net.Http
Assembly: System.Net.Http (in System.Net.Http.dll)

Inheritance Hierarchy

System::Object
System.Net.Http::HttpMessageHandler
System.Net.Http::HttpClientHandler
System.Net.Http::WebRequestHandler

Syntax

C++

public ref class HttpClientHandler : HttpMessageHandler

Constructors

	Name	Description
	HttpClientHandler()	Creates an instance of a HttpClientHandler class.

Properties

	Name	Description
	AllowAutoRedirect	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the handler should follow redirection responses.
	AutomaticDecompression	Gets or sets the type of decompression method used by the handler for automatic decompression of the HTTP content response.
	ClientCertificateOptions	Gets or sets a value that indicates if the certificate is automatically picked from the certificate store or if the caller is allowed to pass in a specific client certificate.
	CookieContainer	Gets or sets the cookie container used to store server cookies by the handler.
	Credentials	Gets or sets authentication information used by this handler.
	MaxAutomaticRedirections	Gets or sets the maximum number of redirects that the handler follows.
	MaxRequestContentBufferSize	Gets or sets the maximum request content buffer size used by the handler.
	PreAuthenticate	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the handler sends an Authorization header with the request.
	Proxy	Gets or sets proxy information used by the handler.
	SupportsAutomaticDecompression	Gets a value that indicates whether the handler supports automatic response content decompression.
	SupportsProxy	Gets a value that indicates whether the handler supports proxy settings.
	SupportsRedirectConfiguration	Gets a value that indicates whether the handler supports configuration settings for the AllowAutoRedirect and MaxAutomaticRedirections properties.
	UseCookies	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the handler uses the CookieContainer property to store server cookies and uses these cookies when sending requests.
	UseDefaultCredentials	Gets or sets a value that controls whether default credentials are sent with requests by the handler.
	UseProxy	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the handler uses a proxy for requests.

Methods

	Name	Description
	Dispose()	Releases the unmanaged resources and disposes of the managed resources used by the HttpMessageHandler.(Inherited from HttpMessageHandler.)
	Dispose(Boolean)	Releases the unmanaged resources used by the HttpClientHandler and optionally disposes of the managed resources.(Overrides HttpMessageHandler::Dispose(Boolean).)
	Equals(Object^)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.(Inherited from Object.)
	Finalize()	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection.(Inherited from Object.)
	GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance.(Inherited from Object.)
	MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.(Inherited from Object.)
	SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage^, CancellationToken)	Creates an instance of HttpResponseMessage based on the information provided in the HttpRequestMessage as an operation that will not block.(Overrides HttpMessageHandler::SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage^, CancellationToken).)
	ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object.(Inherited from Object.)

Remarks

The HttpClientHandler class and classes derived from it enable developers to configure a variety of options ranging from proxies to authentication.

Examples

 static async void Main()
{
    // Create an HttpClientHandler object and set to use default credentials
    HttpClientHandler handler = new HttpClientHandler();
    handler.UseDefaultCredentials = true;

    // Create an HttpClient object
    HttpClient client = new HttpClient(handler);

    // Call asynchronous network methods in a try/catch block to handle exceptions
    try	
    {
       HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync("http://www.contoso.com/");

       response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

       string responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
       Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
     }  
     catch(HttpRequestException e)
     {
        Console.WriteLine("\nException Caught!");	
        Console.WriteLine("Message :{0} ",e.Message);
     }

     // Need to call dispose on the HttpClient and HttpClientHandler objects 
     // when done using them, so the app doesn't leak resources
     handler.Dispose(true);
     client.Dispose(true);
 }

Version Information

Universal Windows Platform
Available since 8
.NET Framework
Available since 4.5
Portable Class Library
Supported in: portable .NET platforms
Windows Phone
Available since 8.1

Thread Safety

Any public static ( Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.