restler

3.4.0 verified Sat Apr 25 auth: no javascript maintenance

An HTTP client library for Node.js (v3.4.0) that simplifies making HTTP requests with automatic serialization of POST data, query strings, and deserialization of XML, JSON, and YAML responses. It handles redirects, multipart file uploads, SSL, basic auth, content-encoding (gzip, deflate), and charset via iconv-lite. Compared to modern alternatives like axios or node-fetch, restler is older, less actively maintained, and uses an event-based API that can lead to memory leaks if not managed properly. It supports Node >= 0.10.x, with limited maintenance; version 3.4.0 is the latest, with no major updates since 2015.

Common errors

error Cannot find module 'restler' ↓

cause Package not installed.

fix

Run 'npm install restler'.

error TypeError: restler.get is not a function ↓

cause Incorrect import (ESM style used).

fix

Use 'const restler = require('restler');' instead of import.

Warnings

gotcha Events 'complete', 'success', 'fail' etc. are emitted on the request object; forgetting to attach listeners may cause unhandled events or memory leaks. ↓

fix Always attach 'error' or 'complete' listeners and handle errors properly.

deprecated The package is effectively deprecated; no updates since 2015 and not compatible with modern Node.js features. ↓

fix Consider migrating to axios, node-fetch, or got.

gotcha Automatic parsing of XML/YAML depends on optional dependencies that may not be installed. ↓

fix Install xml2js, yaml, etc. if needed, or disable parsing.

Install

npm install restler

yarn add restler

pnpm add restler

Imports

restler
wrong
```
const restler = require('restler');
```
correct
```
import restler from 'restler'
```
CJS require is the standard pattern for this package; there is no default ESM export.

Quickstart

Demonstrates a basic GET request with authentication and handling the 'complete' event to check for errors.

const restler = require('restler');

restler.get('https://api.example.com/data', {
  username: 'user',
  password: process.env.PASS ?? ''
}).on('complete', (data, response) => {
  if (data instanceof Error) {
    console.error('Error:', data.message);
  } else {
    console.log('Data:', data);
  }
});