httpx
The next generation HTTP client.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. HTTPX is a top-100 PyPI package with active maintenance, zero known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a permissive BSD license. It is the right choice if you need modern async/await support, HTTP/2, or a requests-compatible API with better type safety. Install it if you are building new projects or modernizing existing ones that rely on HTTP.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.8 or later.
- Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution and four lightweight runtime dependencies (anyio, certifi, httpcore, idna).
- Actively maintained with recent commits and a large community (15417 stars); last release was 616 days ago.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute HTTPX freely provided you retain the license notice.
last release 2024-12-06 (616 days) · last repo commit 2026-03-29 · 15,417 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 796,983,818 downloads/mo, #35 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install httpx
import httpx
r = httpx.get('https://www.example.org/')
print(r.status_code)- Whether optional extras (http2, cli, socks, brotli, zstd) are pre-installed or must be specified separately at install time.
- Performance characteristics and concurrency limits compared to other HTTP clients in real-world workloads.
What it is and what it does
HTTPX is a modern HTTP client library for Python that replaces the traditional requests library with a more contemporary design. It provides a requests-compatible API so developers familiar with requests can adopt it easily, while adding native support for both synchronous and asynchronous code paths, HTTP/2 protocol, and strict timeouts by default. The library is fully type-annotated and includes an optional command-line interface.
The package depends on httpcore for low-level transport, certifi for SSL certificate validation, idna for internationalized domain names, and anyio for async compatibility. It supports standard HTTP features like connection pooling, cookie persistence, authentication, streaming downloads, and proxy support. Optional dependencies enable HTTP/2, SOCKS proxies, and enhanced terminal output for the CLI.
Use it for
- Building modern async web scrapers or API clients that need concurrent request handling without threading complexity.
- Replacing requests in existing projects to gain HTTP/2 support and better async/await integration.
- Writing command-line tools that make HTTP requests, using the optional CLI interface.
- Testing WSGI or ASGI applications directly without running a server, using built-in transport adapters.
- Developing applications requiring strict timeout enforcement and type safety across all HTTP operations.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
HTTPX is a top-100 PyPI package with active maintenance, zero known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a permissive BSD license. It is the right choice if you need modern async/await support, HTTP/2, or a requests-compatible API with better type safety. Install it if you are building new projects or modernizing existing ones that rely on HTTP.
Install
httpx on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution and four lightweight runtime dependencies (anyio, certifi, httpcore, idna). Actively maintained with recent commits and a large community (15417 stars); last release was 616 days ago.
Requires Python 3.8 or later.
License in practice
BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute HTTPX freely provided you retain the license notice.
Quickstart
pip install httpx
import httpx
r = httpx.get('https://www.example.org/')
print(r.status_code)Verify before relying
- Whether optional extras (http2, cli, socks, brotli, zstd) are pre-installed or must be specified separately at install time.
- Performance characteristics and concurrency limits compared to other HTTP clients in real-world workloads.
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 4 packagesanyiocertifihttpcoreidna |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 616 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 796,983,818 / month, #35 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentFramework :: AsyncIOFramework :: TrioIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: httpx-0.28.1-py3-none-any.whl
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See also httpr · httpx2 · httpx-aiohttp · urllib3-future · httpx-socks · httpcore2 · pytest-httpx · httpx-oauth