rnet

What it is and what it does

rnet is a Python HTTP client built on top of the Rust library wreq, designed to make HTTP requests while impersonating real browsers by spoofing their TLS and HTTP/2 signatures. It supports both async and blocking APIs, cookie storage, header ordering, redirect policies, rotating proxies, connection pooling, streaming, WebSocket upgrades, and async DNS resolution. The core value proposition is browser fingerprinting: by emulating the exact TLS cipher suites, curves, and HTTP/2 frame ordering of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, OkHttp, and Edge, it helps applications bypass fingerprint-based bot detection.

The package has no Python runtime dependencies and is distributed as precompiled wheels for modern Python versions (3.7+) across Linux, macOS, and Windows. Installation requires a binary for your platform; source builds need Rust, maturin, and BoringSSL build tools. The library is actively maintained, marked as production-stable, and carries a GPLv3 license, which imposes source-code-sharing obligations on any downstream distribution.

Use it for:

• Scraping websites that use TLS fingerprinting to detect and block automated clients.
• Building bots or crawlers that need to evade browser-detection middleware while making HTTPS requests.
• Testing web applications' fingerprint-based security controls by simulating real browser signatures.
• Making HTTP requests from applications that require precise browser impersonation (e.g., API clients that validate User-Agent and TLS handshake consistency).
• Async web scraping or data collection where connection pooling and streaming transfers reduce overhead.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

An HTTP client library with browser fingerprinting that emulates Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and OkHttp using TLS/HTTP2 signatures, available in both async and blocking variants.

Yes, if you need to bypass TLS fingerprinting detection and accept the GPLv3 copyleft license. The package is actively maintained, has no Python dependencies, and offers broad platform support. Install friction is moderate due to reliance on precompiled wheels. Not suitable if your project cannot comply with GPLv3 source-disclosure terms or if you need a permissive-license HTTP client.

Install

rnet on PyPI

pip install rnet

uv add rnet

poetry add rnet

Installing rnet

Before you install

Medium install friction: compiled wheels are available for Python 3.10–3.13 across Linux (glibc and musl), macOS, and Windows, but the package is a Rust-backed extension requiring platform-specific binaries. Last release was 377 days ago; repository is active with recent commits and 1423 stars.

License in practice

Licensed under GPL-3.0 (copyleft). Any application that links or distributes rnet must comply with GPLv3 terms, including source code disclosure obligations if distributed.

Quickstart

pip install rnet

import asyncio
from rnet import Impersonate, Client

async def main():
    client = Client(impersonate=Impersonate.Firefox139)
    resp = await client.get("https://example.com")
    print(await resp.text())

asyncio.run(main())

Requires Python 3.7 or later; no runtime dependencies, but installation requires a prebuilt wheel for your platform (Linux glibc/musl, macOS, or Windows).

Verify before relying

• Whether the package's performance claims (outperforming requests, httpx, curl_cffi) are independently verified or based on the author's benchmark.
• Whether all advertised browser versions (Chrome100–Chrome137, Safari variants, Firefox versions, OkHttp versions, Edge, Opera) are fully functional or represent supported impersonation targets.
• Whether the zero-copy and free-threaded safety features are production-ready or still experimental.

Package facts

Evidence: rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_34_aarch64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_34_armv7l.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_34_i686.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_armv7l.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp310-cp310-win_arm64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_12_x86_64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_34_aarch64.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_34_armv7l.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_34_i686.whl; rnet-2.4.2-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl

Keywords: http, client, websocket, ja3, ja4

Tags

More Python Modules packages