larzhttp

An ergonomic HTTP client in pure Python. Zero dependencies.

The requests-style API everyone already knows — backed by the standard library instead of a dependency tree.

import larzhttp

r = larzhttp.get("https://api.example.com/items", params={"page": 2}, timeout=10)
r.status_code            # 200
r.ok                     # True
r.json()                 # parsed body

larzhttp.post(url, json={"name": "Ada"}, headers={"X-Key": "..."}).raise_for_status()

Why

• Zero dependencies. It's urllib under the hood — nothing to install, no transitive supply chain, runs anywhere Python does. Perfect when you don't want to pull requests (and its deps) into a small tool, a lambda, or a locked-down environment.
• Familiar API. get/post/put/patch/delete/head, params=, json=, data=, headers=, auth=, timeout= — the shapes you already use.
• The conveniences that matter. JSON in and out, automatic gzip/deflate decoding, basic auth, cookie-persisting sessions, and retries with exponential backoff on connection errors and 5xx.
• Real responses. .status_code, .ok, .text, .content, .json(), .headers, .url, and .raise_for_status().

Install

pip install larzhttp

Usage

import larzhttp

# query params & JSON
larzhttp.get(url, params={"q": "hello", "page": 2})
larzhttp.post(url, json={"name": "Ada"})
larzhttp.post(url, data={"form": "field"})          # url-encoded form

# auth, headers, timeout
larzhttp.get(url, auth=("user", "pass"), headers={"X-Key": "k"}, timeout=5)

# handle errors
r = larzhttp.get(url)
r.raise_for_status()          # raises HTTPError on 4xx/5xx

Sessions

A Session reuses headers, cookies, a base URL, and retry settings across requests:

from larzhttp import Session

with Session(base_url="https://api.example.com",
             headers={"Authorization": "Bearer TOKEN"},
             retries=3) as s:
    me = s.get("/me").raise_for_status().json()
    s.post("/events", json={"type": "login"})

Retries & timeouts

larzhttp.get(url, retries=3)          # backs off on connection errors and 5xx
larzhttp.get(url, timeout=2)          # raises Timeout if exceeded

Exceptions: HTTPError (from raise_for_status), ConnectionError, Timeout.

Scope

larzhttp covers the everyday HTTP-client surface with zero dependencies. It's not (yet) an async client, and it doesn't do HTTP/2 or connection pooling like the big libraries — if you need those, reach for httpx. For scripts, SDKs, webhooks, API calls, and services that value a tiny footprint, this is all you need.

Tests

python -m unittest discover -s tests -v   # 21 tests against a live localhost server

The Larz stack

Pure-Python, zero-dependency building blocks:

• larz — money-native web framework
• larzchain — from-scratch PoW blockchain
• larzmoney — exact, penny-perfect money
• larzcrypt — pure-Python cryptography toolkit
• larzdb — crash-safe embedded database
• larzagent — zero-dep AI agent framework
• larzchart — data to inline SVG charts
• larzmark — Markdown + SEO static sites
• larztask — durable background job queue
• larzvault — encrypted secrets manager
• larzvm — deterministic gas-metered VM
• larzcache — LRU/TTL/tiered caching
• larzvalidate — schema validation
• larzid — decentralized identity
• larzrpc — JSON-RPC over HTTP
• larzstate — durable workflows & state machines
• larzhttp — this library

License

MIT © larz-scripter