httpstream — Stream-first HTTP client for Go

Efficient, zero-buffer streaming for large HTTP payloads — built on top of net/http.

go get github.com/nativebpm/httpstream

Overview

httpstream provides a minimal, streaming-oriented API for building HTTP requests without buffering entire payloads in memory.
Ideal for large JSON bodies, multipart uploads, generated archives, or continuous data feeds.

Key Features

• Stream data directly via io.Pipe — no intermediate buffers
• Constant memory usage (O(1)), regardless of payload size
• Natural backpressure (writes block when receiver is slow)
• Thin net/http wrapper — fully compatible
• Middleware support: func(http.RoundTripper) http.RoundTripper
• Fluent API for readability (GET, POST, Multipart, etc.)
• No goroutine leaks, no globals

How It Works

httpstream connects your writer directly to the HTTP transport.
Data is transmitted as it’s produced — the server can start processing immediately,
without waiting for the full body to be buffered.

flowchart TB
    subgraph P["io.Pipe()"]
        PW["PipeWriter"] --> PR["PipeReader"]
    end

    W["Writer (goroutine)"] -->|"writes into"| P
    P -->|"provides data to"| R["Reader"]

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Why Streaming Matters

Traditional HTTP clients buffer request bodies entirely before sending.
For large or dynamically generated payloads, this leads to:

• High memory usage (O(n) where n = payload size)
• Slow transmission start (server waits for full upload)
• Out-of-memory errors in constrained environments

httpstream eliminates these issues by design.

Examples

• Streaming multipart upload
• Without fluent API (for comparison)
• Logger middleware
• Gotenbergo Client: Built on httpstream for efficient multipart uploads

License

MIT — see LICENSE.