Future-based backends

There are several backend implementations which are scala.concurrent.Future-based. These backends are asynchronous, sending a request is a non-blocking operation and results in a response wrapped in a Future.

Apart from the ones described below, also the Akka backend is Future-based.

Class Supported stream type Websocket support
AkkaHttpBackend akka.stream.scaladsl.Source[ByteString, Any] akka-streams
AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend n/a wrapping a low-level Java interface
OkHttpFutureBackend n/a wrapping a low-level Java interface
HttpClientFutureBackend (Java11+) n/a wrapping a low-level Java interface

Using async-http-client

To use, add the following dependency to your project:

"com.softwaremill.sttp.client" %% "async-http-client-backend-future" % "2.2.4"

And some imports:

import sttp.client._
import sttp.client.asynchttpclient.future.AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend

This backend depends on async-http-client and uses Netty behind the scenes.

Next you’ll need to add an implicit value:

implicit val sttpBackend = AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend()

or, if you’d like to use custom configuration:

import org.asynchttpclient.AsyncHttpClientConfig

val config: AsyncHttpClientConfig = ???
implicit val sttpBackend = AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend.usingConfig(config)

or, if you’d like to use adjust the configuration sttp creates:

import org.asynchttpclient.DefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig

val sttpOptions: SttpBackendOptions = SttpBackendOptions.Default  
val adjustFunction: DefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig.Builder => DefaultAsyncHttpClientConfig.Builder = ???
implicit val sttpBackend = AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend.usingConfigBuilder(adjustFunction, sttpOptions)

or, if you’d like to instantiate the AsyncHttpClient yourself:

import org.asynchttpclient.AsyncHttpClient

val asyncHttpClient: AsyncHttpClient = ???  
implicit val sttpBackend = AsyncHttpClientFutureBackend.usingClient(asyncHttpClient)

Using OkHttp

To use, add the following dependency to your project:

"com.softwaremill.sttp.client" %% "okhttp-backend" % "2.2.4"

and some imports:

import sttp.client.okhttp.OkHttpFutureBackend
import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext.Implicits.global

Create the backend using:

implicit val sttpBackend = OkHttpFutureBackend()

or, if you’d like to instantiate the OkHttpClient yourself:

import okhttp3.OkHttpClient

val asyncHttpClient: OkHttpClient = ???  
implicit val sttpBackend = OkHttpFutureBackend.usingClient(asyncHttpClient)

This backend depends on OkHttp and fully supports HTTP/2.

Using HttpClient (Java 11+)

To use, add the following dependency to your project:

"com.softwaremill.sttp.client" %% "httpclient-backend" % "2.2.4"

and some imports:

import sttp.client.httpclient.HttpClientFutureBackend
import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext.Implicits.global

Create the backend using:

implicit val sttpBackend = HttpClientFutureBackend()

or, if you’d like to instantiate the HttpClient yourself:

import java.net.http.HttpClient

val client: HttpClient = ???  
implicit val sttpBackend = HttpClientFutureBackend.usingClient(client)

This backend is based on the built-in java.net.http.HttpClient available from Java 11 onwards, works with all Scala versions. A Dotty build is available as well.

Streaming

The Akka backend supports streaming using akka-streams.

Other backends don’t support non-blocking streaming.

Websockets

The Akka backend supports websockets through a high-level, streaming, akka-streams-based interface.

Other backends support websockets by wrapping the appropriate low-level Java interface.