neta

Tiny, elegant HTTP client built on fetch for browser and Node.js

• Zero dependencies — uses native globalThis.fetch
• ~12 KB minified, ESM + CJS
• TypeScript ready — full .d.ts type definitions
• Works everywhere — browser, Node.js 18+, Deno, Bun

Install

npm install @anmetric/neta

Quick Start

import neta from "@anmetric/neta";

// GET with JSON parsing
const data = await neta.get("https://api.example.com/users").json();

// POST with JSON body
const user = await neta
  .post("https://api.example.com/users", {
    json: { name: "John", email: "john@example.com" },
  })
  .json();

// Direct callable
const res = await neta("https://api.example.com/users", { method: "get" });

API

neta(input, options?)

Returns a ResponsePromise.

input

Type: string | URL | Request

options

Type: object

All fetch options plus:

json

Type: unknown

JSON body. Automatically stringified and sets Content-Type: application/json.

const data = await neta
  .post("https://api.example.com/items", {
    json: { title: "New Item" },
  })
  .json();

searchParams

Type: string | object | URLSearchParams | Array<[string, string]>

Query parameters appended to the URL.

const data = await neta
  .get("https://api.example.com/search", {
    searchParams: { q: "hello", page: 2 },
  })
  .json();
// => GET https://api.example.com/search?q=hello&page=2

Values set to undefined are filtered out.

prefix

Type: string | URL

Prefix prepended to the input URL. Useful for API base paths.

const api = neta.create({ prefix: "https://api.example.com/v2" });

await api.get("users").json();
// => GET https://api.example.com/v2/users

baseUrl

Type: string | URL

Base URL for resolving relative inputs using standard URL resolution.

const api = neta.create({ baseUrl: "https://api.example.com/v2/" });

await api.get("users").json();
// => GET https://api.example.com/v2/users

await api.get("../v1/legacy").json();
// => GET https://api.example.com/v1/legacy

timeout

Type: number | false
Default: 10000 (10 seconds)

Request timeout in milliseconds. Set to false to disable.

totalTimeout

Type: number | false
Default: false

Total timeout across all retries in milliseconds.

await neta.get("https://api.example.com/slow", {
  timeout: 5000,
  totalTimeout: 30000,
  retry: 5,
});

retry

Type: number | object
Default: { limit: 2 }

Retry configuration. Pass a number for simple retry limit, or an object for full control.

// Simple
await neta.get(url, { retry: 3 });

// Full control
await neta.get(url, {
  retry: {
    limit: 3,
    methods: ["get", "put", "head", "delete", "options"],
    statusCodes: [408, 413, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504],
    afterStatusCodes: [413, 429, 503],
    maxRetryAfter: Infinity,
    backoffLimit: Infinity,
    delay: (attemptCount) => 300 * 2 ** (attemptCount - 1),
    jitter: false,
    retryOnTimeout: false,
    shouldRetry: undefined,
  },
});

retry.limit

Type: number
Default: 2

Maximum number of retries.

retry.methods

Type: string[]
Default: ['get', 'put', 'head', 'delete', 'options']

HTTP methods eligible for retry.

retry.statusCodes

Type: number[]
Default: [408, 413, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504]

HTTP status codes that trigger a retry.

retry.afterStatusCodes

Type: number[]
Default: [413, 429, 503]

Status codes where the Retry-After header is honored.

retry.maxRetryAfter

Type: number
Default: Infinity

Maximum Retry-After delay (ms) to accept.

retry.backoffLimit

Type: number
Default: Infinity

Maximum backoff delay (ms).

retry.delay

Type: (attemptCount: number) => number
Default: (n) => 300 * 2 ** (n - 1)

Function returning delay in ms for each attempt.

retry.jitter

Type: boolean | ((delay: number) => number)
Default: false

Add randomness to retry delay to prevent thundering herd.

• true — random value between 0 and computed delay
• function — custom jitter function

await neta.get(url, {
  retry: {
    limit: 5,
    delay: (n) => 1000 * 2 ** (n - 1),
    jitter: true,
  },
});

retry.retryOnTimeout

Type: boolean
Default: false

Whether to retry when a request times out.

retry.shouldRetry

Type: ({ error, retryCount }) => boolean | undefined | Promise<boolean | undefined>

Custom function to decide whether to retry. Takes precedence over default checks.

• Return true to force retry
• Return false to prevent retry
• Return undefined to fall through to default behavior

await neta.get(url, {
  retry: {
    limit: 3,
    shouldRetry: ({ error, retryCount }) => {
      if (error.response?.status === 401) return false; // Don't retry auth errors
      return undefined; // Default behavior for others
    },
  },
});

throwHttpErrors

Type: boolean | ((status: number) => boolean)
Default: true

Throw HTTPError for non-2xx responses. Pass a function for custom logic.

// Never throw
const response = await neta.get(url, { throwHttpErrors: false });

// Only throw on 5xx
const response = await neta.get(url, {
  throwHttpErrors: (status) => status >= 500,
});

parseJson

Type: (text: string, context: { request, response }) => unknown

Custom JSON parser. Useful for reviving dates, BigInts, etc.

import LosslessJSON from "lossless-json";

const data = await neta
  .get(url, {
    parseJson: (text) => LosslessJSON.parse(text),
  })
  .json();

stringifyJson

Type: (value: unknown) => string

Custom JSON serializer for the json option.

import LosslessJSON from "lossless-json";

await neta.post(url, {
  json: data,
  stringifyJson: (value) => LosslessJSON.stringify(value),
});

bearerToken

Type: string

Convenience option to set the Authorization: Bearer <token> header. If an Authorization header is already set explicitly, bearerToken will not override it.

const data = await neta
  .get("https://api.example.com/me", {
    bearerToken: "abc123",
  })
  .json();
// Sets header: Authorization: Bearer abc123

// Works with create/extend
const api = neta.create({
  prefix: "https://api.example.com",
  bearerToken: "abc123",
});

context

Type: Record<string, unknown>
Default: {}

Arbitrary data passed through to hooks. Not sent with the request.

await neta.get(url, {
  context: { token: "abc123" },
  hooks: {
    init: [
      (options) => {
        options.headers = {
          ...options.headers,
          Authorization: `Bearer ${options.context.token}`,
        };
      },
    ],
  },
});

fetch

Type: typeof globalThis.fetch

Custom fetch implementation.

import { fetch } from "undici";

const api = neta.create({ fetch });

onDownloadProgress

Type: (progress: { percent, transferredBytes, totalBytes }) => void

Download progress callback. Requires ReadableStream support.

await neta.get("https://example.com/large-file", {
  onDownloadProgress: ({ percent, transferredBytes, totalBytes }) => {
    console.log(
      `${Math.round(percent * 100)}% (${transferredBytes}/${totalBytes})`,
    );
  },
});

onUploadProgress

Type: (progress: { percent, transferredBytes, totalBytes }) => void

Upload progress callback. Requires request streams support (duplex: 'half').

HTTP Method Shortcuts

neta.get(input, options?)
neta.post(input, options?)
neta.put(input, options?)
neta.patch(input, options?)
neta.delete(input, options?)
neta.head(input, options?)
neta.options(input, options?)

ResponsePromise

neta methods return a ResponsePromise — a Promise<Response> with body parsing shortcuts:

const json = await neta.get(url).json();
const text = await neta.get(url).text();
const blob = await neta.get(url).blob();
const buffer = await neta.get(url).arrayBuffer();
const form = await neta.get(url).formData();

.json(schema?)

Parse response as JSON. Optionally validate against a Standard Schema:

import { z } from "zod";

const user = await neta.get("/user/1").json(
  z.object({
    id: z.number(),
    name: z.string(),
  }),
);
// Throws SchemaValidationError if validation fails

Instance Creation

neta.create(defaults?)

Create a new instance with default options:

const api = neta.create({
  prefix: "https://api.example.com",
  bearerToken: "my-token",
  timeout: 30000,
  retry: 3,
});

const data = await api.get("users").json();

neta.extend(defaults?)

Alias for neta.create(). Creates a new instance by extending existing defaults:

const api = neta.create({ prefix: "https://api.example.com" });
const authApi = api.extend({ bearerToken: "my-token" });

Hooks

Five hook points for intercepting the request lifecycle.

hooks.init

Type: Array<(options) => void>

Called synchronously before anything else. Can mutate options directly.

neta.create({
  hooks: {
    init: [
      (options) => {
        options.headers = {
          ...options.headers,
          "X-Request-Id": crypto.randomUUID(),
        };
      },
    ],
  },
});

hooks.beforeRequest

Type: Array<({ request, options, retryCount }) => Request | Response | void>

Called before each request. Return a Request to replace it, a Response to short-circuit, or nothing.

neta.create({
  hooks: {
    beforeRequest: [
      ({ request }) => {
        console.log(`${request.method} ${request.url}`);
      },
    ],
  },
});

hooks.afterResponse

Type: Array<({ request, options, response, retryCount }) => Response | RetryMarker | void>

Called after a successful response. Return a Response to replace it, or neta.retry() to force a retry.

const api = neta.create({
  hooks: {
    afterResponse: [
      async ({ request, response }) => {
        if (response.status === 401) {
          const token = await refreshToken();
          return neta.retry({
            request: new Request(request, {
              headers: {
                ...Object.fromEntries(request.headers),
                Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`,
              },
            }),
          });
        }
      },
    ],
  },
});

hooks.beforeError

Type: Array<({ request, options, error, retryCount }) => Error | void>

Called before an error is thrown. Return an Error to replace it.

neta.create({
  hooks: {
    beforeError: [
      ({ error }) => {
        if (error instanceof HTTPError) {
          error.message = `API Error: ${error.response.status}`;
        }
        return error;
      },
    ],
  },
});

hooks.beforeRetry

Type: Array<({ request, options, error, retryCount }) => Request | Response | symbol | void>

Called before each retry attempt. Return:

• Request — use this request for the retry
• Response — skip the retry and use this response
• stop — abort the retry loop
• nothing — proceed normally

import { stop } from "@anmetric/neta";

neta.create({
  hooks: {
    beforeRetry: [
      ({ error, retryCount }) => {
        console.log(`Retry #${retryCount}: ${error.message}`);
        if (retryCount > 3) return stop;
      },
    ],
  },
});

Error Handling

HTTPError

Thrown for non-2xx responses (when throwHttpErrors is true).

import { HTTPError } from "@anmetric/neta";

try {
  await neta.get("https://api.example.com/missing");
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof HTTPError) {
    console.log(error.response.status); // 404
    console.log(error.data); // Auto-parsed response body
    console.log(error.request); // The Request object
  }
}

TimeoutError

Thrown when a request exceeds the timeout or totalTimeout.

import { TimeoutError } from "@anmetric/neta";

try {
  await neta.get(url, { timeout: 1000 });
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof TimeoutError) {
    console.log("Request timed out:", error.request.url);
  }
}

NetworkError

Thrown on network failures (DNS, connection refused, etc.).

import { NetworkError } from "@anmetric/neta";

try {
  await neta.get("https://nonexistent.invalid");
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof NetworkError) {
    console.log("Network error:", error.message);
    console.log("Cause:", error.cause);
  }
}

SchemaValidationError

Thrown when JSON response fails schema validation.

import { SchemaValidationError } from "@anmetric/neta";

try {
  await neta.get(url).json(mySchema);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof SchemaValidationError) {
    console.log("Validation issues:", error.issues);
  }
}

TypeScript

neta ships with full TypeScript definitions. Generic type parameters work on .json():

interface User {
  id: number;
  name: string;
}

const user = await neta.get("https://api.example.com/user/1").json<User>();
// user is typed as User

Retry-After Header Support

neta automatically parses these headers during retry:

• Retry-After
• RateLimit-Reset
• X-RateLimit-Retry-After
• X-RateLimit-Reset
• X-Rate-Limit-Reset

Supports seconds, timestamps, and HTTP dates.

Browser + Node.js

neta uses globalThis.fetch which is available natively in:

• All modern browsers
• Node.js 18+
• Deno
• Bun

No polyfills needed.

License

MIT