Sending a HTTP HEAD Request With A HttpClient In C#

It is very simple to send GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE requests using a HttpClient.

Here is some code demonstration of how to send the various requests.

var client = new HttpClient();

// Sample request
var payload = new { Name = "James Bond", Age = 50 };
// Serlialize
string jsonPayload = JsonSerializer.Serialize(payload);
// Create a StringContent object with the serialized JSON.
// The content does not have to be JSON!
var content = new StringContent(jsonPayload, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

// Sample get
var getResponse = await client.GetAsync("URL");
// Sample Post
var postResponse = await client.PostAsync("URL", content);
// Sample Put
var putResponse = await client.PutAsync("URL", content);
// Sample Delete
var deleteResponse = await client.DeleteAsync("URL");
// Sample patch
var patchResponse = await client.PatchAsync("URL", content);

You might wonder how to send a HEAD request, as there is no HeadAsync method.

You will have to put in a little more work as you have to create and send a raw HttpRequestMessage instead, which allows you to customise what you want to submit in various ways, including the type of request.

You do it like this:

// Create a custom request message, specifying it is a HEAD
var req = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Head, "URL");
// Send request and await a responce
var headResponse = await client.SendAsync(req);

Happy hacking!