Request Headers

Learn how to handle HTTP request headers in Iris.

Reading Headers

package main

import "github.com/kataras/iris/v12"

func main() {
    app := iris.New()

    app.Get("/headers", func(ctx iris.Context) {
        // Get single header
        userAgent := ctx.GetHeader("User-Agent")

        // Get multiple headers
        accept := ctx.GetHeader("Accept")
        encoding := ctx.GetHeader("Accept-Encoding")
        language := ctx.GetHeader("Accept-Language")

        ctx.JSON(iris.Map{
            "userAgent": userAgent,
            "accept": accept,
            "encoding": encoding,
            "language": language,
        })
    })

    app.Listen(":8080")
}

Custom Headers

app.Get("/custom", func(ctx iris.Context) {
    // Get custom header
    apiKey := ctx.GetHeader("X-API-Key")
    if apiKey == "" {
        ctx.StopWithStatus(iris.StatusUnauthorized)
        return
    }

    ctx.JSON(iris.Map{
        "authenticated": true,
    })
})

Header Existence

app.Get("/check", func(ctx iris.Context) {
    hasAuth := ctx.GetHeader("Authorization") != ""
    hasContentType := ctx.GetHeader("Content-Type") != ""

    ctx.JSON(iris.Map{
        "hasAuth": hasAuth,
        "hasContentType": hasContentType,
    })
})

Multiple Values

app.Get("/multiple", func(ctx iris.Context) {
    // Get all values for a header
    accepts := ctx.Request().Header["Accept"]

    ctx.JSON(iris.Map{
        "accepts": accepts,
    })
})

Best Practices

1. Security:

   • Validate headers
   • Check required headers
   • Handle missing headers
   • Sanitize values
   • Monitor suspicious headers

2. Performance:

   • Cache header values
   • Handle large headers
   • Monitor header size
   • Optimize parsing
   • Clean up resources

3. Implementation:

   • Use constants
   • Handle case sensitivity
   • Document requirements
   • Follow standards
   • Test edge cases

4. Maintenance:

   • Monitor usage
   • Update validation
   • Document changes
   • Regular testing
   • Review security