README.md

![Alamofire: Elegant Networking in Swift](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Alamofire/Alamofire/assets/alamofire.png)

[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/Alamofire/Alamofire.svg)](https://travis-ci.org/Alamofire/Alamofire)
[![Cocoapods Compatible](https://img.shields.io/cocoapods/v/Alamofire.svg)](https://img.shields.io/cocoapods/v/Alamofire.svg)
[![Carthage compatible](https://img.shields.io/badge/Carthage-compatible-4BC51D.svg?style=flat)](https://github.com/Carthage/Carthage)

Alamofire is an HTTP networking library written in Swift.

## Features

- [x] Chainable Request / Response methods
- [x] URL / JSON / plist Parameter Encoding
- [x] Upload File / Data / Stream / MultipartFormData
- [x] Download using Request or Resume data
- [x] Authentication with NSURLCredential
- [x] HTTP Response Validation
- [x] Progress Closure & NSProgress
- [x] cURL Debug Output
- [x] Comprehensive Unit Test Coverage
- [x] [Complete Documentation](http://cocoadocs.org/docsets/Alamofire)

## Requirements

- iOS 7.0+ / Mac OS X 10.9+
- Xcode 6.3

## Communication

- If you **need help**, use [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/alamofire). (Tag 'alamofire')
- If you'd like to **ask a general question**, use [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/alamofire).
- If you **found a bug**, open an issue.
- If you **have a feature request**, open an issue.
- If you **want to contribute**, submit a pull request.

## Installation

> **Embedded frameworks require a minimum deployment target of iOS 8 or OS X Mavericks.**
>
> To use Alamofire with a project targeting iOS 7, you must include all Swift files located inside the `Source` directory directly in your project. See the ['Source File'](#source-file) section for additional instructions.

### CocoaPods

[CocoaPods](http://cocoapods.org) is a dependency manager for Cocoa projects.

CocoaPods 0.36 adds supports for Swift and embedded frameworks. You can install it with the following command:

```bash
$ gem install cocoapods
```

To integrate Alamofire into your Xcode project using CocoaPods, specify it in your `Podfile`:

```ruby
source 'https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git'
platform :ios, '8.0'
use_frameworks!

pod 'Alamofire', '~> 1.2'
```

Then, run the following command:

```bash
$ pod install
```

### Carthage

[Carthage](https://github.com/Carthage/Carthage) is a decentralized dependency manager that automates the process of adding frameworks to your Cocoa application.

You can install Carthage with [Homebrew](http://brew.sh/) using the following command:

```bash
$ brew update
$ brew install carthage
```

To integrate Alamofire into your Xcode project using Carthage, specify it in your `Cartfile`:

```ogdl
github "Alamofire/Alamofire" >= 1.2
```

### Manually

If you prefer not to use either of the aforementioned dependency managers, you can integrate Alamofire into your project manually.

#### Embedded Framework

- Add Alamofire as a [submodule](http://git-scm.com/docs/git-submodule) by opening the Terminal, `cd`-ing into your top-level project directory, and entering the following command:

```bash
$ git submodule add https://github.com/Alamofire/Alamofire.git
```

- Open the new `Alamofire` folder, and drag the `Alamofire.xcodeproj` into the Project Navigator of your application's Xcode project.

    > It should appear nested underneath your application's blue project icon. Whether it is above or below all the other Xcode groups does not matter.

- Select the `Alamofire.xcodeproj` in the Project Navigator and verify the deployment target matches that of your application target.
- Next, select your application project in the Project Navigator (blue project icon) to navigate to the target configuration window and select the application target under the "Targets" heading in the sidebar.
- In the tab bar at the top of that window, open the "General" panel.
- Click on the `+` button under the "Embedded Binaries" section.
- You will see two different `Alamofire.xcodeproj` folders each with two different versions of the `Alamofire.framework` nested inside a `Products` folder.

    > It does not matter which `Products` folder you choose from, but it does matter whether you choose the top or bottom `Alamofire.framework`. 
    
- Select the top `Alamofire.framework` for iOS and the bottom one for OS X.

    > You can verify which one you selected by inspecting the build log for your project. The build target for `Alamofire` will be listed as either `Alamofire iOS` or `Alamofire OSX`.

- And that's it!

> The `Alamofire.framework` is automagically added as a target dependency, linked framework and embedded framework in a copy files build phase which is all you need to build on the simulator and a device.

#### Source File

For application targets that do not support embedded frameworks, such as iOS 7, Alamofire can be integrated by adding all the Swift files located inside the `Source` directory (`Source/*.swift`) directly into your project. Note that you will no longer need to `import Alamofire` since you are not actually loading a framework. Additionally, any of the calling conventions described in the ['Usage'](#usage) section with the `Alamofire` prefix would instead omit it (for example, `Alamofire.request` becomes `request`), since this functionality is incorporated into the top-level namespace.

---

## Usage

### Making a Request

```swift
import Alamofire

Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get")
```

### Response Handling

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"])
         .response { request, response, data, error in
              println(request)
              println(response)
              println(error)
          }
```

> Networking in Alamofire is done _asynchronously_. Asynchronous programming may be a source of frustration to programmers unfamiliar with the concept, but there are [very good reasons](https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/qa/qa1693/_index.html) for doing it this way.

> Rather than blocking execution to wait for a response from the server, a [callback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callback_%28computer_programming%29) is specified to handle the response once it's received. The result of a request is only available inside the scope of a response handler. Any execution contingent on the response or data received from the server must be done within a handler.

### Response Serialization

**Built-in Response Methods**

- `response()`
- `responseString(encoding: NSStringEncoding)`
- `responseJSON(options: NSJSONReadingOptions)`
- `responsePropertyList(options: NSPropertyListReadOptions)`

####  Response String Handler

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get")
         .responseString { _, _, string, _ in
             println(string)
         }
```

####  Response JSON Handler

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get")
         .responseJSON { _, _, JSON, _ in
             println(JSON)
         }
```

#### Chained Response Handlers

Response handlers can even be chained:

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get")
         .responseString { _, _, string, _ in
             println(string)
         }
         .responseJSON { _, _, JSON, _ in
             println(JSON)
         }
```

### HTTP Methods

`Alamofire.Method` lists the HTTP methods defined in [RFC 7231 §4.3](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-4.3):

```swift
public enum Method: String {
    case OPTIONS = "OPTIONS"
    case GET = "GET"
    case HEAD = "HEAD"
    case POST = "POST"
    case PUT = "PUT"
    case PATCH = "PATCH"
    case DELETE = "DELETE"
    case TRACE = "TRACE"
    case CONNECT = "CONNECT"
}
```

These values can be passed as the first argument of the `Alamofire.request` method:

```swift
Alamofire.request(.POST, "http://httpbin.org/post")

Alamofire.request(.PUT, "http://httpbin.org/put")

Alamofire.request(.DELETE, "http://httpbin.org/delete")
```

### Parameters

#### GET Request With URL-Encoded Parameters

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"])
// http://httpbin.org/get?foo=bar
```

#### POST Request With URL-Encoded Parameters

```swift
let parameters = [
    "foo": "bar",
    "baz": ["a", 1],
    "qux": [
        "x": 1,
        "y": 2,
        "z": 3
    ]
]

Alamofire.request(.POST, "http://httpbin.org/post", parameters: parameters)
// HTTP body: foo=bar&baz[]=a&baz[]=1&qux[x]=1&qux[y]=2&qux[z]=3
```

### Parameter Encoding

Parameters can also be encoded as JSON, Property List, or any custom format, using the `ParameterEncoding` enum:

```swift
enum ParameterEncoding {
    case URL
    case JSON
    case PropertyList(format: NSPropertyListFormat, options: NSPropertyListWriteOptions)
    case Custom((URLRequestConvertible, [String: AnyObject]?) -> (NSMutableURLRequest, NSError?))

    func encode(request: NSURLRequest, parameters: [String: AnyObject]?) -> (NSURLRequest, NSError?)
    { ... }
}
```

- `URL`: A query string to be set as or appended to any existing URL query for `GET`, `HEAD`, and `DELETE` requests, or set as the body for requests with any other HTTP method. The `Content-Type` HTTP header field of an encoded request with HTTP body is set to `application/x-www-form-urlencoded`. _Since there is no published specification for how to encode collection types, Alamofire follows the convention of appending `[]` to the key for array values (`foo[]=1&foo[]=2`), and appending the key surrounded by square brackets for nested dictionary values (`foo[bar]=baz`)._
- `JSON`: Uses `NSJSONSerialization` to create a JSON representation of the parameters object, which is set as the body of the request. The `Content-Type` HTTP header field of an encoded request is set to `application/json`.
- `PropertyList`: Uses `NSPropertyListSerialization` to create a plist representation of the parameters object, according to the associated format and write options values, which is set as the body of the request. The `Content-Type` HTTP header field of an encoded request is set to `application/x-plist`.
- `Custom`: Uses the associated closure value to construct a new request given an existing request and parameters.

#### Manual Parameter Encoding of an NSURLRequest

```swift
let URL = NSURL(string: "http://httpbin.org/get")!
var request = NSURLRequest(URL: URL)

let parameters = ["foo": "bar"]
let encoding = Alamofire.ParameterEncoding.URL
(request, _) = encoding.encode(request, parameters: parameters)
```

#### POST Request with JSON-encoded Parameters

```swift
let parameters = [
    "foo": [1,2,3],
    "bar": [
        "baz": "qux"
    ]
]

Alamofire.request(.POST, "http://httpbin.org/post", parameters: parameters, encoding: .JSON)
// HTTP body: {"foo": [1, 2, 3], "bar": {"baz": "qux"}}
```

### HTTP Headers

Adding a custom HTTP header to a `Request` is supported directly in the global `request` method. This makes it easy to attach HTTP headers to a `Request` that can be constantly changing.

> For HTTP headers that do not change, it is recommended to set them on the `NSURLSessionConfiguration` so they are automatically applied to any `NSURLSessionTask` created by the underlying `NSURLSession`.

```swift
let headers = [
    "Authorization", "Basic QWxhZGRpbjpvcGVuIHNlc2FtZQ==",
    "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
]

Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", headers: headers)
         .responseJSON { _, _, JSON, _ in
             println(JSON)
         }
```

### Caching

Caching is handled on the system framework level by [`NSURLCache`](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLCache_Class/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/NSURLCache).

### Uploading

**Supported Upload Types**

- File
- Data
- Stream
- MultipartFormData

#### Uploading a File

```swift
let fileURL = NSBundle.mainBundle().URLForResource("Default", withExtension: "png")
Alamofire.upload(.POST, "http://httpbin.org/post", file: fileURL)
```

#### Uploading with Progress

```swift
Alamofire.upload(.POST, "http://httpbin.org/post", file: fileURL)
         .progress { bytesWritten, totalBytesWritten, totalBytesExpectedToWrite in
             println(totalBytesWritten)
         }
         .responseJSON { request, response, JSON, error in
             println(JSON)
         }
```

#### Uploading MultipartFormData

```swift
Alamofire.upload(
    .POST,
    URLString: "http://httpbin.org/post",
    multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in
        multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(fileURL: unicornImageURL, name: "unicorn")
        multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(fileURL: rainbowImageURL, name: "rainbow")
    },
    encodingCompletion: { encodingResult in
    	switch encodingResult {
    	case .Success(let upload, _, _):
            upload.responseJSON { request, response, JSON, error in
                println(JSON)
            }
    	case .Failure(let encodingError):
    	    println(encodingError)
    	}
    }
)
```

### Downloading

**Supported Download Types**

- Request
- Resume Data

#### Downloading a File

```swift
Alamofire.download(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/stream/100", destination: { temporaryURL, response in
    let fileManager = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
    if let directoryURL = fileManager.URLsForDirectory(.DocumentDirectory, inDomains: .UserDomainMask)[0] as? NSURL {
        let pathComponent = response.suggestedFilename
        return directoryURL.URLByAppendingPathComponent(pathComponent!)
    }

    return temporaryURL
})
```

#### Using the Default Download Destination

```swift
let destination = Alamofire.Request.suggestedDownloadDestination(directory: .DocumentDirectory, domain: .UserDomainMask)
Alamofire.download(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/stream/100", destination: destination)
```

#### Downloading a File w/Progress

```swift
Alamofire.download(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/stream/100", destination: destination)
         .progress { bytesRead, totalBytesRead, totalBytesExpectedToRead in
             println(totalBytesRead)
         }
         .response { request, response, _, error in
             println(response)
         }
```

### Authentication

Authentication is handled on the system framework level by [`NSURLCredential` and `NSURLAuthenticationChallenge`](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLAuthenticationChallenge_Class/Reference/Reference.html).

**Supported Authentication Schemes**

- [HTTP Basic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_access_authentication)
- [HTTP Digest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digest_access_authentication)
- [Kerberos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos_%28protocol%29)
- [NTLM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NT_LAN_Manager)

#### HTTP Basic Authentication

```swift
let user = "user"
let password = "password"

Alamofire.request(.GET, "https://httpbin.org/basic-auth/\(user)/\(password)")
         .authenticate(user: user, password: password)
         .response { request, response, _, error in
             println(response)
         }
```

#### Authentication with NSURLCredential

```swift
let user = "user"
let password = "password"

let credential = NSURLCredential(user: user, password: password, persistence: .ForSession)

Alamofire.request(.GET, "https://httpbin.org/basic-auth/\(user)/\(password)")
         .authenticate(usingCredential: credential)
         .response { request, response, _, error in
             println(response)
         }
```

### Validation

By default, Alamofire treats any completed request to be successful, regardless of the content of the response. Calling `validate` before a response handler causes an error to be generated if the response had an unacceptable status code or MIME type.

#### Manual Validation

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"])
         .validate(statusCode: 200..<300)
         .validate(contentType: ["application/json"])
         .response { _, _, _, error in
                  println(error)
         }
```

#### Automatic Validation

Automatically validates status code within `200...299` range, and that the `Content-Type` header of the response matches the `Accept` header of the request, if one is provided.

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"])
         .validate()
         .response { _, _, _, error in
             println(error)
         }
```

### Printable

```swift
let request = Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/ip")

println(request)
// GET http://httpbin.org/ip (200)
```

### DebugPrintable

```swift
let request = Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get", parameters: ["foo": "bar"])

debugPrintln(request)
```

#### Output (cURL)

```bash
$ curl -i \
	-H "User-Agent: Alamofire" \
	-H "Accept-Encoding: Accept-Encoding: gzip;q=1.0,compress;q=0.5" \
	-H "Accept-Language: en;q=1.0,fr;q=0.9,de;q=0.8,zh-Hans;q=0.7,zh-Hant;q=0.6,ja;q=0.5" \
	"http://httpbin.org/get?foo=bar"
```

---

## Advanced Usage

> Alamofire is built on `NSURLSession` and the Foundation URL Loading System. To make the most of
this framework, it is recommended that you be familiar with the concepts and capabilities of the underlying networking stack.

**Recommended Reading**

- [URL Loading System Programming Guide](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/URLLoadingSystem/URLLoadingSystem.html)
- [NSURLSession Class Reference](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Foundation/Reference/NSURLSession_class/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/NSURLSession)
- [NSURLCache Class Reference](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLCache_Class/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/NSURLCache)
- [NSURLAuthenticationChallenge Class Reference](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLAuthenticationChallenge_Class/Reference/Reference.html)

### Manager

Top-level convenience methods like `Alamofire.request` use a shared instance of `Alamofire.Manager`, which is configured with the default `NSURLSessionConfiguration`.

As such, the following two statements are equivalent:

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://httpbin.org/get")
```

```swift
let manager = Alamofire.Manager.sharedInstance
manager.request(NSURLRequest(URL: NSURL(string: "http://httpbin.org/get")))
```

Applications can create managers for background and ephemeral sessions, as well as new managers that customize the default session configuration, such as for default headers (`HTTPAdditionalHeaders`) or timeout interval (`timeoutIntervalForRequest`).

#### Creating a Manager with Default Configuration

```swift
let configuration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration()
let manager = Alamofire.Manager(configuration: configuration)
```

#### Creating a Manager with Background Configuration

```swift
let configuration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.backgroundSessionConfiguration("com.example.app.background")
let manager = Alamofire.Manager(configuration: configuration)
```

#### Creating a Manager with Ephemeral Configuration

```swift
let configuration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.ephemeralSessionConfiguration()
let manager = Alamofire.Manager(configuration: configuration)
```

#### Modifying Session Configuration

```swift
var defaultHeaders = Alamofire.Manager.sharedInstance.session.configuration.HTTPAdditionalHeaders ?? [:]
defaultHeaders["DNT"] = "1 (Do Not Track Enabled)"

let configuration = NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration()
configuration.HTTPAdditionalHeaders = defaultHeaders

let manager = Alamofire.Manager(configuration: configuration)
```

> This is **not** recommended for `Authorization` or `Content-Type` headers. Instead, use `URLRequestConvertible` and `ParameterEncoding`, respectively.

### Request

The result of a `request`, `upload`, or `download` method is an instance of `Alamofire.Request`. A request is always created using a constructor method from an owning manager, and never initialized directly.

Methods like `authenticate`, `validate`, and `response` return the caller in order to facilitate chaining.

Requests can be suspended, resumed, and cancelled:

- `suspend()`: Suspends the underlying task and dispatch queue
- `resume()`: Resumes the underlying task and dispatch queue. If the owning manager does not have `startRequestsImmediately` set to `true`, the request must call `resume()` in order to start.
- `cancel()`: Cancels the underlying task, producing an error that is passed to any registered response handlers.

### Response Serialization

#### Creating a Custom Response Serializer

Alamofire provides built-in response serialization for strings, JSON, and property lists, but others can be added in extensions on `Alamofire.Request`.

For example, here's how a response handler using [Ono](https://github.com/mattt/Ono) might be implemented:

```swift
extension Request {
    class func XMLResponseSerializer() -> Serializer {
        return { request, response, data in
            if data == nil {
                return (nil, nil)
            }

            var XMLSerializationError: NSError?
            let XML = ONOXMLDocument(data: data, &XMLSerializationError)

            return (XML, XMLSerializationError)
        }
    }

    func responseXMLDocument(completionHandler: (NSURLRequest, NSHTTPURLResponse?, ONOXMLDocument?, NSError?) -> Void) -> Self {
        return response(serializer: Request.XMLResponseSerializer()) { request, response, XML, error in
            completionHandler(request, response, XML as? ONOXMLDocument, error)
        }
    }
}
```

#### Generic Response Object Serialization

Generics can be used to provide automatic, type-safe response object serialization.

```swift
@objc public protocol ResponseObjectSerializable {
    init?(response: NSHTTPURLResponse, representation: AnyObject)
}

extension Alamofire.Request {
    public func responseObject<T: ResponseObjectSerializable>(completionHandler: (NSURLRequest, NSHTTPURLResponse?, T?, NSError?) -> Void) -> Self {
        let serializer: Serializer = { (request, response, data) in
            let JSONSerializer = Request.JSONResponseSerializer(options: .AllowFragments)
            let (JSON: AnyObject?, serializationError) = JSONSerializer(request, response, data)

            if let response = response, JSON: AnyObject = JSON {
                return (T(response: response, representation: JSON), nil)
            } else {
                return (nil, serializationError)
            }
        }

        return response(serializer: serializer) { request, response, object, error in
            completionHandler(request, response, object as? T, error)
        }
    }
}
```

```swift
final class User: ResponseObjectSerializable {
    let username: String
    let name: String

    required init?(response: NSHTTPURLResponse, representation: AnyObject) {
        self.username = response.URL!.lastPathComponent!
        self.name = representation.valueForKeyPath("name") as! String
    }
}
```

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://example.com/users/mattt")
         .responseObject { _, _, user: User?, _ in
             println(user)
         }
```

The same approach can also be used to handle endpoints that return a representation of a collection of objects:

```swift
@objc public protocol ResponseCollectionSerializable {
    static func collection(#response: NSHTTPURLResponse, representation: AnyObject) -> [Self]
}

extension Alamofire.Request {
    public func responseCollection<T: ResponseCollectionSerializable>(completionHandler: (NSURLRequest, NSHTTPURLResponse?, [T]?, NSError?) -> Void) -> Self {
        let serializer: Serializer = { request, response, data in
            let JSONSerializer = Request.JSONResponseSerializer(options: .AllowFragments)
            let (JSON: AnyObject?, serializationError) = JSONSerializer(request, response, data)

            if let response = response, JSON: AnyObject = JSON {
                return (T.collection(response: response, representation: JSON), nil)
            } else {
                return (nil, serializationError)
            }
        }

        return response(serializer: serializer) { request, response, object, error in
            completionHandler(request, response, object as? [T], error)
        }
    }
}
```

```swift
@objc final class User: ResponseObjectSerializable, ResponseCollectionSerializable {
    let username: String
    let name: String

    required init?(response: NSHTTPURLResponse, representation: AnyObject) {
        self.username = response.URL!.lastPathComponent!
        self.name = representation.valueForKeyPath("name") as! String
    }

    static func collection(#response: NSHTTPURLResponse, representation: AnyObject) -> [User] {
        var users: [User] = []

        if let representation = representation as? [[String: AnyObject]] {
            for userRepresentation in representation {
                if let user = User(response: response, representation: userRepresentation) {
                    users.append(user)
                }
            }
        }

        return users
    }
}
```

```swift
Alamofire.request(.GET, "http://example.com/users")
         .responseCollection { _, _, users: [User]?, _ in
             println(users)
         }
```

### URLStringConvertible

Types adopting the `URLStringConvertible` protocol can be used to construct URL strings, which are then used to construct URL requests. `NSString`, `NSURL`, `NSURLComponents`, and `NSURLRequest` conform to `URLStringConvertible` by default, allowing any of them to be passed as `URLString` parameters to the `request`, `upload`, and `download` methods:

```swift
let string = NSString(string: "http://httpbin.org/post")
Alamofire.request(.POST, string)

let URL = NSURL(string: string)!
Alamofire.request(.POST, URL)

let URLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: URL)
Alamofire.request(.POST, URLRequest) // overrides `HTTPMethod` of `URLRequest`

let URLComponents = NSURLComponents(URL: URL, resolvingAgainstBaseURL: true)
Alamofire.request(.POST, URLComponents)
```

Applications interacting with web applications in a significant manner are encouraged to have custom types conform to `URLStringConvertible` as a convenient way to map domain-specific models to server resources.

#### Type-Safe Routing

```swift
extension User: URLStringConvertible {
    static let baseURLString = "http://example.com"

    var URLString: String {
        return User.baseURLString + "/users/\(username)/"
    }
}
```

```swift
let user = User(username: "mattt")
Alamofire.request(.GET, user) // http://example.com/users/mattt
```

### URLRequestConvertible

Types adopting the `URLRequestConvertible` protocol can be used to construct URL requests. `NSURLRequest` conforms to `URLRequestConvertible` by default, allowing it to be passed into `request`, `upload`, and `download` methods directly (this is the recommended way to specify custom HTTP header fields or HTTP body for individual requests):

```swift
let URL = NSURL(string: "http://httpbin.org/post")!
let mutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: URL)
mutableURLRequest.HTTPMethod = "POST"

let parameters = ["foo": "bar"]
var JSONSerializationError: NSError? = nil
mutableURLRequest.HTTPBody = NSJSONSerialization.dataWithJSONObject(parameters, options: nil, error: &JSONSerializationError)
mutableURLRequest.setValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")

Alamofire.request(mutableURLRequest)
```

Applications interacting with web applications in a significant manner are encouraged to have custom types conform to `URLRequestConvertible` as a way to ensure consistency of requested endpoints. Such an approach can be used to abstract away server-side inconsistencies and provide type-safe routing, as well as manage authentication credentials and other state.

#### API Parameter Abstraction

```swift
enum Router: URLRequestConvertible {
    static let baseURLString = "http://example.com"
    static let perPage = 50

    case Search(query: String, page: Int)

    // MARK: URLRequestConvertible

    var URLRequest: NSURLRequest {
        let (path: String, parameters: [String: AnyObject]?) = {
            switch self {
            case .Search(let query, let page) where page > 1:
                return ("/search", ["q": query, "offset": Router.perPage * page])
            case .Search(let query, _):
                return ("/search", ["q": query])
            }
        }()

        let URL = NSURL(string: Router.baseURLString)!
        let URLRequest = NSURLRequest(URL: URL.URLByAppendingPathComponent(path))
        let encoding = Alamofire.ParameterEncoding.URL

        return encoding.encode(URLRequest, parameters: parameters).0
    }
}
```

```swift
Alamofire.request(Router.Search(query: "foo bar", page: 1)) // ?q=foo%20bar&offset=50
```

#### CRUD & Authorization

```swift
enum Router: URLRequestConvertible {
    static let baseURLString = "http://example.com"
    static var OAuthToken: String?

    case CreateUser([String: AnyObject])
    case ReadUser(String)
    case UpdateUser(String, [String: AnyObject])
    case DestroyUser(String)

    var method: Alamofire.Method {
        switch self {
        case .CreateUser:
            return .POST
        case .ReadUser:
            return .GET
        case .UpdateUser:
            return .PUT
        case .DestroyUser:
            return .DELETE
        }
    }

    var path: String {
        switch self {
        case .CreateUser:
            return "/users"
        case .ReadUser(let username):
            return "/users/\(username)"
        case .UpdateUser(let username, _):
            return "/users/\(username)"
        case .DestroyUser(let username):
            return "/users/\(username)"
        }
    }

    // MARK: URLRequestConvertible

    var URLRequest: NSURLRequest {
        let URL = NSURL(string: Router.baseURLString)!
        let mutableURLRequest = NSMutableURLRequest(URL: URL.URLByAppendingPathComponent(path))
        mutableURLRequest.HTTPMethod = method.rawValue

        if let token = Router.OAuthToken {
            mutableURLRequest.setValue("Bearer \(token)", forHTTPHeaderField: "Authorization")
        }

        switch self {
        case .CreateUser(let parameters):
            return Alamofire.ParameterEncoding.JSON.encode(mutableURLRequest, parameters: parameters).0
        case .UpdateUser(_, let parameters):
            return Alamofire.ParameterEncoding.URL.encode(mutableURLRequest, parameters: parameters).0
        default:
            return mutableURLRequest
        }
    }
}
```

```swift
Alamofire.request(Router.ReadUser("mattt")) // GET /users/mattt
```

* * *

## FAQ

### When should I use Alamofire?

If you're starting a new project in Swift, and want to take full advantage of its conventions and language features, Alamofire is a great choice. Although not as fully-featured as AFNetworking, Alamofire is much nicer to work with, and should satisfy the vast majority of networking use cases.

> It's important to note that two libraries aren't mutually exclusive: AFNetworking and Alamofire can peacefully exist in the same code base.

### When should I use AFNetworking?

AFNetworking remains the premiere networking library available for OS X and iOS, and can easily be used in Swift, just like any other Objective-C code. AFNetworking is stable and reliable, and isn't going anywhere.

Use AFNetworking for any of the following:

- UIKit extensions, such as asynchronously loading images to `UIImageView`
- TLS verification, using `AFSecurityManager`
- Situations requiring `NSOperation` or `NSURLConnection`, using `AFURLConnectionOperation`
- Network reachability monitoring, using `AFNetworkReachabilityManager`

### What's the origin of the name Alamofire?

Alamofire is named after the [Alamo Fire flower](https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/alamofire.html), a hybrid variant of the Bluebonnet, the official state flower of Texas.

* * *

## Credits

Alamofire is owned and maintained by the [Alamofire Software Foundation](http://alamofire.org).

## License

Alamofire is released under the MIT license. See LICENSE for details.