axios — Promise-Based HTTP Client for Browser & Node.js

What it is

axios is a promise-based HTTP client for JavaScript that works in both browsers and Node.js. It provides request and response interceptors, automatic JSON transformation, CSRF protection, request cancellation, and timeout handling. Battle-tested since 2014, axios is the most widely used HTTP client in the JavaScript ecosystem.

Frontend and backend JavaScript developers who need a consistent HTTP interface across environments benefit most. Whether you are calling REST APIs from a React app or making server-to-server requests in Node.js, axios provides the same API surface.

How it saves time or tokens

axios eliminates the boilerplate of native fetch calls: no manual JSON.stringify for request bodies, no response.json() calls, no separate error handling for network errors vs HTTP errors. Interceptors let you inject auth tokens, logging, or retry logic in one place rather than at every call site. The isomorphic design means you write one HTTP layer that works in SSR and client-side rendering without conditional imports.

How to use

1. Install axios:

npm install axios

1. Make a GET request:

import axios from 'axios';

const response = await axios.get('https://api.example.com/users');
console.log(response.data); // Already parsed JSON

1. Configure a reusable instance with interceptors:

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.example.com',
  timeout: 5000
});

api.interceptors.request.use((config) => {
  config.headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${getToken()}`;
  return config;
});

Example

// POST with automatic JSON serialization
await axios.post('/api/users', {
  name: 'Jane',
  email: 'jane@example.com'
});

// Concurrent requests
const [users, posts] = await Promise.all([
  axios.get('/api/users'),
  axios.get('/api/posts')
]);

// Error handling with response details
try {
  await axios.get('/api/protected');
} catch (error) {
  if (error.response) {
    console.log(error.response.status); // 401
    console.log(error.response.data);   // Error body
  }
}

// Cancel a request
const controller = new AbortController();
axios.get('/api/slow', { signal: controller.signal });
controller.abort();

Related on TokRepo

• AI Coding Tools -- Developer libraries and utilities on TokRepo
• API Integration Tools -- API clients and integration frameworks

Common pitfalls

• axios does not throw on HTTP 4xx/5xx status codes by default in older versions. In current versions (1.x), it does throw. Check your version's behavior and configure validateStatus if needed.
• The default timeout is 0 (no timeout). Always set an explicit timeout in production to avoid hanging requests.
• axios instances share interceptors added after creation. If you modify interceptors dynamically, each API call may behave differently depending on timing.