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

What axios Does

• Promise API — async/await friendly
• Isomorphic — same code browser + Node.js
• Interceptors — transform requests/responses globally
• Auto JSON — serializes request body, parses response
• Timeouts — timeout option
• Cancellation — AbortController support
• Progress events — upload/download progress
• XSRF protection — cookie-based CSRF token
• Instance config — axios.create({ baseURL, headers })

Architecture

Wraps XMLHttpRequest in browsers and http/https modules in Node.js. Request goes through interceptor chain → adapter → transformer → promise. Error is a normal rejected promise with err.response/err.request for inspection.

Self-Hosting

Client library only.

Key Features

• Isomorphic (browser + Node)
• Request/response interceptors
• Automatic JSON transforms
• Form data & multipart support
• Streaming in Node.js
• Cancellation via AbortController
• Progress events (uploads)
• TypeScript types built in
• AbortController and signal support

Comparison

FAQ

Q: fetch is good enough — why still use axios? A: fetch doesn't auto-parse JSON, doesn't auto-throw on HTTP errors, has no interceptors, and isn't supported in older Node versions. axios saves time out of the box.

Q: How do I cancel a request? A: const controller = new AbortController(); axios.get(url, { signal: controller.signal }); controller.abort();

Q: How do I handle CSRF? A: axios reads the XSRF-TOKEN cookie by default and puts it in the X-XSRF-TOKEN header, matching the CSRF mechanisms used by Rails/Laravel.

Sources & Credits

• Docs: https://axios-http.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/axios/axios
• License: MIT