seanmonstar/reqwest · error · reqwest::Error

error sending request

Error message

error sending request

What it means

The generic `Kind::Request` error from `error::request(...)` (error.rs:356-358). It is the catch-all 'could not send the request' error, used for both the overall request/client timeout (client.rs:3094/3102 wrap `TimedOut`) and the actual transport failure when polling the hyper service (client.rs:3117).

Source

Thrown at src/error.rs:357

    Upgrade,
}

// constructors

pub(crate) fn builder<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E) -> Error {
    Error::new(Kind::Builder, Some(e))
}

pub(crate) fn body<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E) -> Error {
    Error::new(Kind::Body, Some(e))
}

pub(crate) fn decode<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E) -> Error {
    Error::new(Kind::Decode, Some(e))
}

pub(crate) fn request<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E) -> Error {
    Error::new(Kind::Request, Some(e))
}

pub(crate) fn dns<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E) -> BoxError {
    Box::new(DnsError { inner: e.into() })
}

pub(crate) fn redirect<E: Into<BoxError>>(e: E, url: Url) -> Error {
    Error::new(Kind::Redirect, Some(e)).with_url(url)
}

pub(crate) fn status_code(
    url: Url,
    status: StatusCode,
    #[cfg(not(all(target_arch = "wasm32", any(target_os = "unknown", target_os = "none"))))] reason: Option<hyper::ext::ReasonPhrase>,
) -> Error {
    Error::new(
        Kind::Status(
            status,

View on GitHub (pinned to 17e9bcb51c)

Solutions

1. Branch on `e.is_timeout()` vs `e.is_connect()` vs `e.is_dns()` to pick the right recovery.
2. For timeouts, raise `.timeout()` or add retry with exponential backoff.
3. For DNS/connect, verify the URL, network egress, and TLS roots; print `e.source()` for the hyper/hickory error.
4. Use a shorter connect timeout separately from the overall timeout to fail fast on unreachable hosts.

Example fix

// before
let resp = client.get(url).send().await?; // 'error sending request', cause unknown

// after
match client.get(url).send().await {
    Ok(r) => Ok(r),
    Err(e) => {
        if e.is_timeout() { retry(/* ... */).await }
        else if e.is_connect() || e.is_dns() { return Err(anyhow!("unreachable: {}", e)); }
        else { return Err(e.into()); }
    }
}

// No general pre-check; validate URL + DNS reachability for deterministic cases.
let url = url::Url::parse(&raw)?;
if !matches!(url.scheme(), "http" | "https") { return Err(anyhow!("bad scheme")); }
if let Some(host) = url.host_str() { /* optional DNS probe */ }

fn classify(e: &reqwest::Error) -> &'static str {
    if e.is_timeout() { "timeout" }
    else if e.is_connect() { "connect" }
    else if e.is_dns() { "dns" }
    else if e.is_request() { "request" }
    else { "other" }
}

match client.get(&url).send().await {
    Ok(r) => Ok(r),
    Err(e) if e.is_timeout() || e.is_connect() => backoff_retry().await,
    Err(e) if e.is_dns() => Err(anyhow!("unreachable host")),
    Err(e) => Err(e.into()),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Client/per-request timeout elapses before a response begins (client.rs:3094, 3102); hyper fails to connect, DNS fails, TLS handshake fails, connection reset, or the connector returns an error (client.rs:3117).

Common situations: Host unreachable / typo'd domain → DNS error; firewall blocking the port; TLS cert mismatch; `.timeout()` too short so the request never completes; server too slow to respond within the deadline.

Related errors

• error sending request
• request or response body error
• error sending request
• error following redirect
• timeout

AI-assisted analysis of seanmonstar/reqwest@17e9bcb51c (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/6db236d5cad22c5e.json. Report an issue: GitHub.