The easiest way to install and keep up to date is with NuGet. Just run Install-Package RestSharp from the NuGet console or search for it in the Add Library Package Reference dialog. If you prefer your binaries in zip form, you can download from GitHub. Note that the assemblies in the downloadable zip file have been ILMerged where possible (Framework and Silverlight) to avoid conflicts if you’re already using JSON.NET in your project.

Going forward I’ll try to post a changelog here on the blog for each release.

If you need help, the recently-created Google Group has been an excellent resource for getting problems solved, so I’d recommend starting there. While you’re free to email me still, I’ll likely refer you to the list first since there are more people available to help at any given time.

Once development on RestSharp 100 stalls, I’ll likely move it to a “maintenance mode” whereby I’ll curate any pull requests, but won’t be actively adding new features to it. I’ll then create a second project for RestSharp 200 where the majority of development will happen. This will let me make more drastic changes without forcing everyone to adapt. RestSharp 200 will also drop support for .NET 3.5. I don’t know when RestSharp 100 will run out of steam but something to keep in mind for the future.

Here’s an overview of what’s new:

oAuth 1 Support

Daniel Crenna ported Hammock‘s oAuth implementation into a nice oAuth1Authenticator for RestSharp. I’ll be updating the documentation soon, but for now you can check out some sample usage examples in this test. Props to Daniel for this much needed addition.

AddFile support for async requests and better file upload handling

Andrew Young and Jon Fuller have totally overhauled the handling of file uploads including adding support for multipart forms in async requests. Since I did not want to tackle this myself, I’m VERY appreciative of their efforts.

Added RestClient.FollowRedirects and RestClient.MaxRedirects

At the request of Brandon Kaid I added access to the underlying HttpWebRequest.AllowAutoRedirect and HttpWebRequest.MaximumAutomaticRedirections properties via two properties on RestClient: FollowRedirects and MaxRedirects.

MonoTouch Support Added

Kevin McMahon worked out the kinks and got MonoTouch added. Thanks Kevin!

These are all great features on the march to the first release, which is (for real) just around the corner. It will be called RestSharp 100 Continue. Whenever the next release is, it will be called RestSharp 200 OK. Not sure how sustainable that is, but I’m going with it for now.

var client = new RestClient(BaseUrl);
var request = new RestRequest("BadUrl");
request.RootElement = "Success";
request.OnBeforeDeserialization = resp =>
{
    if(resp.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.BadRequest)
    {
        request.RootElement = "Error";
    }
};

var restResponse = client.Execute<RestResponse>(request);
// Write(restResponse.Message);

This gives you complete control to react to any response payload and adjust deserialization and other settings accordingly.

Release Update

While we’re here, an update on where things are at. The emergence of NuGet has pushed me to change my mind on releases and I’d like to get a 1.0 out. oAuth has been the big blocker here, but thanks to an idea from Daniel Crenna I think I’ve got a workable approach to get that in without having to try to shoehorn everything into an oAuthAuthenticator. That’s the last major hurdle to a first release. Once I’ve got the oAuthHelper implemented and a couple more issues from the issue tracker taken care of, there will be an official ‘RestSharp Release 1′.

If you have any feature requests or bugs, now is the time to get them in the system. If you’re not sure if it’s a bug or not, start with the Google Group.

Here’s what it looks like:

var client = new RestClient(BaseUrl);
var request = new RestRequest("BadUrl");
request.RootElement = "Success";
request.ErrorRootElement = "Error";
request.ErrorCondition = resp =>
{
    return resp.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.BadRequest;
};

var restResponse = client.Execute<RestResponse>(request);
// Write(restResponse.Message);

-- RestResponse.cs --
public class RestResponse
{
    public string Message { get; set; }
}

If ErrorCondition returns true, the deserialization will start from a root element named Error. If everything works and there are no errors, deserialization will start from Success. You’ll still have to pack everything into a single class. I may add another overload to like Execute<TSuccess, TError>(request).

What do you think?

To be clear, no decision has been made, I just want some data to help set priorities.

Here’s an example:

var client = new RestClient("http://example.com");
var request = new RestRequest("resource", Method.POST);

client.ExecuteAsync<Resource>(request, (response) => {
    var resource = response.Data;
});

As a side note, the core library is also now set to use the Client Profile by default. The Async methods from Silverlight/WP7 are also available in the core library as well.

I know it’s very cliché of .NET open source projects to be perpetually unreleased but I’ve sort of come to like not having a release. In the current state of the project, there’s a minimum level of involvement in order to use RestSharp. Having a slightly higher bar for using it tends to limit use to 1) people that know how to report bugs 2) people more willing to contribute back and 3) people less likely to need a lot of help. These three things really make it a low-maintenance project, which is nice because sometimes I’m pretty busy.

I previously wanted to release fast and furious with quick updates after 1.0. Now, I’m taking my time to get 1.0 rounded out better. I’ve reprioritized oAuth (in progress), Silverlight (mostly done) and Windows Phone 7 support (not started) for 1.0.

However, you may not have to wait too much longer because of some things I can’t yet discuss that are giving me some more time to work on RestSharp. Stay tuned.

On Documentation

If you’ve previously checked out RestSharp then written it off because you couldn’t figure it out and there were no docs, I’ve written a lot of documentation since then. If you have a chance, read through it and let me know what’s missing.

On "Competition"

There are some other .NET REST Clients that have either recently launched or are somewhere around the corner. The most interesting development is Microsoft’s re-entry into the problem space with their upcoming REST updates to WCF being spearheaded by Glenn Block (of MEF fame). I’m honored to hear that the WCF team has evaluated RestSharp and best I can tell doesn’t hate it. I would love for a proper REST client (or even HTTP client) to be included in the framework and eliminate the need for RestSharp. I’ll be keeping an eye out for what they develop and rest assured if it doesn’t meet my standards, RestSharp isn’t going anywhere. If it does, then I’ll re-evaluate things then. Either way, I’m glad to see increased interest in REST from MS and other developers. The more the merrier!

On Pure REST vs. Mainstream REST

RestSharp is very much situated in the "Mainstream REST" (aka Web API) category. Almost to the point where I wish I hadn’t included ‘REST’ in the name. When I started I had no idea what a rabbit hole pure REST is. I don’t mean that in a bad way, just it’s more complicated than my original understanding. I am attempting to keep an ear to the REST purists to gain inspiration for how things should work. However, my #1 goal is to get things done and since most of the APIs I work with also fall into the mainstream REST category, that will continue to be my focus for RestSharp.

On Community

When I started this little project I never imagined that anyone else would like it, let alone use it, let alone contribute to it or write blog posts about it. For all of those people listed in the Acknowledgements and blog posts list, thank you for your support of RestSharp. We’re over 100 watchers+forks on GitHub and almost 150 followers on Twitter. RestSharp was even featured on the GitHub blog. Your contributions have made it a better library and an even more fun project to work on! Thank you everyone!