requests

Requests has been my go-to HTTP client for years because the API is genuinely intuitive - session management, authentication helpers, and automatic content decoding just work. The library handles TLS/SSL verification by default (verify=True), which is the right secure-by-default choice, though I've seen too many developers set verify=False in production to bypass certificate issues rather than fixing root causes.

The dependency chain has been a mixed bag. The project had a long period of maintenance uncertainty, and the bundled urllib3/chardet dependencies have occasionally lagged on CVE patches. You need to actively monitor security advisories. Error handling is developer-friendly but can expose URL details in tracebacks, so be careful with logging in security-sensitive contexts.

Input validation is mostly your responsibility - the library won't protect you from SSRF attacks or parameter injection if you're building URLs from user input. The timeout parameter defaults to None (infinite wait), which I consider a security anti-pattern that's bitten me in production. Always set explicit timeouts.

Requests remains the gold standard for Python HTTP work with genuinely intuitive APIs. Certificate verification is enabled by default (verify=True), which is critical for security, though you'll constantly encounter developers disabling it in production code—code reviews must catch this. The Session object with connection pooling is excellent for performance and makes managing auth tokens straightforward.

From a security perspective, the library handles redirects safely by default and properly validates hostnames against certificates. Error handling is clean—exceptions like ConnectionError and Timeout don't leak sensitive data, though custom error handlers need careful review. The prepared request pattern makes input validation explicit, which I appreciate when building secure APIs.

The main pain point is dependency on urllib3, which has had several CVEs over the years. You need active monitoring since requests updates don't always immediately bump urllib3 versions. The library doesn't provide built-in rate limiting or request signing helpers, so you'll build these yourself. TLS 1.2+ is enforced on modern Python, but older environments require attention.

Requests has been my go-to for HTTP operations across dozens of production services. The API is genuinely intuitive—sessions with connection pooling, automatic content decoding, and straightforward authentication patterns work exactly as expected. TLS verification is enabled by default (critical), and certificate handling is sensible out of the box.

From a security perspective, the library gets most things right. SSL/TLS defaults are secure, the verify parameter prevents accidental certificate bypass, and timeout handling forces you to be explicit (good for preventing resource exhaustion). However, you must manually set timeouts on every request—there's no global default—which has bitten teams I've worked with during outages. Error messages generally don't leak sensitive data, though custom headers can appear in tracebacks if you're not careful with logging.

The dependency chain has had some rough patches (urllib3 CVEs, chardet/charset-normalizer transitions), requiring vigilant monitoring. Input validation for URLs is permissive, so sanitize user-provided URLs yourself. The library doesn't protect against SSRF by default—you need to implement IP allowlisting separately.