# Requests

API requests in Saloon each have a class. Within a request class, you define the endpoint, the HTTP method, and properties like headers, query parameters and body.

### Getting Started

Create a class that is in a similar place to your connector. The class should extend the `Request` abstract class. Inside the class, define a `$method` property and a `resolveEndpoint` method. The `resolveEndpoint` method will be combined with the connector's base URL.

```php
<?php

use Saloon\Enums\Method;
use Saloon\Http\Request;

class GetServersRequest extends Request
{
    protected Method $method = Method::GET;

    public function resolveEndpoint(): string
    {
        return '/servers';
    }
}
```

> If you have installed the Laravel plugin, you can use the **php artisan saloon:request** command to create a request.

### Headers

Some API requests require headers to be sent. To define default headers on your request, you can extend the `defaultHeaders` method. These will be merged with the connector's headers.

```php
class GetServersRequest extends Request
{
    // ...

    protected function defaultHeaders(): array
    {
        return [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'Accept' => 'application/json',
        ];
    }
}
```

You can also use the `headers` method on a request instance.

```php
$request = new GetServersRequest;

$request->headers()->add('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
```

### Query Parameters

Some API requests require query parameters to be sent. You can extend the `defaultQuery` method to provide these query parameters.

```php
class GetServersRequest extends Request
{
    // ...
    
    protected function defaultQuery(): array
    {
        return [
            'sort' => 'name', // ?sort=name
            'filter[active]' => 'true', // ?filter[active]=true
        ];
    }
}
```

You can also use the `query` method on a request instance.

```php
$request = new GetServersRequest;

$request->query()->add('sort', 'provider');
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Different APIs sometimes require different query string formats. Saloon uses PHP's built-in [`http_build_query`](https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.http-build-query.php) function to create query strings, but if you need something different, you can reformat the query string in the `Connector::handlePsrRequest()` method (see [Modifying the PSR-7 Request](https://docs.saloon.dev/digging-deeper/psr-support#modifying-the-psr-7-request).
{% endhint %}

### Timeout

By default, Saloon will have a connection timeout of 10 seconds and a request timeout of 30 seconds. You can customise this by using the `HasTimeout` trait and specifying a `connectTimeout` and `requestTimeout` property.

```php
use Saloon\Traits\Plugins\HasTimeout;

class GetServersRequest extends Request
{
    use HasTimeout;
    
    protected int $connectTimeout = 60;
    
    protected int $requestTimeout = 120;
}
```

### Constructor Arguments

Since requests are just classes, you can define a constructor to populate the request's properties. For example, if you are getting a specific resource you would need to pass its ID into the request class.

```php
class GetServerRequest extends Request
{
    protected Method $method = Method::GET;
    
    public function __construct(protected readonly string $id) {
        //
    }
    
    public function resolveEndpoint(): string
    {
        return '/servers/' . $this->id;
    }
}
```

```php
$request = new GetServerRequest('5664b05b-8b32-4523-a0d5-837f5080417a');
```