httping

httping

Probe HTTP(S) endpoints and report reachability, status, and timing using curl. This skill keeps the logic in the caller; it only wraps the probe pattern.

Prerequisites

• curl on PATH (run curl --version to confirm).
• Network egress to the target host; for HTTPS probes, a reachable CA bundle.
• Permission to contact the endpoint from the current host (proxy, VPN, or Tailscale constraints may apply).

Basic steps

1. Confirm curl is available:

   command -v curl && curl --version | head -1
   

2. Probe a single endpoint and emit status + timing:

   curl -sS -o /dev/null \
     -w 'url=%{url_effective}\nhttp_code=%{http_code}\nremote_ip=%{remote_ip}\ntime_total=%{time_total}s\n' \
     https://example.com
   

3. Probe multiple endpoints from a list, skipping hostnames that fail to resolve:

   for u in https://example.com https://httpbin.org/get; do
     echo "== $u =="
     curl -sS -o /dev/null \
       -w 'http_code=%{http_code} time_total=%{time_total}s remote_ip=%{remote_ip}\n' \
       --max-time 8 "$u" || echo "probe_failed=$u"
   done
   

4. Check TLS handshake timing on HTTPS endpoints:

   curl -sS -o /dev/null \
     -w 'http_code=%{http_code}\ntls_append=%{ssl_verify_result}\ntime_connect=%{time_connect}s\ntime_appconnect=%{time_appconnect}s\ntime_total=%{time_total}s\n' \
     https://clawhub.com
   

5. Treat non-2xx/3xx codes, probe_failed, or time_total above SLA as the "unhealthy" branch and escalate from the caller.

Output shape

• Success: lines such as http_code=200 time_total=0.123s remote_ip=....
• Failure: probe_failed= or curl exit code non-zero with stderr; surface the URL and reason.
• Caller keeps branching (alert vs. ignore); this skill only returns probe facts.

Notes

• Keep --max-time bounded (5-10s) when looping so a stalled endpoint cannot wedge orchestration.
• Do not print response bodies with -o /dev/null during triage; they are not needed for health.
• For periodic checks, prefer cron or heartbeat scheduling over a tight sleep loop; see references/scheduling.md.