# Fix: Respect Content-Length when Content-Encoding is present

[ali90h]

Fix: Respect Content-Length when Content-Encoding is present

Problem Summary

HTTPie's --download flag incorrectly reports "Incomplete download" errors when receiving responses with Content-Encoding: gzip (or other encodings), even when the download is actually complete.

Example error:

http: error: Incomplete download: size=5084527; downloaded=42846965

This occurs because HTTPie was comparing the Content-Length header (which represents compressed size) against the decompressed content size.

Root Cause

The issue violates RFC 9110 § 8.6, which states:

"The Content-Length field indicates the number of octets in the body of the message after any content codings have been applied."

When Content-Encoding: gzip is present:

• Content-Length: 5084527 = size of compressed data
• Downloaded content: 42,846,965 bytes = size after decompression
• HTTPie was incorrectly comparing these mismatched values

Fix Overview

• Modified download validation logic to respect encoded vs. decoded sizes
• When Content-Encoding is present, validate against compressed payload size
• Without Content-Encoding, behavior remains unchanged
• Added proper tracking of raw bytes received vs. decompressed content

Key Changes

1. Size Validation: Compare Content-Length against raw bytes received when content encoding is present
2. Progress Reporting: Show progress based on encoded bytes for encoded responses
3. Encoding Detection: Check for all standard encodings (gzip, deflate, br, compress)

Testing

• Added comprehensive regression test with local HTTP server serving gzip content
• Test verifies download completes without false "Incomplete download" errors
• Validates downloaded gzip file integrity
• Ensures non-encoded downloads continue working as before

Backward Compatibility

• ✅ Fully backward compatible
• ✅ No breaking changes to API or behavior
• ✅ Existing functionality unchanged for non-encoded responses
• ✅ Progress display and validation work correctly in both cases

Related Issues

Fixes #1642

Acknowledgments

Thanks to @kohnalex for the detailed bug report and reproduction steps, which made this fix straightforward to implement and test.

[ali90h]

@httpie/maintainers This PR fixes the Content-Length validation bug (#1642) that was causing false "Incomplete download" errors with gzipped responses.

Would appreciate a review when you have time. Thanks!

[ali90h]

I opened a minimal, focused PR in #NNNN that only includes the actual fix in httpie/downloads.py plus a dedicated regression test for the gzip + Content-Length case.

It supersedes #1653, which bundled some unrelated CI/docs changes. The new PR keeps the scope tight: when Content-Encoding is present, progress relies on received bytes rather than Content-Length, preventing false “Incomplete download” and >100% overshoot.

If you prefer, I’m happy to close this PR in favor of #1654. Thanks for your time!