EDIT: How do I send this post Request with parameters AND form-data like this postman screenshot in JAVA?

Question

I'm trying to send a POST request to grab comments but it doesn't work in Java while it does work with postman.

I get an 403 Forbidden error, but on postman it retrieves the data i need just fine..

Here's the Java code I'm trying to use to replicate the behavior.

String targetUrl = YOUTBE_COMMENTS_AJAX_URL;
    String urlParameters = "action_load_comments=1&order_by_time=True&filter=jBjXVrS8nXs";
    String updatedURL = targetUrl + "?" + urlParameters;
    URL url = null;
    InputStream stream = null;
    HttpURLConnection urlConnection = null;
    try {
        url = new URL(updatedURL);
        urlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
        urlConnection.setRequestMethod("POST");
        urlConnection.setRequestProperty("content-type", "multipart/form-data");
        urlConnection.setRequestProperty("user-agent", "USER_AGENT");
        urlConnection.setDoOutput(true);

        String data = URLEncoder.encode("video_id", "UTF-8")
                + "=" + URLEncoder.encode(youtubeId, "UTF-8");

        data += "&" + URLEncoder.encode("session_token", "UTF-8") + "="
                + URLEncoder.encode(xsrfToken, "UTF-8");

        data += "&" + URLEncoder.encode("page_token", "UTF-8") + "="
                + URLEncoder.encode(pageToken, "UTF-8");
        urlConnection.connect();

        OutputStreamWriter wr = new OutputStreamWriter(urlConnection.getOutputStream());
        wr.write(data);
        wr.flush();

        stream = urlConnection.getInputStream();
        BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(stream, "UTF-8"), 8);
        String result = reader.readLine();
        return result;

    } catch (IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    } finally {
        if (urlConnection != null) {
            urlConnection.disconnect();
        }
    }

    try {
        Thread.sleep(2000);
    } catch (InterruptedException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    return null;

Here's an example of what postman is sending in their headers

Looks like you're not sending the headers as your postman request does. — Luiggi Mendoza, Jul 13 '18 at 20:40
Possible duplicate of [How can I POST using Java and include parameters and a raw request body?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12666702/how-can-i-post-using-java-and-include-parameters-and-a-raw-request-body) — VeeArr, Jul 13 '18 at 20:43
But aren't I setting the headers when i do setRequestProperty? Those are the only 2 I set in postman — Elvin Uthuppan, Jul 13 '18 at 20:50

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 13 '18 at 21:15

0

It seems like your problem is here (see inline comments):

DataOutputStream wr = new DataOutputStream(conn.getOutputStream());
wr.writeBytes(urlParameters); 
// you wrote your URL parameters into Body
wr.flush();
wr.close(); 
//You closed your body and told server - you are done with request
conn.getOutputStream().write(postDataBytes); 
// you wrote data into closed stream - server does not care about it anymore.

You have to append your urlParameters directly to the URL when you open it
Then you have to write your Form Data into body as you do: conn.getOutputStream().write(postDataBytes);
and then close output stream

answered Jul 13 '18 at 21:15

Vadim

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Alright so I did exactly what you said as shown in the edited code, but now I get an error 403 "Forbidden" instead of 400. So I guess its atleast being sent, but I suppose not encoded properly? Idk if this helps, but when I try to send it raw through postman I get the same thing, but sending it as key-value pairs through postman's form-data or x-www-form-urlencoded works. I figured it should work using Java's urlencode method , but getting this error is putting me at a loss :/ – Elvin Uthuppan Jul 13 '18 at 21:34
Not necessary encoding is a problem. 403 is about authorization. It is up to the server. I can suspect value of `session_token` or `page_token`. It also can be value of User-Agent. With your last update: are you sure that video_id and session_token both are the same? good luck... – Vadim Jul 13 '18 at 22:03
whoops... good catch on the value, but I still do get the same issue. Weirdly enough, it goes through postman with the same user agent and i printed to make sure the session token comes out properly. It's the same thing I feed postman. I updated the post yet again with a pic of what postman is sending exactly. – Elvin Uthuppan Jul 13 '18 at 22:15

EDIT: How do I send this post Request with parameters AND form-data like this postman screenshot in JAVA?

1 Answers1