OpenFeign / OpenFeign/feign

Add configuration options to allow empty headers

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Dominant language
Java
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Description

Hello, I'm trying to implement a client for a Web Service using Feign. The problem with web services is that they always require sending a SOAPAction even if that header is empty. Right now, the Feign template removes empty headers as per documentation:

`
Request Headers Expansion
Headers and HeaderMap templates follow the same rules as Request Parameter Expansion with the following alterations:

Unresolved expressions are omitted. If the result is an empty header value, the entire header is removed.
`

This makes impossible to call this kind of web services using Feign.

It would be nice to have a configuration option in the Feign builder to enable sending empty headers if present.

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing Feign's request-header expansion entry point and the builder configuration described in the issue, focusing on where empty header values are removed. Done means a builder option can preserve explicitly empty headers for SOAPAction while retaining current removal behavior by default, with tests covering both modes.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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