# Switch User Agent

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [December 7, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672 "2005-12-07T14:59:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/alexamat)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672/1 "2005-12-07T14:59:06Z")

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Hi all I’m writing an application in ruby and I need to change the  
UAProof of an HTTP request that I’m sending out. (To pretend that my  
browser is a mobile phone) does anyone know how to go about it.

Many thanks

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**Author:** ![alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/alexamat)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672/2 "2005-12-07T15:25:09Z")

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Alex A. wrote:

> Hi all I’m writing an application in ruby and I need to change the  
> UAProof of an HTTP request that I’m sending out. (To pretend that my  
> browser is a mobile phone) does anyone know how to go about it.
> 
> Many thanks
> 
> –  
> Posted via [http://www.ruby-forum.com/](http://www.ruby-forum.com/).

I haven’t seent the term UAproof before, but the open-uri and Net::HTTP  
ways of opening URLs are both dict-like as far as passing User-Agents  
etc:

[http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/](http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/)

e.g.  
Net::HTTP.start( ‘[www.digg.com](http://www.digg.com)’, 80 ) do |http|  
print( http.get( ‘/’, “User-Agent” =\> “foobar” ).body ) ; end

setting referrer/referer (can’t remember which is correct!) is similar

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/alexamat)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672/3 "2005-12-07T16:00:01Z")

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Sorry mate I meant User Agent (I’m a bit new to the world of ruby and  
internet)  
What I’m doing is a web site that changes normal PC websites into MCS  
sites I’ve got three ifreams so that the rendered sites can be  
previewed, all I need to do is change the user agent of the request  
object so that my application delivers the content for different user  
agents.

Thanks a lot !

gene.tani wrote:

> Gene T. wrote:
> 
> > I haven’t seent the term UAproof before, but the open-uri and Net::HTTP  
> > ways of opening URLs are both dict-like as far as passing User-Agents  
> > etc:
> > 
> > [http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/](http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/)
> > 
> > e.g.  
> > Net::HTTP.start( ‘[www.digg.com](http://www.digg.com)’, 80 ) do |http|  
> > print( http.get( ‘/’, “User-Agent” =\> “foobar” ).body ) ; end
> > 
> > setting referrer/referer (can’t remember which is correct!) is similar
> 
> whoops, forgot the great zenspider slides:  
> [http://www.zenspider.com/dl/rubyconf2005/open-uri.pdf](http://www.zenspider.com/dl/rubyconf2005/open-uri.pdf)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@alexamat](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/alexamat)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/switch-user-agent/49672/4 "2005-12-07T15:25:09Z")

</div>

Gene T. wrote:

> I haven’t seent the term UAproof before, but the open-uri and Net::HTTP  
> ways of opening URLs are both dict-like as far as passing User-Agents  
> etc:
> 
> [http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/](http://www.ruby-doc.org/stdlib/libdoc/open-uri/rdoc/)
> 
> e.g.  
> Net::HTTP.start( ‘[www.digg.com](http://www.digg.com)’, 80 ) do |http|  
> print( http.get( ‘/’, “User-Agent” =\> “foobar” ).body ) ; end
> 
> setting referrer/referer (can’t remember which is correct!) is similar

whoops, forgot the great zenspider slides:

> **[open-uri.pdf](https://www.zenspider.com/dl/rubyconf2005/open-uri.pdf)**
>
> 189.74 KB