Extract reusable HTTP assertion library

[korya]

Problem

Go programs cannot reuse http-assert's client or assertions because every exported type currently lives inside the CLI package.

The command already has a composable assertion model, response decoding, and an HTTP client, but package main makes that functionality unimportable. Keeping retry orchestration and formatted error strings in the same layer would also freeze CLI policy into any public API. Using Go's default HTTP client would additionally leave library calls without a total request deadline.

Solution

Make the root module an importable assertion library and move the command, retries, and presentation into cmd/http-assert.

flowchart LR
    Consumer["Go package"] --> Library["github.com/korya/http-assert"]
    CLI["cmd/http-assert"] --> Library
    Library --> HTTP["net/http"]
    CLI --> Policy["retries, logs, formatting, exit codes"]

Loading

The library invokes its configured http.Client once and returns ordered, structured outcomes that distinguish assertion failures from evaluation errors. It validates requests and assertions before transport, retains decoded response bytes for consumers, and exposes all existing assertion constructors without adding retry or formatting helpers to the initial API.

The zero-value client uses a shared 20-second whole-request timeout instead of the unbounded http.DefaultClient; callers can still inject another client or apply a shorter context deadline. Constructors that parse status expressions, regular expressions, or jq queries retain explicit error returns, while ha.Must(...) provides the conventional one-line panic form for static, programmer-controlled expressions.

The CLI imports the library as ha, preserves its existing human-readable output and exit behavior, and remains the sole owner of retries. Source installs now use github.com/korya/http-assert/cmd/http-assert; published binary names and archives remain unchanged.

No visual change: this refactors a Go API and CLI boundary while intentionally preserving terminal output.

Other Changes

• Relocate CLI unit and subprocess E2E tests with the command, while adding external-package examples and focused public API tests.
• Update README examples, build/install recipes, release configuration, timeout guidance, and the changelog for the new package boundary.
• Validate all public library behaviors, including input rejection, ordered outcomes, response ownership, body decoding, transport/read failures, the bounded default, and both ha.Must paths. Merged E2E coverage reaches 100% of CLI statements; library coverage reaches 99.6%, with only the defensive zstd constructor-error branch not inducible through its fixed valid options.
• Confirm the root package dependency graph does not include Cobra or pflag.

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