2 files changed, 26 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 9caedff31914..9374460d2428 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ extern crate curl;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "json")] extern crate serde;
 #[cfg(feature = "json")] extern crate serde_json;
+#[cfg(feature = "basic_auth")] extern crate base64;
 
 use curl::easy::{Easy, Form, List, ReadError};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
@@ -136,6 +137,15 @@ impl <'a> Request<'a> {
         Ok(self)
     }
 
+    #[cfg(feature = "basic_auth")]
+    /// Set the `Authorization` header to a basic authentication value
+    /// from the supplied username and password.
+    pub fn basic_auth(mut self, username: &str, password: &str) -> Result<Self, curl::Error> {
+        let auth = base64::encode(format!("{}:{}", username, password).as_bytes());
+        self.headers.append(&format!("Authorization: Basic {}", auth))?;
+        Ok(self)
+    }
+
     /// Add a byte-array body to a request using the specified
     /// `Content-Type`.
     pub fn body(mut self, content_type: &'a str, data: &'a [u8]) -> Self {
diff --git a/src/tests.rs b/src/tests.rs
index cc44ca7b53a0..088334aa2784 100644
--- a/src/tests.rs
+++ b/src/tests.rs
@@ -88,3 +88,19 @@ fn test_http_post_json() {
         "Content-Type should be `application/json`",
     );
 }
+
+// Tests for different authentication methods that are supported
+// out-of-the-box:
+
+#[cfg(feature = "basic_auth")] #[test]
+fn test_basic_auth() {
+    let request = Request::new(
+        Method::Get, "https://httpbin.org/basic-auth/alan_watts/oneness"
+    );
+
+    let response = request
+        .basic_auth("alan_watts", "oneness").expect("failed to set auth header")
+        .send().expect("failed to send request");
+
+    assert!(response.is_success(), "authorized request should succeed");
+}