# Request Lifecycle

Requests in the Angel framework go through a relatively complex lifecycle, and to truly master the framework, one must understand that lifecycle.

1. `startServer` is called.
2. Each `HttpRequest` is sent through `handleRequest`.
3. `handleRequest` converts the `HttpRequest` to a `RequestContext`, and converts its `HttpResponse` into a `ResponseContext`.
4. `angel_route` is used to match the request path to a list of request handlers.
5. Each handler is executed.
6. If the response is using streaming, and not buffering content, skip to step 8 (default). 
7. All `responseFinalizers` are run.
8. If `res.isDetached == false`, all headers, the status code and the response buffer are sent through the actual `HttpResponse`.
9. The `HttpResponse` is closed.

If at any point an error occurs, Angel will catch it. See the [error handling](/2.x/guides/error-handling.md) docs for more.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.angel-dart.dev/2.x/guides/request-lifecycle.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.