diff --git a/src/util/http.rs b/src/util/http.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ce46af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/http.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+use reqwest::header::{HeaderName, HeaderValue, AUTHORIZATION, USER_AGENT};
+use reqwest::{header::HeaderMap, RequestBuilder, Response};
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+use crate::core::*;
+use crate::middle::AuthData;
+use crate::state::AppState;
+use crate::util::bear::Bearcap;
+
+/// Perform an HTTP GET request to the specified URL (supports bearcaps).
+/// Use the [`headers!`] macro for the `headers` parameter.
+///
+/// ## Example
+///
+/// ```
+/// let response = get(
+///     &state,
+///     "https://www.example.com",
+///     headers! {
+///         ACCEPT => "application/activity+json",
+///         "X-Custom-Header" => "x-custom-value",
+///     }
+/// )
+/// .await?;
+///
+/// // automatically injects an "Authorization: Bearer b4dc0ffee" header
+/// let response = get(&state, "bear:?t=b4dc0ffee&u=https://www.example.com", headers! {}).await?;
+/// ```
+pub async fn get(
+    state: &AppState,
+    url: &str,
+    headers: &[(GenericHeaderName, String)],
+) -> Result<Response> {
+    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
+    let builder = if url.starts_with("bear:") {
+        let bearcap = Bearcap::try_from(url)?;
+        client
+            .get(bearcap.url.as_str())
+            .header(AUTHORIZATION, format!("Bearer {}", bearcap.token))
+    } else {
+        client.get(url)
+    };
+    perform_request(state, builder, headers).await
+}
+
+// the state reference will be used for caching
+async fn perform_request(
+    _state: &AppState,
+    mut builder: RequestBuilder,
+    headers: &[(GenericHeaderName, String)],
+) -> Result<Response> {
+    builder = headers.into_iter().fold(builder, |b, (k, v)| match k {
+        GenericHeaderName::Standard(hdr) => b.header(hdr, v),
+        GenericHeaderName::Custom(hdr) => b.header(hdr, v),
+    });
+    builder = builder.header(USER_AGENT, "nyano");
+    Ok(builder.send().await?)
+}
+
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! headers {
+    ($($k:expr => $v:expr),* $(,)?) => {{
+        &[$((crate::util::http::GenericHeaderName::from($k), ::std::string::String::from($v)),)*]
+    }}
+}
+
+pub enum GenericHeaderName {
+    Custom(String),
+    Standard(HeaderName),
+}
+
+impl From<String> for GenericHeaderName {
+    fn from(val: String) -> GenericHeaderName {
+        GenericHeaderName::Custom(val)
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<&str> for GenericHeaderName {
+    fn from(val: &str) -> GenericHeaderName {
+        GenericHeaderName::Custom(String::from(val))
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<HeaderName> for GenericHeaderName {
+    fn from(val: HeaderName) -> GenericHeaderName {
+        GenericHeaderName::Standard(val)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/util/mod.rs b/src/util/mod.rs
index 2f8eef5..69adab2 100644
--- a/src/util/mod.rs
+++ b/src/util/mod.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 pub mod bear;
+pub mod http;
 pub mod password;
 pub mod token;
 pub mod validate;