diff --git a/cmd/tools/vdownload.v b/cmd/tools/vdownload.v
index 7d22620943f187..f9be7730dfed0f 100644
--- a/cmd/tools/vdownload.v
+++ b/cmd/tools/vdownload.v
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import crypto.sha256
 struct Context {
 mut:
 	show_help           bool
+	show_sha1           bool
+	show_sha256         bool
 	target_folder       string
 	continue_on_failure bool
 	retries             int
@@ -27,6 +29,8 @@ fn main() {
 	fp.limit_free_args_to_at_least(1)!
 	ctx.show_help = fp.bool('help', `h`, false, 'Show this help screen.')
 	ctx.target_folder = fp.string('target-folder', `t`, '.', 'The target folder, where the file will be stored. It will be created, if it does not exist. Default is current folder.')
+	ctx.show_sha1 = fp.bool('sha1', `1`, false, 'Show the SHA1 hash of the downloaded file.')
+	ctx.show_sha256 = fp.bool('sha256', `2`, false, 'Show the SHA256 hash of the downloaded file.')
 	ctx.continue_on_failure = fp.bool('continue', `c`, false, 'Continue on download failures. If you download 5 URLs, and several of them fail, continue without error. False by default.')
 	ctx.retries = fp.int('retries', `r`, 10, 'Number of retries, when an URL fails to download.')
 	ctx.delay = time.Duration(u64(fp.float('delay', `d`, 1.0, 'Delay in seconds, after each retry.') * time.second))
@@ -49,13 +53,18 @@ fn main() {
 	sw := time.new_stopwatch()
 	mut errors := 0
 	mut downloaded := 0
+	downloader := if os.is_atty(1) > 0 {
+		&http.Downloader(http.TerminalStreamingDownloader{})
+	} else {
+		&http.Downloader(http.SilentStreamingDownloader{})
+	}
 	for idx, url in ctx.urls {
 		fname := url.all_after_last('/')
 		fpath := '${ctx.target_folder}/${fname}'
 		mut file_errors := 0
 		log.info('Downloading [${idx + 1}/${ctx.urls.len}] from url: ${url} to ${fpath} ...')
 		for retry in 0 .. ctx.retries {
-			http.download_file(url, fname) or {
+			http.download_file_with_progress(url, fname, downloader: downloader) or {
 				log.error('    retry ${retry + 1}/${ctx.retries}, failed downloading from url: ${url}. Error: ${err}.')
 				file_errors++
 				time.sleep(ctx.delay)
@@ -77,18 +86,26 @@ fn main() {
 		log.info(' Finished downloading file: ${fpath} .')
 		log.info('                      size: ${fstat.size} bytes')
 
+		if !ctx.show_sha256 && !ctx.show_sha1 {
+			continue
+		}
+
 		fbytes := os.read_bytes(fname)!
-		mut digest256 := sha256.new()
-		digest256.write(fbytes)!
-		mut sum256 := digest256.sum([])
-		hash256 := sum256.hex()
+		if ctx.show_sha1 {
+			mut digest1 := sha1.new()
+			digest1.write(fbytes)!
+			mut sum1 := digest1.sum([])
+			hash1 := sum1.hex()
+			log.info('                      SHA1: ${hash1}')
+		}
 
-		mut digest1 := sha1.new()
-		digest1.write(fbytes)!
-		mut sum1 := digest1.sum([])
-		hash1 := sum1.hex()
-		log.info('                      SHA1: ${hash1}')
-		log.info('                    SHA256: ${hash256}')
+		if ctx.show_sha256 {
+			mut digest256 := sha256.new()
+			digest256.write(fbytes)!
+			mut sum256 := digest256.sum([])
+			hash256 := sum256.hex()
+			log.info('                    SHA256: ${hash256}')
+		}
 	}
 	println('Downloaded: ${downloaded} file(s) . Elapsed time: ${sw.elapsed()} . Errors: ${errors} .')
 	if !ctx.continue_on_failure && errors > 0 {
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/backend.c.v b/vlib/net/http/backend.c.v
index 7511efc2fda62e..69eb961ddfefad 100644
--- a/vlib/net/http/backend.c.v
+++ b/vlib/net/http/backend.c.v
@@ -35,40 +35,29 @@ fn net_ssl_do(req &Request, port int, method Method, host_name string, path stri
 
 	req_headers := req.build_request_headers(method, host_name, path)
 	$if trace_http_request ? {
-		eprintln('> ${req_headers}')
+		eprint('> ')
+		eprint(req_headers)
+		eprintln('')
 	}
 
 	return req.do_request(req_headers, mut ssl_conn)!
 }
 
+fn read_from_ssl_connection_cb(con voidptr, buf &u8, bufsize int) !int {
+	mut ssl_conn := unsafe { &ssl.SSLConn(con) }
+	return ssl_conn.socket_read_into_ptr(buf, bufsize)
+}
+
 fn (req &Request) do_request(req_headers string, mut ssl_conn ssl.SSLConn) !Response {
 	ssl_conn.write_string(req_headers) or { return err }
-
-	mut content := strings.new_builder(100)
-	mut buff := [bufsize]u8{}
-	bp := unsafe { &buff[0] }
-	mut readcounter := 0
-	for {
-		readcounter++
-		len := ssl_conn.socket_read_into_ptr(bp, bufsize) or { break }
-		$if debug_http ? {
-			eprintln('ssl_do, read ${readcounter:4d} | len: ${len}')
-			eprintln('-'.repeat(20))
-			eprintln(unsafe { tos(bp, len) })
-			eprintln('-'.repeat(20))
-		}
-		if len <= 0 {
-			break
-		}
-		unsafe { content.write_ptr(bp, len) }
-		if req.on_progress != unsafe { nil } {
-			req.on_progress(req, content[content.len - len..], u64(content.len))!
-		}
-	}
+	mut content := strings.new_builder(4096)
+	req.receive_all_data_from_cb_in_builder(mut content, voidptr(ssl_conn), read_from_ssl_connection_cb)!
 	ssl_conn.shutdown()!
 	response_text := content.str()
 	$if trace_http_response ? {
-		eprintln('< ${response_text}')
+		eprint('< ')
+		eprint(response_text)
+		eprinln('')
 	}
 	if req.on_finish != unsafe { nil } {
 		req.on_finish(req, u64(response_text.len))!
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/download.v b/vlib/net/http/download.v
index 510f30f14c84b2..7972a01d07bd37 100644
--- a/vlib/net/http/download.v
+++ b/vlib/net/http/download.v
@@ -21,11 +21,6 @@ pub fn download_file(url string, out_file_path string) ! {
 	os.write_file(out_file_path, s.body)!
 }
 
-// TODO: implement download_file_with_progress
-// type DownloadChunkFn = fn (written int)
-// type DownloadFinishedFn = fn ()
-// pub fn download_file_with_progress(url string, out_file_path string, cb_chunk DownloadChunkFn, cb_finished DownloadFinishedFn)
-
 pub fn download_file_with_cookies(url string, out_file_path string, cookies map[string]string) ! {
 	$if debug_http ? {
 		println('http.download_file url=${url} out_file_path=${out_file_path}')
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/download_progress.v b/vlib/net/http/download_progress.v
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..9811f3e70f8fdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vlib/net/http/download_progress.v
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+module http
+
+// Downloader is the interface that you have to implement, if you need to customise
+// how download_file_with_progress works, and what output it produces while a file
+// is downloaded.
+pub interface Downloader {
+mut:
+	// Called once, at the start of the streaming download. You can do setup here,
+	// like opening a target file, changing request.stop_copying_limit to a different value,
+	// if you need it.
+	on_start(mut request Request, path string) !
+	// Called many times, once a chunk of data is received
+	on_chunk(request &Request, chunk []u8, already_received u64, expected u64) !
+	// Called once, at the end of the streaming download. Do cleanup here,
+	// like closing a file (opened in on_start), reporting stats etc.
+	on_finish(request &Request, response &Response) !
+}
+
+// DownloaderParams is similar to FetchConfig, but it also allows you to pass
+// a `downloader: your_downloader_instance` parameter.
+// See also http.SilentStreamingDownloader, and http.TerminalStreamingDownloader .
+@[params]
+pub struct DownloaderParams {
+	FetchConfig
+pub mut:
+	downloader &Downloader = TerminalStreamingDownloader{}
+}
+
+// download_file_with_progress will save the URL `url` to the filepath `path` .
+// Unlike download_file/2, it *does not* load the whole content in memory, but
+// instead streams it chunk by chunk to the target `path`, as the chunks are received
+// from the network. This makes it suitable for downloading big files, *without* increasing
+// the memory consumption of your application.
+//
+// By default, it will also show a progress line, while the download happens.
+// If you do not want a status line, you can call it like this:
+// `http.download_file_with_progress(url, path, downloader: http.SilentStreamingDownloader{})`,
+// or you can implement your own http.Downloader and pass that instead.
+//
+// Note: the returned response by this function, will have a truncated .body, after the first
+// few KBs, because it does not accumulate all its data in memory, instead relying on the
+// downloaders to save the received data chunk by chunk. You can parametrise this by
+// using `stop_copying_limit:` but you need to pass a number that is big enough to fit
+// at least all headers in the response, otherwise the parsing of the response at the end will
+// fail, despite saving all the data in the file before that. The default is 65536 bytes.
+pub fn download_file_with_progress(url string, path string, params DownloaderParams) !Response {
+	mut d := unsafe { params.downloader }
+	mut config := params.FetchConfig
+	config.url = url
+	config.user_ptr = voidptr(d)
+	config.on_progress_body = download_progres_cb
+	if config.stop_copying_limit == -1 {
+		// leave more than enough space for potential redirect headers
+		config.stop_copying_limit = 65536
+	}
+	mut req := prepare(config)!
+	d.on_start(mut req, path)!
+	response := req.do()!
+	d.on_finish(req, response)!
+	return response
+}
+
+const zz = &Downloader(unsafe { nil })
+
+fn download_progres_cb(request &Request, chunk []u8, body_so_far u64, expected_size u64, status_code int) ! {
+	// TODO: remove this hack, when `unsafe { &Downloader( request.user_ptr ) }` works reliably,
+	// by just casting, without trying to promote the argument to the heap at all.
+	mut d := unsafe { http.zz }
+	pd := unsafe { &voidptr(&d) }
+	unsafe {
+		*pd = request.user_ptr
+	}
+	if status_code == 200 {
+		// ignore redirects, we are interested in the chunks of the final file:
+		d.on_chunk(request, chunk, body_so_far, expected_size)!
+	}
+}
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/download_silent_downloader.v b/vlib/net/http/download_silent_downloader.v
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..74e0837a528f7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vlib/net/http/download_silent_downloader.v
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+module http
+
+import os
+
+// SilentStreamingDownloader just saves the downloaded file chunks to the given path.
+// It does *no reporting at all*.
+// Note: the folder part of the path should already exist, and has to be writable.
+pub struct SilentStreamingDownloader {
+pub mut:
+	path string
+	f    os.File
+}
+
+// on_start is called once at the start of the download.
+pub fn (mut d SilentStreamingDownloader) on_start(mut request Request, path string) ! {
+	d.path = path
+	d.f = os.create(path)!
+}
+
+// on_chunk is called multiple times, once per chunk of received content.
+pub fn (mut d SilentStreamingDownloader) on_chunk(request &Request, chunk []u8, already_received u64, expected u64) ! {
+	d.f.write(chunk)!
+}
+
+// on_finish is called once at the end of the download.
+pub fn (mut d SilentStreamingDownloader) on_finish(request &Request, response &Response) ! {
+	d.f.close()
+}
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/download_terminal_downloader.v b/vlib/net/http/download_terminal_downloader.v
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..7605ccdd18a441
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vlib/net/http/download_terminal_downloader.v
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+module http
+
+import time
+
+// TerminalStreamingDownloader is the same as http.SilentStreamingDownloader, but produces a progress line on stdout.
+pub struct TerminalStreamingDownloader {
+	SilentStreamingDownloader
+mut:
+	start_time    time.Time
+	past_time     time.Time
+	past_received u64
+}
+
+// on_start is called once at the start of the download.
+pub fn (mut d TerminalStreamingDownloader) on_start(mut request Request, path string) ! {
+	d.SilentStreamingDownloader.on_start(mut request, path)!
+	d.start_time = time.now()
+	d.past_time = time.now()
+}
+
+// on_chunk is called multiple times, once per chunk of received content.
+pub fn (mut d TerminalStreamingDownloader) on_chunk(request &Request, chunk []u8, already_received u64, expected u64) ! {
+	now := time.now()
+	elapsed := now - d.start_time
+	// delta_elapsed := now - d.past_time
+	// delta_bytes := already_received - d.past_received
+	d.past_time = now
+	d.past_received = already_received
+	ratio := f64(already_received) / f64(expected)
+	estimated := time.Duration(i64(f64(elapsed) / ratio))
+	speed := f64(time.millisecond) * f64(already_received) / f64(elapsed)
+	elapsed_s := elapsed.seconds()
+	estimated_s := estimated.seconds()
+	eta_s := f64_max(estimated_s - elapsed_s, 0.0)
+
+	d.SilentStreamingDownloader.on_chunk(request, chunk, already_received, expected)!
+	print('\rDownloading to `${d.path}` ${100.0 * ratio:6.2f}%, ${f64(already_received) / (1024 * 1024):7.3f}/${f64(expected) / (1024 * 1024):-7.3f}MB, ${speed:6.0f}KB/s, elapsed: ${elapsed_s:6.0f}s, eta: ${eta_s:6.0f}s')
+	flush_stdout()
+}
+
+// on_finish is called once at the end of the download.
+pub fn (mut d TerminalStreamingDownloader) on_finish(request &Request, response &Response) ! {
+	d.SilentStreamingDownloader.on_finish(request, response)!
+	println('')
+	flush_stdout()
+}
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/http.v b/vlib/net/http/http.v
index 5cd99a81f4eaaa..55fa2b330f48bb 100644
--- a/vlib/net/http/http.v
+++ b/vlib/net/http/http.v
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import net.urllib
 const max_redirects = 16 // safari max - other browsers allow up to 20
 
 const content_type_default = 'text/plain'
-const bufsize = 1536
+
+const bufsize = 64 * 1024
 
 // FetchConfig holds configuration data for the fetch function.
 pub struct FetchConfig {
@@ -31,10 +32,14 @@ pub mut:
 	in_memory_verification bool   // if true, verify, cert, and cert_key are read from memory, not from a file
 	allow_redirect         bool = true // whether to allow redirect
 	max_retries            int  = 5 // maximum number of retries required when an underlying socket error occurs
-	// callbacks to allow custom reporting code to run, while the request is running
-	on_redirect RequestRedirectFn = unsafe { nil }
-	on_progress RequestProgressFn = unsafe { nil }
-	on_finish   RequestFinishFn   = unsafe { nil }
+	// callbacks to allow custom reporting code to run, while the request is running, and to implement streaming
+	on_redirect      RequestRedirectFn     = unsafe { nil }
+	on_progress      RequestProgressFn     = unsafe { nil }
+	on_progress_body RequestProgressBodyFn = unsafe { nil }
+	on_finish        RequestFinishFn       = unsafe { nil }
+	//
+	stop_copying_limit   i64 = -1 // after this many bytes are received, stop copying to the response. Note that on_progress and on_progress_body callbacks, will continue to fire normally, until the full response is read, which allows you to implement streaming downloads, without keeping the whole big response in memory
+	stop_receiving_limit i64 = -1 // after this many bytes are received, break out of the loop that reads the response, effectively stopping the request early. No more on_progress callbacks will be fired. The on_finish callback will fire.
 }
 
 // new_request creates a new Request given the request `method`, `url_`, and
@@ -153,10 +158,10 @@ pub fn delete(url string) !Response {
 	return fetch(method: .delete, url: url)
 }
 
-// TODO: @[noinline] attribute is used for temporary fix the 'get_text()' intermittent segfault / nil value when compiling with GCC 13.2.x and -prod option ( Issue #20506 )
-// fetch sends an HTTP request to the `url` with the given method and configuration.
-@[noinline]
-pub fn fetch(config FetchConfig) !Response {
+// prepare prepares a new request for fetching, but does not call its .do() method.
+// It is useful, if you want to reuse request objects, for several requests in a row,
+// modifying the request each time, then calling .do() to get the new response.
+pub fn prepare(config FetchConfig) !Request {
 	if config.url == '' {
 		return error('http.fetch: empty url')
 	}
@@ -179,11 +184,21 @@ pub fn fetch(config FetchConfig) !Response {
 		allow_redirect: config.allow_redirect
 		max_retries: config.max_retries
 		on_progress: config.on_progress
+		on_progress_body: config.on_progress_body
 		on_redirect: config.on_redirect
 		on_finish: config.on_finish
+		stop_copying_limit: config.stop_copying_limit
+		stop_receiving_limit: config.stop_receiving_limit
 	}
-	res := req.do()!
-	return res
+	return req
+}
+
+// TODO: @[noinline] attribute is used for temporary fix the 'get_text()' intermittent segfault / nil value when compiling with GCC 13.2.x and -prod option ( Issue #20506 )
+// fetch sends an HTTP request to the `url` with the given method and configuration.
+@[noinline]
+pub fn fetch(config FetchConfig) !Response {
+	req := prepare(config)!
+	return req.do()!
 }
 
 // get_text sends an HTTP GET request to the given `url` and returns the text content of the response.
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/request.v b/vlib/net/http/request.v
index 12a2da53f16b6c..bf31c6283090f8 100644
--- a/vlib/net/http/request.v
+++ b/vlib/net/http/request.v
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ pub type RequestRedirectFn = fn (request &Request, nredirects int, new_url strin
 
 pub type RequestProgressFn = fn (request &Request, chunk []u8, read_so_far u64) !
 
+pub type RequestProgressBodyFn = fn (request &Request, chunk []u8, body_read_so_far u64, body_expected_size u64, status_code int) !
+
 pub type RequestFinishFn = fn (request &Request, final_size u64) !
 
 // Request holds information about an HTTP request (either received by
@@ -43,10 +45,14 @@ pub mut:
 	in_memory_verification bool // if true, verify, cert, and cert_key are read from memory, not from a file
 	allow_redirect         bool = true // whether to allow redirect
 	max_retries            int  = 5 // maximum number of retries required when an underlying socket error occurs
-	// callbacks to allow custom reporting code to run, while the request is running
-	on_redirect RequestRedirectFn = unsafe { nil }
-	on_progress RequestProgressFn = unsafe { nil }
-	on_finish   RequestFinishFn   = unsafe { nil }
+	// callbacks to allow custom reporting code to run, while the request is running, and to implement streaming
+	on_redirect      RequestRedirectFn     = unsafe { nil }
+	on_progress      RequestProgressFn     = unsafe { nil }
+	on_progress_body RequestProgressBodyFn = unsafe { nil }
+	on_finish        RequestFinishFn       = unsafe { nil }
+	//
+	stop_copying_limit   i64 = -1 // after this many bytes are received, stop copying to the response. Note that on_progress and on_progress_body callbacks, will continue to fire normally, until the full response is read, which allows you to implement streaming downloads, without keeping the whole big response in memory
+	stop_receiving_limit i64 = -1 // after this many bytes are received, break out of the loop that reads the response, effectively stopping the request early. No more on_progress callbacks will be fired. The on_finish callback will fire.
 }
 
 fn (mut req Request) free() {
@@ -176,40 +182,75 @@ fn (req &Request) method_and_url_to_response(method Method, url urllib.URL) !Res
 }
 
 fn (req &Request) build_request_headers(method Method, host_name string, path string) string {
-	ua := req.user_agent
-	mut uheaders := []string{}
+	mut sb := strings.new_builder(4096)
+	version := if req.version == .unknown { Version.v1_1 } else { req.version }
+	sb.write_string(method.str())
+	sb.write_string(' ')
+	sb.write_string(path)
+	sb.write_string(' ')
+	sb.write_string(version.str())
+	sb.write_string('\r\n')
 	if !req.header.contains(.host) {
-		uheaders << 'Host: ${host_name}\r\n'
+		sb.write_string('Host: ')
+		sb.write_string(host_name)
+		sb.write_string('\r\n')
 	}
 	if !req.header.contains(.user_agent) {
-		uheaders << 'User-Agent: ${ua}\r\n'
+		ua := req.user_agent
+		sb.write_string('User-Agent: ')
+		sb.write_string(ua)
+		sb.write_string('\r\n')
 	}
 	if req.data.len > 0 && !req.header.contains(.content_length) {
-		uheaders << 'Content-Length: ${req.data.len}\r\n'
+		sb.write_string('Content-Length: ')
+		sb.write_string(req.data.len.str())
+		sb.write_string('\r\n')
 	}
+	chkey := CommonHeader.cookie.str()
 	for key in req.header.keys() {
-		if key == CommonHeader.cookie.str() {
+		if key == chkey {
 			continue
 		}
 		val := req.header.custom_values(key).join('; ')
-		uheaders << '${key}: ${val}\r\n'
+		sb.write_string(key)
+		sb.write_string(': ')
+		sb.write_string(val)
+		sb.write_string('\r\n')
 	}
-	uheaders << req.build_request_cookies_header()
-	version := if req.version == .unknown { Version.v1_1 } else { req.version }
-	return '${method} ${path} ${version}\r\n' + uheaders.join('') + 'Connection: close\r\n\r\n' +
-		req.data
+	sb.write_string(req.build_request_cookies_header())
+	sb.write_string('Connection: close\r\n')
+	sb.write_string('\r\n')
+	sb.write_string(req.data)
+	return sb.str()
 }
 
 fn (req &Request) build_request_cookies_header() string {
-	if req.cookies.keys().len < 1 {
+	if req.cookies.len < 1 {
 		return ''
 	}
-	mut cookie := []string{}
+	mut sb_cookie := strings.new_builder(1024)
+	hvcookies := req.header.values(.cookie)
+	total_cookies := req.cookies.len + hvcookies.len
+	sb_cookie.write_string('Cookie: ')
+	mut idx := 0
 	for key, val in req.cookies {
-		cookie << '${key}=${val}'
+		sb_cookie.write_string(key)
+		sb_cookie.write_string('=')
+		sb_cookie.write_string(val)
+		if idx < total_cookies - 1 {
+			sb_cookie.write_string('; ')
+		}
+		idx++
 	}
-	cookie << req.header.values(.cookie)
-	return 'Cookie: ' + cookie.join('; ') + '\r\n'
+	for c in hvcookies {
+		sb_cookie.write_string(c)
+		if idx < total_cookies - 1 {
+			sb_cookie.write_string('; ')
+		}
+		idx++
+	}
+	sb_cookie.write_string('\r\n')
+	return sb_cookie.str()
 }
 
 fn (req &Request) http_do(host string, method Method, path string) !Response {
@@ -221,13 +262,17 @@ fn (req &Request) http_do(host string, method Method, path string) !Response {
 	// TODO: this really needs to be exposed somehow
 	client.write(s.bytes())!
 	$if trace_http_request ? {
-		eprintln('> ${s}')
+		eprint('> ')
+		eprint(s)
+		eprintln('')
 	}
 	mut bytes := req.read_all_from_client_connection(client)!
 	client.close()!
 	response_text := bytes.bytestr()
 	$if trace_http_response ? {
-		eprintln('< ${response_text}')
+		eprint('< ')
+		eprint(response_text)
+		eprintln('')
 	}
 	if req.on_finish != unsafe { nil } {
 		req.on_finish(req, u64(response_text.len))!
@@ -235,24 +280,81 @@ fn (req &Request) http_do(host string, method Method, path string) !Response {
 	return parse_response(response_text)
 }
 
-fn (req &Request) read_all_from_client_connection(r &net.TcpConn) ![]u8 {
-	mut read := i64(0)
-	mut b := []u8{len: 32768}
+// abstract over reading the whole content from TCP or SSL connections:
+type FnReceiveChunk = fn (con voidptr, buf &u8, bufsize int) !int
+
+fn (req &Request) receive_all_data_from_cb_in_builder(mut content strings.Builder, con voidptr, receive_chunk_cb FnReceiveChunk) ! {
+	mut buff := [bufsize]u8{}
+	bp := unsafe { &buff[0] }
+	mut readcounter := 0
+	mut body_pos := u64(0)
+	mut old_len := u64(0)
+	mut new_len := u64(0)
+	mut expected_size := u64(0)
+	mut status_code := -1
 	for {
-		old_read := read
-		new_read := r.read(mut b[read..]) or { break }
-		if new_read <= 0 {
+		readcounter++
+		len := receive_chunk_cb(con, bp, bufsize) or { break }
+		$if debug_http ? {
+			eprintln('ssl_do, read ${readcounter:4d} | len: ${len}')
+			eprintln('-'.repeat(20))
+			eprintln(unsafe { tos(bp, len) })
+			eprintln('-'.repeat(20))
+		}
+		if len <= 0 {
 			break
 		}
-		read += new_read
+		new_len = old_len + u64(len)
+		// Note: `schunk` and `bchunk` are used as convenient stack located views to the currently filled part of `buff`:
+		schunk := unsafe { bp.vstring_literal_with_len(len) }
+		mut bchunk := unsafe { bp.vbytes(len) }
+		if readcounter == 1 {
+			http_line := schunk.all_before('\r\n')
+			status_code = http_line.all_after(' ').all_before(' ').int()
+		}
 		if req.on_progress != unsafe { nil } {
-			req.on_progress(req, b[old_read..read], u64(read))!
+			req.on_progress(req, bchunk, u64(new_len))!
+		}
+		if body_pos == 0 {
+			bidx := schunk.index('\r\n\r\n') or { -1 }
+			if bidx > 0 {
+				body_buffer_offset := bidx + 4
+				bchunk = unsafe { (&u8(bchunk.data) + body_buffer_offset).vbytes(len - body_buffer_offset) }
+				body_pos = u64(old_len) + u64(body_buffer_offset)
+			}
+		}
+		body_so_far := u64(new_len) - body_pos
+		if req.on_progress_body != unsafe { nil } {
+			if expected_size == 0 {
+				lidx := schunk.index('Content-Length: ') or { -1 }
+				if lidx > 0 {
+					esize := schunk[lidx..].all_before('\r\n').all_after(': ').u64()
+					if esize > 0 {
+						expected_size = esize
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			req.on_progress_body(req, bchunk, body_so_far, expected_size, status_code)!
+		}
+		if !(req.stop_copying_limit > 0 && new_len > req.stop_copying_limit) {
+			unsafe { content.write_ptr(bp, len) }
 		}
-		for b.len <= read {
-			unsafe { b.grow_len(4096) }
+		if req.stop_receiving_limit > 0 && new_len > req.stop_receiving_limit {
+			break
 		}
+		old_len = new_len
 	}
-	return b[..read]
+}
+
+fn read_from_tcp_connection_cb(con voidptr, buf &u8, bufsize int) !int {
+	mut r := unsafe { &net.TcpConn(con) }
+	return r.read_ptr(buf, bufsize)
+}
+
+fn (req &Request) read_all_from_client_connection(r &net.TcpConn) ![]u8 {
+	mut content := strings.new_builder(4096)
+	req.receive_all_data_from_cb_in_builder(mut content, voidptr(r), read_from_tcp_connection_cb)!
+	return content
 }
 
 // referer returns 'Referer' header value of the given request
diff --git a/vlib/net/http/server_test.v b/vlib/net/http/server_test.v
index 56d42ce7e1d556..266141b1aba8ac 100644
--- a/vlib/net/http/server_test.v
+++ b/vlib/net/http/server_test.v
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ fn test_server_custom_handler() {
 		on_progress: fn (req &http.Request, chunk []u8, read_so_far u64) ! {
 			mut progress_calls := unsafe { &ProgressCalls(req.user_ptr) }
 			eprintln('>>>>>>>> on_progress, req.url: ${req.url} | got chunk.len: ${chunk.len:5}, read_so_far: ${read_so_far:8}, chunk: ${chunk#[0..30].bytestr()}')
-			progress_calls.chunks << chunk
+			progress_calls.chunks << chunk.clone()
 			progress_calls.reads << read_so_far
 		}
 		on_finish: fn (req &http.Request, final_size u64) ! {