httprun allows execution of .http scripts, in batches, from the command line.
At Apiway we make platforms that help organisations publish APIs, we do a lot of demos, which utilise a lot of HTTP API calls. We were using the Visual Studio Code Rest-client to drive the demos, but the setup, which could involve hundreds of HTTP requests, were tedious to click through.
The Visual Studio Code Rest-Client has become the defacto way of building and executing HTTP requests on the fly. However as a VS Code plugin, all its functionality is only available from within the VS Code IDE and must be mouse driven.
httprun is an attempt at a multi-platform, Rest-Client compatible way of executing scripts from a command line.
- Download the pre-built binaries
| OS | Download |
|---|---|
| Windows | httprun.exe |
| Unix | httprun |
or
Compile source code dotnet build
- [Optional] Add httprun to the path.
Use ### to separate individual requests.
GET /anything HTTP/1.1
Host: httpbin.org
###
GET /get HTTP/1.1
Host: httpbin.org
###Use @<variableName> = <value> to define a variable for use in this or subsequent requests.
Use {{<variableName>}} to substitute variable value into Verb, Header and Body.
# Create variable
@myVariable = Hello
GET /anything/{{myVariable}} HTTP/1.1
Host: httpbin.org
###Embed variables within the value declaration of a new variable.
@var_one = World
@var_two = Hello, {{var_one}}Use # @name <name> within a request block to make the request and response addressible in subsequent requests.
# Name the request
# @name myRequest
GET /anything HTTP/1.1
Host: httpbin.org
###
# Refer to named request
@host = {{myRequest.response.body.$.headers.host}}
GET /anything HTTP/1.1
Host: {{host}}
###Use # @note to pause execution of the script and require user input.
# @note
GET /anything HTTP/1.1
Host: httpbin.org
###Confirmation to continue must be provided via the command line.
Note: There is a command line switch to auto-confirm all notes when running in headless.
Use the command line switch -s or --success-codes to supply a space separated list of HTTP status codes that should be treated as a success (and not termniate the script).
Useful if the API is known to respond with non-standard HTTP codes in success scenarios.
Use the command line switch -t or --request-timeout to change the response wait timeout for the script.
Use the command line switch -d or --delay to change how long delay should occur between each sequential request.
Use the command line switch -f or --follow-300 to automatically follow 3xx based redirects.
httprun aims to be compatible with the .http files that VS Code Rest Client supports. However, the functionality set offered by httprun is deliberately different, reflecting the different mode of usage.
Note: VS Code UI features are excluded from this table.
| Feature | httprun |
VS Code Rest Client |
|---|---|---|
| Send, Cancel & Re-run http requests | Partial - Send only | Yes |
| Send GraphQL queries | No | Yes |
| Copy as cURL | No | Yes |
| Request History | No | Yes |
| Multiple requests in same file | Yes | Yes |
| Preview of Response | Yes | Yes |
| Save response to disk | No | Yes |
| Authentication support | ||
| * Basic Auth | Yes | Yes |
| * Digest Auth | Coming | Yes |
| * SSL Client Certificates | Coming | Yes |
| * Azure active directory | No | Yes |
| * Microsoft Identity Platform | No | Yes |
| * AWS Signature v4 | No | Yes |
| Environment and Variable support | ||
| Use variables in URL \ Headers \ Body | Yes | Yes |
| Environment, File and Request variables | Yes | Yes |
| System Dynamic variables | ||
| * {{$guid}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$randomInt min max}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$timestamp [offset option]}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$datetime rfc1123|iso8601 [offset option]}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$localDatetime rfc1123|iso8601 [offset option]}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$processEnv [%]envVarName}} | Yes | Yes |
| * {{$dotenv [%]variableName}} | No | Yes |
| * {{$aadToken [new] [public|cn|de|us|ppe] [<domain|tenantId>] [aud:<domain|tenantId>]}} | No | Yes |
| Cookie support | No | Yes |
| Proxy Support | No | Yes |
| Http Language support | ||
| * .http and .rest file support | Yes | Yes |
| * Comments (// & #) | Partial - # only | Yes |
Access the help using the --help command line switch.