ax — TUI API Client

A fast, beautiful terminal-based HTTP client
Inspired by Postman/Insomnia, powered by Bubble Tea, built for the terminal

---

ax is a terminal-native HTTP client for building, debugging, and replaying API requests — no GUI, no Electron, no bloat. It combines the polish of modern API clients with the speed and scriptability of the terminal.

Features

Feature	Description
Three-Pane TUI	Sidebar (history), request builder, response viewer — Tab to cycle
xh/httpie Syntax	:8080/api/users name==John — shorthand for URL, headers, JSON, and form data
Syntax Highlighting	Chroma-powered JSON highlighting with the Catppuccin Macchiato theme
Persistent History	SQLite-backed request history with WAL mode — survives restarts
Clipboard Integration	Ctrl+Y copies response body — works on X11, Wayland, and macOS
Smart Method Detection	Type name==John → auto-detects POST; prefix DELETE for explicit method
Keybinding Help	Press ? for a complete overlay reference
Shell Completions	ax completion [bash|zsh|fish] for tab-completion
Cross-Platform	Linux, macOS, Windows — statically linked, zero CGo
No Electron	Single 23 MB binary, minimal memory footprint

Installation

Arch Linux

yay -S ax

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew install zaidejjo/tap/ax

Go Install

go install github.com/zaidejjo/ax/cmd/ax@latest

Direct Binary

Download the archive for your platform from the releases page:

Platform	Architecture	Format
Linux	amd64	ax_{{ version }}_linux_amd64.tar.gz
Linux	arm64	ax_{{ version }}_linux_arm64.tar.gz
Linux	amd64	ax_{{ version }}_x86_64.deb
Linux	arm64	ax_{{ version }}_aarch64.deb
macOS	amd64	ax_{{ version }}_macOS_amd64.tar.gz
macOS	arm64	ax_{{ version }}_macOS_arm64.tar.gz
Windows	amd64	ax_{{ version }}_windows_amd64.zip

# Extract and run:
tar xzf ax_*.tar.gz
./ax

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/zaidejjo/ax.git
cd ax
make build

Use

Launch the TUI

ax

Smart Syntax (xh / httpie style)

ax understands httpie/xh-style shorthand directly in the URL input:

# Start typing in the URL field at launch:
# Press Ctrl+R to send or Enter

# GET localhost:8080/api/users
#    Type: :8080/api/users

# POST with JSON body to localhost
#    Type: POST :8080/api/users name=="John" age=="30"

# GET with custom header
#    Type: https://api.example.com/data Authorization:Bearer\ntoken123

# PATCH with JSON field
#    Type: PATCH example.com/resource/1 name=="Updated"

# Form-encoded POST
#    Type: https://example.com/login username=john password=secret

# DELETE with shorthand
#    Type: DELETE :8080/api/users/42

Keybindings

Key	Action
Tab / Shift+Tab	Cycle focus between panes
Ctrl+R	Execute the current request
m	Cycle HTTP method
Ctrl+Y	Copy response body to clipboard
Enter	(sidebar) Load selected history entry
Ctrl+D	(sidebar) Delete selected entry
↑/↓ / PgUp/PgDn	Scroll response body
?	Toggle help overlay
q / Ctrl+C	Quit

Shell Completions

# Bash
source <(ax completion bash)

# Zsh
source <(ax completion zsh)

# Fish
ax completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/ax.fish

Architecture

ax/
├── cmd/ax/              # Entry point, CLI flags, completions
├── internal/
│   ├── client/          # Pure Go HTTP client (net/http wrapper)
│   │   ├── http.go      # Request/Response types, Do(), options
│   │   └── parser.go    # xh/httpie-style single-line parser
│   ├── history/         # SQLite-backed persistent request store
│   │   └── store.go     # CRUD operations, WAL mode, schema migration
│   └── tui/             # Bubble Tea v2 terminal UI
│       ├── model.go     # Root model, update loop, message dispatch
│       ├── styles.go    # Lip Gloss theme (violet palette)
│       ├── clipboard.go # Platform clipboard (xclip/wl-copy/pbcopy)
│       ├── pane_help.go # Keybinding reference overlay
│       ├── pane_request.go  # URL input + method cycling
│       ├── pane_response.go # Viewport + chroma highlighting
│       └── pane_sidebar.go  # History list (bubbles/list)
├── .goreleaser.yaml     # Cross-compilation & distribution
└── Makefile             # Build, test, lint, run

Stack: Bubble Tea v2 · Bubbles v2 · Lip Gloss v2 · Chroma v2 · modernc.org/sqlite (pure Go, zero CGo)

Testing

# Run all tests
make test

# Run with race detector
go test ./... -race -count=1

# Run specific package tests
go test ./internal/client/... -v
go test ./internal/history/... -v

Currently 71 tests across the client, parser, and history packages.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feat/my-feature)
3. Run tests (make test)
4. Commit with conventional commits (feat:, fix:, docs:, etc.)
5. Open a pull request

📄 License

MIT

---

_{Built with Go and ⚡making this API client so fucking fast}