HTTPie

A user-friendly command-line HTTP client for the API era

Network Development linuxmacoswindows Python BSD-3-Clause

Description

HTTPie is a command-line HTTP client with an intuitive UI, JSON support, syntax highlighting, wget-like downloads, plugins, and more. It is designed for testing, debugging, and interacting with APIs and HTTP servers.

When to use this tool

✓ Good fit when

Testing and debugging REST APIs interactively
Want more readable output than curl for JSON APIs
Need persistent sessions for API exploration

✕ Avoid when

Scripting where curl's ubiquity and stability are preferred
Need to match exact curl flags from documentation

Install

homebrewbrew install httpie

aptsudo apt install httpie

pippip install httpie

pacmansudo pacman -S httpie

AI Summary

A user-friendly HTTP client for the command line. Provides intuitive syntax for making API requests with automatic JSON handling and colorized output.

Capabilities

+ Intuitive command syntax for HTTP requests
+ Automatic JSON serialization and syntax highlighting
+ Persistent sessions and authentication support
+ File uploads and downloads

Use When

→ Testing and debugging REST APIs interactively
→ Want more readable output than curl for JSON APIs
→ Need persistent sessions for API exploration

Avoid When

x Scripting where curl's ubiquity and stability are preferred
x Need to match exact curl flags from documentation

Usage Patterns

GET request with JSON response

http GET https://api.example.com/users

Fetches and displays JSON with syntax highlighting

POST JSON data

http POST https://api.example.com/users name=John email=john@example.com

Sends JSON body with key=value pairs automatically serialized

Input / Output

stdout: Formatted and colorized HTTP response (headers and body)

Exit codes:

0 Success

1 Error

Related Tools

xh alternative

xh is a Rust reimplementation inspired by HTTPie

curlie alternative

curlie wraps curl with HTTPie-like output

View AGENTS.md for HTTPie