httptui

httptui is a fast, keyboard-driven REST client that lives in your terminal. It parses .http and .rest files, allowing you to browse and execute requests without leaving your workflow.

Features

• Multi-Format Support: Parse .http, .rest, Postman collections, and OpenAPI specs (JSON/YAML).
• Keyboard-Driven TUI: Vim keys, split-panel layout, details panel (d), fullscreen (f), help overlay (?).
• In-Session Editing: Edit request URLs, headers, and bodies live in the TUI (e).
• Environment Management: Load environment files, register named environments, switch at runtime (E).
• mTLS & Client Certificates: Per-host client certificates (PEM/PFX) with wildcard matching.
• Export as .http: Save requests to .http format with variables preserved (S).
• Copy as curl: Copy the selected request as a curl command to the clipboard (y).

Requirements

• Node.js 24 or newer. httptui declares engines.node: ">=24"; installing on older Node versions will trigger an EBADENGINE warning from npm and is not supported.

Installation

# npm config get prefix
# npm config set prefix "$HOME/.local"
# npm config delete prefix

cd <project-folder>
npm install
npm run build
npm link

# Uninstall from anywhere
# npm unlink @will8ug/httptui
# Or under current project folder:
# npm unlink

Or

npm install -g @will8ug/httptui

Usage

httptui path/to/api.http
httptui postman-collection.json
httptui openapi.yaml
httptui openapi.json

You can also open a different .http file from within the running TUI by pressing o and typing the file path. This is useful when working across multiple API definition files without restarting httptui.

Options

Flag	Description
--insecure, -k	Skip TLS certificate verification
--env, -e	Load an environment file (Postman or simplified format)
--env-name, -E	Select an environment by name from the config file

# Skip TLS certificate verification
httptui --insecure path/to/api.http
httptui -k path/to/api.http

# Load an environment file by path
httptui collection.json --env dev.postman_environment.json
httptui api.http -e staging.json

# Select an environment by name from config
httptui api.http --env-name Development
httptui api.http -E Staging

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Key	Action
?	Toggle help overlay
Escape	Close current overlay / Exit fullscreen
q	Quit application

Navigation

Key	Action
↑ / k	Previous request / Scroll up
↓ / j	Next request / Scroll down
← / h	Scroll focused panel left
→ / l	Scroll focused panel right
g	Jump to top of focused panel
G	Jump to bottom of focused panel
0	Jump to horizontal start
$	Jump to horizontal end
Tab	Switch focus between panels

Request

Key	Action
Enter	Send selected request
R	Reload file from disk
o	Open a different .http file
E	Switch environment
S	Save as .http file
y	Copy request as curl

Display

Key	Action
v	Toggle verbose mode (show/hide headers)
r	Toggle raw mode (no JSON formatting)
w	Toggle text wrapping
d	Toggle request details panel
f	Toggle fullscreen

Search

Key	Action
/	Search response body
n	Go to next match
N	Go to previous match

Edit

Key	Action
e	Edit a request in-session
Shift+Tab	Switch editor tab
Ctrl+S	Commit edit or save to source file
Ctrl+A	Jump to start of line
Ctrl+E	Jump to end of line
Ctrl+G	Edit requests in external editor ($EDITOR or config editor)

Documentation

• .http File Format — Request syntax, headers, and variables.
• Examples — Common request patterns.
• Configuration — Global and project-level config files.
• Environments — Environment files and the runtime switcher.
• Client Certificates — mTLS configuration.
• Editing — Edit requests in-session or in your $EDITOR.
• Saving as .http — Export requests from any file format.
• TLS Troubleshooting — Common certificate issues and fixes.

Tech Stack

• TypeScript: Type-safe development.
• Ink: React-based framework for building interactive CLIs.
• React: Component-based UI architecture.
• undici: Modern, high-performance HTTP client for Node.js.