Quick Start (CLI)

First Request

Create a file get-user.http:

### Get User
GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1

TUI Mode

Start the interactive TUI:

restcli

Navigate with arrow keys or j/k.

Press Enter to execute the selected request.

CLI Mode

Execute directly:

restcli run get-user.http

Or use the shorthand:

restcli get-user.http

File extension is optional. This works too:

restcli get-user

With Variables

Create get-post.http:

### Get Post
GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/{{postId}}

The tool prompts for missing variables in CLI mode.

Or set via flag:

restcli get-post -e postId=5

With Profile

The easiest way is to manage the profile(s) using the TUI

Create ~/.restcli/.profiles.json:

[
  {
    "name": "Default",
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com",
      "postId": "1"
    }
  }
]

Update get-post.http:

### Get Post
GET {{baseUrl}}/posts/{{postId}}

Run with profile:

restcli run get-post -p Default

POST Request

Create create-post.http:

### Create Post
POST https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "title": "New Post",
  "body": "Content here",
  "userId": 1
}

Execute:

restcli create-post

Output Formats

JSON output:

restcli get-user -o json

YAML output:

restcli get-user -o yaml

Full output (status, headers, body):

restcli get-user -f

Save Response

Save to file:

restcli get-user -s response.json

Next Steps

1. Learn about file formats
2. Explore variables
3. Set up profiles
4. Try TUI mode features