CLI Mode

Execute requests from the command line.

Basic Usage

restcli <file>

Or explicit:

restcli run <file>

File extension is optional:

restcli get-user

Finds get-user.http, get-user.yaml, get-user.json, or get-user.jsonc.

Flags

Profile

restcli -p Dev request.http

Short: -p
Long: --profile

Output Format

restcli -o json request.http

Options: json, yaml, text

Short: -o
Long: --output

Full Output

restcli -f request.http

Includes status line, headers, and body.

Short: -f
Long: --full

Save Response

restcli -s response.json request.http

Short: -s
Long: --save

Override Body

restcli -b '{"key":"value"}' request.http

Short: -b
Long: --body

Set Variables

restcli -e userId=123 -e token=abc request.http

Repeatable flag for multiple variables.

Short: -e
Long: --extra-vars

Environment File

restcli --env-file .env request.http

Load variables from file.

Filter

restcli --filter "items[?status==\`active\`]" request.http

JMESPath filter expression.

Query

restcli -q "[].name" request.http

JMESPath query or bash command.

Short: -q
Long: --query

Stdin Body

Pipe data directly:

cat payload.json | restcli request.http

Or:

echo '{"data":"value"}' | restcli post-data.http

Stdin overrides body in request file.

Combining Flags

restcli run api.http \
  -p Production \
  -o json \
  -e apiKey=secret123 \
  -e version=v2 \
  --filter "results[?active]" \
  -s output.json

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Request failed or error
2	Missing variables

Scripting

Check Response

restcli health.http -o json | jq '.status == "ok"'

Variable Extraction

TOKEN=$(restcli login.http -o json | jq -r '.token')
restcli -e token=$TOKEN get-data.http

Loop Requests

for id in {1..10}; do
  restcli get-user.http -e userId=$id -o json >> results.jsonl
done

Conditional Execution

if restcli health.http -q '.status' | grep -q 'ok'; then
  restcli deploy.http
fi

Interactive Variables

If variables are missing and not provided via flags, CLI prompts for input:

restcli get-user.http
# Prompts: Enter value for userId:

Disable prompts in scripts by setting all variables via flags or profiles.

Examples

Basic request:

restcli get-user.http

With profile and variables:

restcli -p Dev -e userId=5 get-user.http

JSON output saved to file:

restcli api.http -o json -s result.json

Filter and query:

restcli users.http \
  --filter "users[?age > \`18\`]" \
  --query "[].{name: name, email: email}"

Pipe stdin body:

cat new-user.json | restcli create-user.http -o json

Full output with headers:

restcli -f auth.http

Confirmation Prompts

Requests with @confirmation directive require confirmation in CLI mode:

### Delete User
# @confirmation
DELETE https://api.example.com/users/{{userId}}

When executed in CLI:

restcli delete-user.http -p prod
# Prompts: Request 'Delete User' requires confirmation.
# Method: DELETE
# URL: https://api.example.com/users/123
#
# Proceed? [y/N]:

Prevents accidental execution of critical endpoints.

Shell Completion

Generate completions for your shell:

Bash

# Generate completion script
restcli completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/restcli

# Or add to ~/.bashrc
source <(restcli completion bash)

Zsh

# Create completions directory
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions

# Add to ~/.zshrc (if not already present)
if type restcli &>/dev/null; then
    echo 'fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)' >> ~/.zshrc
    echo 'autoload -Uz compinit && compinit' >> ~/.zshrc
fi

# Generate completions
restcli completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_restcli

# Reload shell
source ~/.zshrc

Features

Completion provides:

• Profile names for --profile flag (from .profiles.json)
• Request files for file argument (from profile’s workdir or current directory)
• Flag names and options

Example:

restcli run <TAB>          # Shows .http files
restcli -p <TAB>           # Shows profile names
restcli run api -p <TAB>   # Shows profiles

Note: File completion is profile-aware. With --profile dev, it scans the dev profile’s workdir for valid files.