Profiles

Profiles store persistent configuration for different environments or users.

Configuration File

Create .profiles.json in your project directory:

[
  {
    "name": "Development",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}",
      "X-Environment": "dev"
    },
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://dev.api.example.com",
      "token": "dev-token-123"
    },
    "workdir": "",
    "editor": "vim",
    "output": "json"
  },
  {
    "name": "Production",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}",
      "X-Environment": "prod"
    },
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://api.example.com",
      "token": "prod-token-456"
    },
    "workdir": "",
    "editor": "vim",
    "output": "json"
  }
]

Fields

name (required)

Profile identifier.

{
  "name": "Development"
}

headers (optional)

Default headers for all requests.

{
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-User-ID": "{{userId}}"
  }
}

Headers support variable substitution.

variables (optional)

Profile variables.

Simple:

{
  "variables": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.example.com",
    "userId": "123"
  }
}

Multi-value:

{
  "variables": {
    "environment": {
      "options": ["dev", "staging", "prod"],
      "active": 0,
      "aliases": {
        "d": 0,
        "s": 1,
        "p": 2
      }
    }
  }
}

Shell commands:

{
  "variables": {
    "timestamp": "$(date +%s)",
    "branch": "$(git branch --show-current)"
  }
}

workdir

Working directory for requests.

{
  "workdir": "/path/to/requests"
}

If set, TUI uses this directory for file operations.

editor

External editor command.

{
  "editor": "vim"
}

Or:

{
  "editor": "code -w"
}

Used when pressing x in TUI.

output

Default output format for CLI mode.

{
  "output": "json"
}

Options: json, yaml, text

oauth (optional)

OAuth 2.0 configuration.

{
  "oauth": {
    "authUrl": "https://auth.example.com/authorize",
    "tokenUrl": "https://auth.example.com/token",
    "clientId": "your-client-id",
    "scope": "read write",
    "redirectUrl": "http://localhost:8080/callback"
  }
}

See authentication guide for details.

defaultFilter (optional)

Default JMESPath filter for all requests.

{
  "defaultFilter": "items[?active==`true`]"
}

defaultQuery (optional)

Default JMESPath query or bash command.

{
  "defaultQuery": "[].{id: id, name: name}"
}

Or bash:

{
  "defaultQuery": "$(jq '.items[].name')"
}

tls (optional)

Default TLS configuration.

{
  "tls": {
    "certFile": "/path/to/client.crt",
    "keyFile": "/path/to/client.key",
    "caFile": "/path/to/ca.crt",
    "insecureSkipVerify": false
  }
}

See authentication guide for mTLS details.

Using Profiles

CLI Mode

Select profile with -p flag:

restcli -p Development request.http

TUI Mode

Press p to open profile switcher.

Select profile from list.

Press e to edit profile configuration.

Sessions

Session data in .session.json tracks ephemeral state.

Structure

{
  "activeProfile": "Development",
  "variables": {
    "token": "auto-extracted-token",
    "refreshToken": "auto-extracted-refresh"
  }
}

Auto-extraction

TUI automatically extracts token or accessToken from JSON responses.

Stored in session, available as {{token}} in requests.

Profile Linking

Session clears when switching profiles.

Each profile has independent session state.

Important

Do not manually edit .session.json for configuration.

Use .profiles.json for persistent settings.

Session is for runtime state only.

Examples

Multiple Environments

[
  {
    "name": "Local",
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "http://localhost:3000"
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "Development",
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://dev.api.example.com"
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "Staging",
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://staging.api.example.com"
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "Production",
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://api.example.com"
    }
  }
]

Multiple Users

[
  {
    "name": "User 1",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}",
      "X-User-ID": "user1"
    },
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "http://localhost:3000",
      "token": "user1-token"
    }
  },
  {
    "name": "User 2",
    "headers": {
      "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}",
      "X-User-ID": "user2"
    },
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "http://localhost:3000",
      "token": "user2-token"
    }
  }
]

With OAuth and Filters

[
  {
    "name": "API Client",
    "headers": {
      "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    "variables": {
      "baseUrl": "https://api.example.com"
    },
    "oauth": {
      "authUrl": "https://auth.example.com/authorize",
      "tokenUrl": "https://auth.example.com/token",
      "clientId": "client-123",
      "scope": "api.read api.write"
    },
    "defaultFilter": "results[?status==`active`]",
    "defaultQuery": "[].{id: id, name: name, created: createdAt}"
  }
]

Priority

Profile settings apply in this order:

1. Request file settings (highest)
2. CLI flags
3. Profile settings
4. Session data (lowest)

Request-specific settings override profile defaults.