GUI frontend for cURL for testing an API

Question

I'm (manually) testing a RESTful API that makes full use of GET/POST/PUT/DELETE methods. Rather than using cURL on the command line to quickly test different input options, it would be handy if there were a windows GUI application to make this easier. Does anything like that exist?

score 35 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 27 '11 at 13:44

35

Use Poster with Firefox.

edited Sep 27 '11 at 13:44

answered Mar 02 '09 at 18:21

vladr

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Note: Poster seems to have been superseded by [HttpRequester](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/httprequester/). Also, note that both tools will follow redirects when processing the response — this bit me when I wanted to test an API that returned 300 responses. – a paid nerd Aug 15 '11 at 15:19
@vladr would you please tell me how will i set post data in poster please ? – sharif2008 Sep 25 '13 at 07:12
I wrote a REST client plugin called Requester for Sublime Text, https://github.com/kylebebak/Requester. It's inspired by HTTPie and Postman. It's very powerful and easy to use, and it's cross-platform. If you're not in love with your HTTP client it's definitely worth a try. – kylebebak Aug 17 '17 at 03:58
HttpRequester link is ded – Andry Mar 21 '22 at 11:38
There are also ui like https://www.webutils.app/curl-web-ui which generate curl commands – Amit Aug 16 '22 at 14:34

score 29 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 01 '16 at 23:51

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I know this post is a bit old, but Dev HTTP Client for Chrome is by far the best plugin I've found.

Along with providing a nice UI that pretty formats responses (like JSON and XML), it allows you to save any requests. IMHO, the best feature is the ability to set different "contexts" and set variables. For instance, you can have a "production" and "dev" context, each with a "host" variable. Then your request string could be http://${host}/foo.

edited Feb 01 '16 at 23:51

answered Sep 27 '12 at 18:12

Fotios

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it contains google analytics and asks for signups. dont feel safe – droid192 Nov 29 '22 at 12:34

sqren · Answer 3 · 2018-04-06T08:38:48.753

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Insomnia is a beautiful desktop application for Windows, Mac and Linux for debugging restful APIs (my personal favourite)

Postman is a Chrome extension for API testing and doing custom http requests. You can save requests for later use, setup different environments (staging, deployment) and collaborate and share requests with others on your team.

HttpRequester for Firefox is similar to Postman.

edited Apr 06 '18 at 08:38

answered Sep 23 '13 at 12:45

sqren

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Insomnia is really something that should get more attention. Having a real desktop application where each call can be saved, categorized and documented is a game changer. – BoKKeR May 03 '18 at 20:58
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checkout https://github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch – droid192 Nov 29 '22 at 12:28

score 8 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 23 '15 at 14:23

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Found a useful (free) web tool for this that now exists!

https://curlbuilder.com/

answered Jul 23 '15 at 14:23

nibbex

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this is first answer to OP's question. postman and others are separate tools not a gui/wrapper for curl – JJ Roman Feb 25 '21 at 09:03
This should be accepted answer. – Harry Apr 11 '21 at 17:55

score 8 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 02 '09 at 19:55

8

I like RESTclient. It doesn't format HTML, though (I assume Poster does), so if you get a 500 error you get to dredge through the return text yourself.

answered Mar 02 '09 at 19:55

TMN

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Looks cool but it runs on Java :-( – Donny V. Jun 16 '11 at 20:40

score 7 · Answer 6 · edited Feb 01 '16 at 23:57

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Also XHR POSTER with Chrome
I would say has a better UI then Poster.

Update
XHR has been giving me problems. DHC by Restlet for Chrome is pretty nice also.

edited Feb 01 '16 at 23:57

Filip

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answered Jun 04 '11 at 19:35

Donny V.

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score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 30 '11 at 14:32

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Fiddler is a very good tool. You can see history of requests, supports all HTTP verbs, completes the request with necessary headers (like Content-Length). The feature you are looking for is called "Request Builder".

answered Dec 30 '11 at 14:32

Tomek

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In current version (Fiddler4) this feature is called 'Composer' – Albertino80 Mar 13 '18 at 10:05

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered May 21 '13 at 05:17

3

In the interest of trying to keep this list up to date, here is an even better, newer Chrome extension: Advanced REST Client

answered May 21 '13 at 05:17

Fotios

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score 3 · Answer 9 · answered Jan 20 '14 at 10:50

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Try gURL: http://code.google.com/p/gurl/ This is a simple HTTP-request generator, based on curl

answered Jan 20 '14 at 10:50

Aleks

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Mathieu Rodic · Answer 10 · 2016-12-30T09:32:52.947

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Out of all the Firefox extensions I tried, HttpRequester is the best tool for me. It is very clear and doesn't lack a feature.

For Chrome, I would recommend Advanced REST client or Postman.

edited Dec 30 '16 at 09:32

answered Dec 03 '14 at 12:52

Mathieu Rodic

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score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 23 '15 at 13:42

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Paw for OS X is pretty nice. $29.99 as of this writing.

answered Jul 23 '15 at 13:42

jthomas

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score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Jan 30 '14 at 00:25

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I think Hurl is a great candidate for that?

answered Jan 30 '14 at 00:25

bart

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GUI frontend for cURL for testing an API

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