HTTPie CLI — Modern User-Friendly Command-Line HTTP Client

What HTTPie Does

• Simple syntax — http GET url instead of curl -X GET url
• JSON by default — key=value builds JSON request body
• Colorized output — syntax-highlighted response
• Sessions — persist cookies and auth across requests
• File uploads — file@path syntax
• Downloads — --download flag
• Auth — Basic, Bearer, Digest, HAWK
• Plugins — auth, transport, formatter plugins
• Offline mode — preview what would be sent
• HTTPS — verify certs, client certs

Architecture

Python-based CLI wrapping the Requests library (and newer python-httpx under the hood). Custom parser for the intuitive request syntax. Pygments for output highlighting.

Self-Hosting

CLI tool, Python package.

Key Features

• Human-friendly syntax
• JSON-first
• Colorized and formatted output
• Sessions
• Plugin architecture
• File uploads
• Downloads with progress bar
• Local and remote HTTPS
• Offline request preview

Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does it compare to curl? A: curl is the Swiss Army knife (uploads, socks, HTTP2/3, all kinds of low-level options); HTTPie is human-friendly (REST/JSON interaction). Use HTTPie for daily API debugging and curl for low-level details.

Q: Is there something faster? A: xh (a Rust rewrite, faster startup, HTTPie-compatible syntax), but HTTPie has a larger plugin ecosystem.

Q: Does it support GraphQL? A: Yes. Use httpie-plugin-graphql or just POST a JSON body directly.

Sources

• Docs: https://httpie.io/docs
• GitHub: https://github.com/httpie/cli
• License: BSD 3-Clause