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

> HTTPie is a modern, user-friendly command-line HTTP client for the API era. Intuitive syntax, formatted and colorized output, JSON support, sessions, authentication, file uploads, and plugins. The friendly alternative to curl for API exploration.

## Install

Copy the content below into your project:

## Quick Use

```bash
# Install
brew install httpie                        # macOS
sudo apt install httpie                    # Debian/Ubuntu
pip install httpie                         # Python
```

Basic usage:
```bash
http GET https://api.github.com/users/williamwangai
http POST https://api.example.com/users name=William email=w@example.com
http PUT https://api.example.com/users/1 name=Alice
http DELETE https://api.example.com/users/1

# Headers
http GET https://api.example.com Authorization:"Bearer token" X-Custom:value

# JSON body
http POST api.example.com/users <<<"{\"name\":\"William\"}"

# File upload
http --form POST api.example.com/upload file@./photo.jpg

# Download
http --download https://example.com/file.zip

# Sessions (persist cookies/auth)
http --session=work api.example.com/login name=william password=secret
http --session=work api.example.com/me
```

## Intro

HTTPie is a modern command-line HTTP client designed for humans. Its goal is to make CLI interaction with web services as human-friendly as possible. Provides a simple http command that allows for sending arbitrary HTTP requests using a simple and natural syntax, and displays colorized output.

- **Repo**: https://github.com/httpie/cli
- **Stars**: 37K+
- **Language**: Python
- **License**: BSD 3-Clause

## 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

| Tool | Syntax | JSON | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTPie | Intuitive | Native | Yes |
| curl | POSIX | Manual | No |
| wget | POSIX | Manual | No |
| xh | Intuitive (fork) | Native | Yes (Rust) |
| Hurl | Own DSL | Native | Yes |

## 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

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/httpie-cli-modern-user-friendly-command-line-http-client-224cd323
Author: Script Depot