Curl Desk
A full-featured HTTP client for Visual Studio Code. Build, send, and inspect API requests without leaving your editor.
Features
- Request Builder — GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS with full control over headers, query params, body (JSON, text, form-data), and auth (Bearer, Basic)
- Collections — Organize requests into collections. Create, rename, delete, and reorder
- Response Examples — Save responses as named examples on any request. Load, rename, or delete them anytime
- Multi-Tab Workspace — Work on multiple requests simultaneously with a tabbed interface
- Rich Response Viewer — Syntax-highlighted JSON/HTML/XML with line numbers, Pretty/Raw toggle
- Media Preview — Renders images, video, and audio responses inline. Opens PDFs in VS Code's native viewer
- HTML Preview — Toggle between source code and rendered HTML preview for HTML responses
- Environment Variables — Define variables and use
{{variable}} syntax in URLs, headers, and body
- Sidebar — Quick access to collections, requests, and history from the activity bar
- Keyboard Shortcut — Open with
Cmd+Shift+H (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows/Linux)
Getting Started
- Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
- Click the Curl Desk icon in the activity bar, or press
Cmd+Shift+H
- Enter a URL, pick a method, and hit Send
Usage
Sending Requests
Type a URL in the request bar, select an HTTP method, and click Send. Add headers, query parameters, request body, or authentication from the tabs below.
Collections
Click New Collection in the sidebar to create one. Use Save current here inside any collection to save the active request. Requests and collections can be renamed (double-click or pencil icon) and deleted.
Response Examples
After receiving a response, click Save as Example in the response panel to save it. Examples appear under their request in the sidebar. Click an example to load the full request and response.
Environment Variables
Define variables in the environment panel and reference them with {{variableName}} in URLs, headers, or body fields. Variables are replaced at send time.
The response viewer automatically detects content types:
- Images (PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, WebP) — rendered inline
- Video (MP4, WebM) — playable video player
- Audio (MP3, WAV, OGG) — audio player
- PDF — opens in VS Code's native viewer
- HTML — toggle between source and rendered preview
Commands
| Command |
Shortcut |
Description |
Curl Desk: Open |
Cmd+Shift+H / Ctrl+Shift+H |
Open the main panel |
Curl Desk: Use as Request Body |
— |
Send selected text as request body |
Requirements
License
MIT
| |
