REST TEST

A Visual Studio Code extension for testing REST APIs directly from your editor with a clean and intuitive interface.

Features

• 🎨 Modern Glass UI: Sleek, glassmorphic interface with an indigo accent that adapts to your VS Code theme — looks great in both dark and light mode

• 🚀 High-Performance Interface: Lightning-fast, optimized UI with minimal animations

• 📱 Responsive Design: Clean, unified request bar layout

• Support for Multiple HTTP Methods:

  • GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD, OPTIONS

• REST & GraphQL: Dedicated tabs for both REST requests and GraphQL queries/variables

• 🗂️ Collections:

  • Organize saved requests into named collections (folders)
  • Create, rename, and delete collections from the sidebar
  • Move requests between collections via right-click or drag & drop
  • Import / export Postman Collection v2.1 files

• Request Configuration:

  • Unified request bar with method selector and URL input
  • Dynamic query parameters builder with instant add/remove
  • Custom headers management
  • JSON body editor with syntax highlighting

• Advanced Features:

  • Save and manage your API requests in collections
  • Method-specific color coding
  • Beautiful JSON response formatting with syntax highlighting
  • Searchable responses with match navigation
  • Colored status pills and real request timing breakdown (DNS / TCP / TLS / transfer)
  • Request cancellation for in-flight requests
  • Comprehensive error handling with clear messages
  • Request state persistence across sessions
  • Copy response data and cURL commands
  • Response time and size metrics

Installation

1. Open Visual Studio Code
2. Press Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+P (macOS)
3. Type ext install gopher-amol.rest-test
4. Press Enter

Usage

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Type "REST TEST" and select it
3. The REST TEST interface will open in a new tab

Making Requests

1. Select HTTP Method: Choose from the dropdown (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD, OPTIONS)
2. Enter URL: Input the full URL of your API endpoint
3. Add Query Parameters (Optional): Click "Add Query Parameter" and enter key-value pairs
4. Add Headers (Optional): Click "Add Header" and enter key-value pairs
5. Add Request Body (Optional): Enter valid JSON in the body textarea (POST, PUT, PATCH)
6. Send Request: Click "Send" and view the response below

Saving Requests & Collections

• Click Save to save the current request — choose an existing collection or create a new one in the dialog
• Access saved requests from the sidebar, grouped under their collections with method-specific icons
• Use the New Collection button in the sidebar title bar to add a collection
• Right-click a collection to rename, delete, or export it; right-click a request to move or delete it
• Drag & drop requests between collections (or reorder within one)

Importing & Exporting (Postman)

• Import: click the Import Postman Collection button in the sidebar title bar and pick a *.json Postman Collection v2.1 file — it's added as a new collection
• Export: right-click a collection → Export as Postman Collection to save it as a Postman v2.1 .json file

Response Handling

• Status code and formatted JSON response with syntax highlighting
• Clear error messages for HTTP and network errors
• Copy response data and cURL commands

State Management

The extension automatically saves your last used method, URL, parameters, headers, body, and saved requests across VS Code sessions.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code version 1.67.0 or higher
• Internet connection for making API requests

Release Notes

[4.1.x] - 2026-06-25

🗂️ Collections + Theme-Adaptive Glass UI

Added

• Collections: organize saved requests into named collections (folders); create, rename, delete
• Drag & drop: move requests between collections and reorder them
• Postman v2.1 import/export: bring collections in from Postman or export them out
• Modern glass UI that adapts to the active VS Code theme (dark and light)
• Searchable responses with match navigation, colored status pills, and a real timing breakdown

Changed

• Accent color refreshed to indigo, with surfaces driven by VS Code theme tokens
• Existing saved requests are automatically migrated into a "Default" collection
• Minimum VS Code version raised to 1.67.0 (required for tree drag & drop)

[4.0.0] - 2026-02-23

🌙 Complete Dark Theme UI Overhaul

Added

• 🎨 Dark theme: New sleek dark UI with teal (#00d4aa) accent colors
• 📐 Unified request bar: Method selector and URL input merged into a single dark, rounded bar
• 🏷️ Pill-style tabs: Clean uppercase tab labels (Params, Headers, Body)

Changed

• Color palette: Migrated from Postman-inspired orange (#FF6C37) to modern dark theme with teal accents
• CSS architecture: Removed ~70 unused CSS variables for a leaner, faster stylesheet
• Animations: Stripped heavy animations (typewriter, morph, slideUpFade) — kept only essential fade-in and spin
• Tab switching: Instant tab switching replacing animated transitions
• Tab labels: Simplified from icon+text to clean text-only labels
• Typography: Streamlined font stack
• Transitions: Performance-optimized with specific property targeting instead of all

Removed

• Removed unused glassmorphism effects, gradient cards, and complex shadow hierarchy
• Removed decorative animations that impacted performance
• Removed redundant spacing and radius variables

[3.2.0] - 2025-06-11

🚀 Major Performance Optimization Release

• Lightning-fast loading (80% faster page load times)
• Precise hover effects with proper z-index hierarchy
• Performance metrics, response time and size tracking
• Copy response data and cURL commands
• 50% reduction in CSS complexity with hardware acceleration

[2.8.4] - 2024-03-14

Added

• Save and manage API requests with custom names
• Method-specific icons for saved requests
• Improved JSON response formatting with syntax highlighting
• Visual indicators for different HTTP methods

Changed

• Updated sidebar interface with new icons
• Improved JSON response display
• Better organization of saved requests

Fixed

• Fixed JSON formatting issues
• Improved response readability

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Enjoy testing your REST APIs with REST TEST!