WSO2 HTTP Client

Open, edit, and execute .hurl files as interactive notebooks in VS Code.

Each HTTP request in a .hurl file becomes a runnable notebook cell. Responses are displayed inline as formatted Markdown — status code, response body (pretty-printed JSON), and assertion results. Markdown cells provide rich documentation between requests.

Features

• Notebook interface for .hurl files — any .hurl file opens directly as a notebook with one cell per request block.
• Run cells individually or all at once — click ▶ next to a cell or use Run All to execute the full file.
• Rich response output — status code, response body (auto-formatted JSON), assertion pass/fail table, and execution time rendered inline.
• Markdown documentation cells — intersperse narrative, headers, and parameter descriptions alongside your requests.
• Hurl syntax highlighting — full grammar coverage: methods, URLs, headers, query/assert sections, templates {{variable}}, predicates, filters, and more.
• Managed hurl binary — automatically downloads and installs the correct hurl binary for your platform on first use. No manual setup needed.
• Cross-platform — macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel), Linux (x64 & ARM64), Windows (x64 & ARM64).
• Saveable notebooks — edited notebooks save back to the original .hurl file. Unsaved notebooks prompt on close.

Getting Started

1. Open a .hurl file as a notebook

Right-click any .hurl file in the Explorer and choose Http Client: Open Hurl Notebook, or run the command from the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P).

The file opens as a notebook with one code cell per HTTP request block.

2. Run a request

Click the ▶ Run Cell button to the left of any cell, or press Shift+Enter while the cell is focused. The response appears inline below the cell.

3. Run all requests

Use the Run All button in the notebook toolbar to execute every cell in order.

4. Edit and save

Edit cells directly. When done, press Cmd/Ctrl+S to save back to the .hurl file.

Commands

Configuration

Managed Hurl Binary

HTTP Client bundles its own hurl binary manager. On first use (or on activation when autoInstall is enabled), it:

1. Checks http-client.hurl.path in settings — uses it if set.
2. Checks whether hurl is available on your system PATH — uses it if found.
3. Downloads the correct binary from the official Hurl GitHub releases for your platform and architecture, stores it in the extension's global storage directory, and reuses it across sessions.

Supported platforms:

To pin a specific hurl version, set http-client.hurl.version in your VS Code settings and run HTTP Client: Install Hurl from the Command Palette.

File Format

HTTP Client reads and writes standard .hurl files. Markdown cells are stored as # md: comment blocks so they survive round-trips through the file without loss:

# md: ### Create a User
# md:
# md: **POST** `/users` — creates a new user in the system.

POST https://api.example.com/users
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "name": "Alice"
}

Files with documentation cells remain valid hurl files and can be executed directly with the hurl CLI.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.100.0 or later
• Internet access for the initial hurl binary download (or point http-client.hurl.path to a local binary)