Spring HTTP Buddy

Turn your Spring controllers into ready-to-send .http request files — in one click, straight from the code.

No more hand-writing requests in Postman or copy-pasting URLs. Spring HTTP Buddy reads your @RestController methods and generates a complete, ready-to-run request block above each one — with path variables, query params and JSON bodies already filled in from your DTOs.

The output is plain .http text, so it lives right next to your code, in Git, and runs as-is in REST Client, httpYac, and the IntelliJ HTTP Client.

Why Spring HTTP Buddy

• Zero hand-writing — Click a CodeLens, get a complete request. Path variables, query strings and request bodies are pre-filled.
• Smart, type-aware defaults — String → the field name, dates → ISO values, DTOs → recursively expanded JSON. Nested objects, List, Map and @ModelAttribute all handled.
• Git-native, team-friendly — Requests are plain text in your repo. Review them in PRs, version them with the code, share them with git pull. No accounts, no cloud lock-in.
• Not tied to one tool — Generates standard .http, so REST Client, httpYac and IntelliJ users on your team can all run the same files.
• AI-assisted sample data — One command copies a ready-made prompt so an AI assistant fills placeholders with realistic test values.

Quick start

1. Install Spring HTTP Buddy from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Open your Spring Boot project and any @RestController.
3. Click the Generate HTTP Request CodeLens above a mapping method.
4. Open the generated .http file and send it with REST Client / httpYac / IntelliJ.

That's it — no configuration required.

See it in action

Given this controller:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
public class UserController {

    @PostMapping
    public User createUser(@RequestBody CreateUserRequest request) { ... }

    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public User getUser(@PathVariable Long id) { ... }
}

You get src/main/resources/UserController.http:

### createUser
POST http://localhost:8080/api/users
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "username": "username",
  "email": "email",
  "age": 0,
  "active": false,
  "birthday": "2026-01-01",
  "address": {
    "street": "street",
    "city": "city"
  },
  "roles": [""]
}

### getUser
GET http://localhost:8080/api/users/1

Commands

All available as CodeLens actions — no need to memorize anything.

Smart defaults

It also understands @PathVariable, @RequestParam (with defaultValue / required), @RequestHeader, @ModelAttribute (flattened to query params, including nested objects), and a single @RequestMapping mapped to multiple verbs. Framework parameters like HttpServletRequest and MultipartFile are skipped automatically.

Configuration

Works great with Git & teams

Because requests are just .http files in your repo:

• Commit them alongside the controller — reviewers see exactly how an endpoint is called.
• A teammate clones the repo and instantly has every request, ready to run.
• Endpoint changed? Regenerate, and the diff shows what changed.

Roadmap

Intentionally out of scope for now, candidates for future versions:

• Automatic multipart/form-data upload blocks for MultipartFile endpoints
• Environment-variable output ({{baseUrl}}, {{token}}) for cleaner multi-environment sharing
• OpenAPI/Swagger awareness

Development

npm install
npm run build

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host, then open a Spring project (a sample is included under demo/) and use the CodeLens actions.

License

MIT