Laravel API Helper

A VS Code extension for testing and exploring Laravel API routes directly from your editor — without switching to Postman, Insomnia, or any external tool.

Features

Route Explorer

Browse all your Laravel routes in a dedicated sidebar panel, grouped and filterable. Click any route to open it in the request editor.

Request Editor

Send HTTP requests with full control over:

Headers — set Authorization, Content-Type, and any custom header
Query parameters — key/value pairs with toggle support
Request body — raw JSON with syntax highlighting
Auth — Bearer token, Basic auth, or none, configured per-server

Multiple Servers

Switch between environments (local, staging, production) in one click. Each server stores its own base URL and auth configuration.

Macros

Save a route with its full set of parameters as a named macro and replay it anytime. Great for repetitive test scenarios.

Request Chains

Define a sequence of requests where each step can extract values from the previous response and pass them forward — useful for testing flows like login → fetch resource → assert state.

Artisan Commands

Browse and run Artisan commands from the sidebar without opening a terminal.

Custom Requests

Add ad-hoc requests that are not tied to any route — useful for hitting external endpoints or testing specific URLs manually.

Installation

Install from the VS Code Marketplace or search for Laravel API Helper in the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).

Requirements: Open a Laravel project folder (the extension activates when an artisan file is detected at the workspace root).

Configuration

The extension stores its configuration in .lah/config.json inside your project. This file is created automatically on first use.

Servers

Add and manage servers via the server selector button in the sidebar toolbar. Each server has:

Field	Description
`name`	Display label
`url`	Base URL, e.g. `http://localhost:8000`
`auth`	Authentication method (`none`, `bearer`, `basic`)

Route Files

By default, the extension auto-detects route files from the routes/ directory. To specify files manually, use Configure Route Files from the toolbar.

lah-cli Integration

Laravel API Helper can connect to lah-cli — a companion CLI tool that streams real-time events from your Laravel application directly into VS Code.

When connected, you can monitor:

Redis activity
Queue jobs (dispatched, processed, failed)
Exceptions
Outgoing mail

Setup

Install lah-cli in your Laravel project:

composer require lukawar/lah-cli --dev

Open lah-cli settings via the plug icon (⚡) in the sidebar toolbar.
Set the path to the binary (default: ./vendor/bin/lah-cli) and enable the integration.
Click Launch — the sidecar process starts and the status indicator turns green when connected.

Settings

Option	Description
Path to binary	Path to the `lah-cli` executable
Show Redis	Stream Redis commands
Show Jobs	Stream queue job events
Show Exceptions	Stream application exceptions
Show Mail	Stream outgoing mail

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Refresh routes	Toolbar button
Send request	`Ctrl+Enter` / `Cmd+Enter` in the editor

Project Structure

Configuration and saved data are stored in the .lah/ directory at your project root:

.lah/
├── config.json       # servers, auth, route files, CLI settings
├── cli-config.json   # generated by lah-cli on first run
└── .gitignore        # auto-generated, excludes sensitive data

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome at github.com/lukawar/laravel-api-helper.

License

MIT