RestCraft for VS Code

Latest release · Request guide · Report an issue

Create, save, and send HTTP API requests inside Visual Studio Code. RestCraft gives you a Postman-like API client with readable .api.json files you can share and review in Git alongside your code.

Features

• File-based requests: create and share readable .api.json files with names and descriptions, right beside your code.
• Explorer identity: .api.json files use a RestCraft icon in the Explorer and editor tabs.
• Request editor: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, and OPTIONS; ordered query parameters and headers; saved disabled entries; tab counts and indicators for configured fields.
• Flexible bodies: raw, JSON, text, XML, HTML, and form URL encoded, with JSON beautification.
• Response inspection: status, duration, size, formatted body, headers, raw text, and a sandboxed HTML preview.
• Live server-sent events: collapsible event cards with types, IDs, formatted JSON, and expand/collapse controls. Raw text and received events remain available after cancellation or timeout.
• Environments: {{VARIABLE}} references, variable highlighting and hover values, and nearest or manually selected .env files.
• Authentication: Basic, Bearer, and OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials or browser-based Authorization Code with PKCE. View, copy, decode, or hide tokens; save them in .env or the Authorization header; optionally authorize before sending.
• Network tools: searchable session history and a highlighted Output log for API calls and OAuth token exchanges, with sensitive-content redaction enabled by default.
• Bruno import: bring individual requests or whole BRU/OpenCollection YAML collections into RestCraft.
• Request control: cancel in-flight requests and configure timeouts, including long-lived streams.

Start in a minute

Requires VS Code 1.118.0 or later.

1. Install RestCraft from the VS Code Extensions view.
2. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux) and run RestCraft: Create Request File.
3. Choose a name and location. RestCraft adds .api.json and opens the request editor.
4. Enter a URL, choose a method, and click Send. Save with Cmd+S / Ctrl+S to keep your changes.

Existing .api.json files open directly in the API Workbench. To edit the JSON, right-click the editor tab and choose Reopen Editor With… → Text Editor.

Here is a request you can save as get-user.api.json:

{
	"name": "Get user",
	"method": "GET",
	"url": "{{BASE_URL}}/users/{{USER_ID}}",
	"params": [],
	"headerState": [
		{
			"name": "Authorization",
			"value": "Bearer {{API_TOKEN}}",
			"enabled": true
		}
	],
	"body": null
}

Create a .env beside it with your own API values:

BASE_URL=https://api.example.com
USER_ID=123
API_TOKEN=your-token

RestCraft searches from the request's directory up to the workspace root and uses the first .env it finds. To switch environments, open the request's Settings tab and select Set up .env manually. Add files containing secrets to .gitignore.

Sending requests, reading environment values, and retrieving OAuth tokens require a trusted workspace. Keep client secrets in environment variables: literal secrets and tokens saved directly in request files are plain text.

In the Authorization tab with OAuth 2.0 selected, drag the vertical divider to give the inputs or token output up to 120px more space. You can also focus the divider and use the Left/Right arrow keys. Double-click it or press Home to reset. On narrow screens, the sections stack without a draggable divider.

Import from Bruno

Run RestCraft: Import from Bruno in the Command Palette and select a request file or collection folder. On Windows/Linux, choose the import type first.

• Request: import a .bru, .yml, or .yaml file as .api.json and open it in the editor.
• Collection: select a folder containing bruno.json or opencollection.yml / opencollection.yaml, then choose a destination parent folder. RestCraft creates a new folder and preserves the request folder structure.

Imports preserve names, methods, URLs, query parameters, disabled entries, headers, documentation, JSON/text/XML/form-urlencoded bodies, and bearer authentication. Collection imports also apply inherited collection and folder headers and bearer auth. Existing files are never overwritten, and importing never sends requests.

BRU and OpenCollection 1.0.0 YAML are supported; JSON collection exports are not. Configure .env files after import: Bruno environments, scripts, tests, assertions, runtime variables, and settings are not migrated. Warnings identify omissions; unsupported authentication or body modes stop the import. Use collection import when requests depend on inherited settings.

Try the sample Bruno collections.

Network history and logs

Open History or Open RestCraft log console from the request editor footer, or run RestCraft: Show Network History / RestCraft: Show Network Log in the Command Palette.

Network History collects the latest 100 API calls and OAuth token exchanges during the extension session, even when its panel is closed. Filter by method, URL, or status, then select a call to inspect request/response details, timestamps, and duration. Previews are limited to 100,000 characters each; truncation is marked.

Restcraft Network in VS Code's Output panel includes full logged text, formatted JSON, highlighted headers, matching request/response IDs, and failed, cancelled, or timed-out calls. Clear history and Clear Output work independently. Neither view persists across extension sessions or captures browser login traffic or intermediate redirects.

Both views mask authorization/cookie headers and common secret fields by default. Disable restcraft.redactSensitiveContentInNetworkLog to include credentials and tokens in new entries; existing entries stay unchanged. Custom secret names and arbitrary text may still contain sensitive data, so review before sharing.

Settings

Open VS Code Settings and search for RestCraft.

Editing the request JSON

.api.json files use the restcraft-request language so they can have their own icon. VS Code's JSON language service still checks syntax and formats these files. Settings scoped to [json] do not. RestCraft copies the built-in JSON editor defaults: quick suggestions inside strings, and suggestions that replace the current text.

Copy any other [json] settings, such as tab size or format on save, under [restcraft-request]. Prettier's extension formats json and jsonc documents and does not select this language. Opt in with:

"[restcraft-request]": {
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
},
"prettier.documentSelectors": ["**/*.api.json"]

More help

• Request format, environments, and OAuth guide
• Report a bug or request a feature
• Release notes
• Development and testing

Response header automation

In a request's Automations tab, add mappings from response header names (for example, X-Session-Token) to environment variable names (for example, SESSION_TOKEN). Each enabled, complete mapping runs after a user-triggered request finishes, for any HTTP status code. Header names match without regard to case; missing headers leave existing variables unchanged. Use {{SESSION_TOKEN}} in subsequent requests.

Mappings are saved with the request as an optional automation array:

"automation": [
  { "header": "X-Session-Token", "variable": "SESSION_TOKEN", "enabled": true }
]

Writes use the request's environment selection in Settings: the nearest .env or the selected manual file. In nearest mode, a missing .env is created beside the request; manual mode never falls back to another file. Save or load a request file first. Automation requires a trusted workspace and refuses to overwrite an environment file with unsaved edits. Existing comments, unrelated variables, and line endings are preserved. Empty header values clear the mapped value; values that cannot safely round-trip through the .env parser are rejected. A write failure shows a warning while keeping the received response available.