rAPI

A simple and intuitive REST client VS Code extension for people who hate SaaS-ification of dev tools.

No login. No cloud. No telemetry.
Just send HTTP requests and save them as plain JSON files inside your workspace.

⚠️ Early Stage Project
rAPI is still in active development. Some features are incomplete and others are planned but not yet implemented. I work on this alongside academics and life, so progress may be slow — but contributions, suggestions, and pull requests are always welcome! 😀

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Why this extension?

There are already many excellent API tools out there. rAPI exists because I wanted something that better fit my personal workflow:

• I wanted to test APIs directly inside VS Code without switching to another app
• Some tools require login or cloud sync, which I prefer to avoid
• Some UI-heavy tools felt cluttered for quick testing
• Text-based solutions using .http files are powerful, but I wanted a more visual and interactive interface

So I decided to build a tool to fill in the gap for my personal pain points, something that is:

✅ Local-first
✅ Minimal and distraction-free
✅ Simple to use
✅ Free and open

No accounts. No platforms. Just requests and responses.

Preview

Features

• Send HTTP requests — GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS
• Request editor — method selector with color-coded verbs, URL, key-value headers table, raw JSON body
• Response viewer — status, timing, collapsible headers, syntax-highlighted JSON & HTML, raw view
• Theme-aware syntax highlighting — response body colors match your active VS Code theme, updates instantly on theme change
• Resizable split pane — drag the divider between request editor and response viewer
• Collections — save/load requests as .rapi/collections/*.json in your workspace
• Environments — define variables in .rapi/environments/*.json, use {{var}} placeholders
• Sidebar tree view — browse collections and click to open requests
• Keyboard shortcut — Ctrl/Cmd+Enter to send
• Local-first — everything stored as plain JSON files, version-control friendly

Getting Started

Run in Development Mode

# Clone and open in VS Code
cd rapi-extension
npm install
npm run build     # or: npm run watch

# Press F5 in VS Code → "Run Extension"
# This opens a new Extension Development Host window

Usage

1. Open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P) and run rAPI: Open rAPI
2. The rAPI panel opens with a request editor (left) and response viewer (right)
3. Enter a URL (e.g. https://httpbin.org/get) and click Send
4. Save requests to collections using the Save button
5. Browse saved requests in the rAPI sidebar

Creating Collections

• Command palette → rAPI: Create Collection
• Or save a request from the editor — choose a collection name from the dropdown

Using Environments

Create a JSON file in .rapi/environments/, e.g. .rapi/environments/dev.json:

{
  "name": "dev",
  "values": {
    "baseUrl": "https://httpbin.org",
    "token": "my-secret-token"
  }
}

Then in your requests, use {{baseUrl}} or {{token}} — they'll be replaced before sending.

Select the active environment from the dropdown in the request editor.

File Structure

.rapi/
├── collections/
│   └── example.json      # saved request collections
└── environments/
    └── dev.json           # environment variable sets

Collection file format

{
  "name": "example",
  "requests": [
    {
      "id": "unique-id",
      "name": "Get httpbin",
      "method": "GET",
      "url": "{{baseUrl}}/get",
      "headers": { "Accept": "application/json" },
      "body": null
    }
  ]
}

Environment file format

{
  "name": "dev",
  "values": {
    "baseUrl": "https://httpbin.org",
    "token": "REPLACE_ME"
  }
}

Security Notes

Warning: Environment files are stored as plain JSON in your workspace. Do not commit secrets (API keys, tokens) to version control. Add .rapi/environments/ to your .gitignore if your environments contain sensitive values.

Example .gitignore entry:

# Keep collections but ignore environments with secrets
.rapi/environments/

I might implement other ways to handle this sometime in the future but for now, this is as is.

Tech Stack

• Extension host: TypeScript, VS Code Extension API
• Webview UI: React 18
• HTTP client: Node.js built-in http/https (runs in extension host — no CORS issues)
• Bundler: esbuild
• Persistence: Plain JSON files via vscode.workspace.fs

Commands

Command	Description
rAPI: Open rAPI	Open the rAPI request editor panel
rAPI: Create Collection	Create a new empty collection file

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl/Cmd+Enter	Send request

Non-Goals (by design)

• No OAuth flows or account-based sync
• No scripting or test runner
• No GraphQL or WebSocket support
• No analytics or crash reporting
• No cloud anything

License

MIT