HTTP CLI

A lightweight command-line interface for making HTTP requests. Built with Python, this tool provides an easy way to make GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE requests with support for JSON data and customizable timeouts.

Features

• Simple command-line interface
• Case-insensitive commands (GET/get, POST/post etc.)
• Support for GET, PUT, POST, PATCH and DELETE requests
• JSON data handling for POST requests
• Customizable timeout settings
• Detailed response output
  • Status code
  • Response headers
  • Response body
• Comprehensive error handling
• Built-in help system

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7 or higher
• pip (Python package installer)
• virtualenv (recommended)

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/http-cli.git
cd http-cli

2. Create and activate a virtual environment (recommended):

# Windows
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

# Linux/MacOS
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install the package in development mode:

pip install -e .

Usage

Example Commands

# Make a GET request
http_cli GET https://api.example.com

# Make a POST request with JSON data
http_cli POST https://api.example.com -d '{"key": "value"}'

# Update a resource with PUT
http_cli PUT https://api.example.com/users/1 -d '{"name": "John"}'

# Partially update with PATCH
http_cli PATCH https://api.example.com/users/1 -d '{"email": "[email protected]"}'

# Delete a resource
http_cli DELETE https://api.example.com/users/1

# Show help message
http_cli HELP

Command Reference

GET Request

usage: http_cli GET [-h] [-t TIMEOUT] url

positional arguments:
  url                   Target URL

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
                        Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)

POST Request

usage: http_cli POST [-h] [-t TIMEOUT] [-d DATA] url

positional arguments:
  url                   Target URL

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
                        Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)
  -d DATA, --data DATA  R|JSON data for request body. Example: '{"key": "value"}'

PUT Request

usage: http_cli PUT [-h] [-t TIMEOUT] [-d DATA] url

positional arguments:
  url                   Target URL

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
                        Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)
  -d DATA, --data DATA  R|JSON data for request body. Example: '{"key": "value"}'

PATCH Request

usage: http_cli PATCH [-h] [-t TIMEOUT] [-d DATA] url

positional arguments:
  url                   Target URL

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
                        Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)
  -d DATA, --data DATA  R|JSON data for request body. Example: '{"key": "value"}'

DELETE Request

usage: http_cli DELETE [-h] [-t TIMEOUT] url

positional arguments:
  url                   Target URL

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
                        Request timeout in seconds (default: 30)

Response Format

Status Code: 200

Headers:
content-type: application/json
cache-control: no-cache
...

Response Body:
{
    "data": {
        ...
    }
}

Error Handling

The CLI handles various types of errors:

• Connection errors
• Invalid JSON data
• HTTP response errors
• Request timeout errors
• Keyboard interrupts (Ctrl+C)

All errors are displayed with descriptive messages to help diagnose the issue.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Command not found:
   • Make sure the package is installed (pip list | findstr http-cli)
   • Ensure your virtual environment is activated
2. Import errors:
   • Try reinstalling the package: pip install -e .
   • Make sure you're using the correct Python environment
3. JSON errors:
   • Verify your JSON data is properly formatted
   • Use single quotes around the entire JSON string and double quotes inside

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.