<p align="center">
<img src="https://em-content.zobj.net/source/apple/391/man-technologist-light-skin-tone_1f468-1f3fb-200d-1f4bb.png" width="120" alt="rick logo">
</p>
<h1 align="center">rick</h1>
<p align="center">
<strong>A better cURL, written in Rust.</strong><br>
<sub>For people who are tired of typing <code>-H "Content-Type: application/json"</code></sub>
</p>
<p align="center">
<a href="#installation">Installation</a> •
<a href="#quick-start">Quick Start</a> •
<a href="#why-rick">Why rick?</a> •
<a href="#usage">Usage</a> •
<a href="#vs-curl">vs cURL</a>
</p>
<p align="center">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/version-0.2.0-blue.svg" alt="Version">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/rust-1.75%2B-orange.svg" alt="Rust">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green.svg" alt="License">
<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-macOS%20%7C%20Linux%20%7C%20Windows-lightgrey.svg" alt="Platform">
</p>
---
## The Problem
You want to POST some JSON. Here's cURL:
```bash
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Accept: application/json" -d '{"name": "rick"}' https://api.example.com/users
```
Here's rick:
```bash
rick --json '{"name": "rick"}' https://api.example.com/users
```
**That's it.** That's the whole pitch.
---
## Installation
### Pre-built binaries (recommended)
Download the latest release for your platform:
```bash
# macOS (Apple Silicon)
# macOS (Intel)
curl -L https://github.com/beratcano/rick/releases/latest/download/rick-macos-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv rick-macos-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/rick
# Linux (x86_64)
curl -L https://github.com/beratcano/rick/releases/latest/download/rick-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv rick-linux-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/rick
# Linux (ARM64)
```
Or download manually from [Releases](https://github.com/beratcano/rick/releases).
### From source
```bash
git clone https://github.com/beratcano/rick
cd rick
cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/rick /usr/local/bin/
```
### Cargo
```bash
cargo install rick-cli
```
---
## Quick Start
```bash
# GET request
rick https://api.github.com/users/octocat
# POST JSON (the killer feature)
rick --json '{"title": "Hello", "body": "World"}' https://api.example.com/posts
# Custom headers
rick -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" https://api.example.com/me
# Save response to file
rick -o response.json https://api.example.com/data
# See what's happening
rick -v https://api.example.com/debug
```
---
## Why rick?
### 1. `--json` flag
The single feature that justifies rick's existence.
```bash
# cURL (pain)
curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Accept: application/json" -d '{"key": "value"}' URL
# rick (joy)
rick --json '{"key": "value"}' URL
```
### 2. Smart defaults
| Follow redirects | No (`-L` to enable) | **Yes** (`--no-follow` to disable) |
| POST when data provided | No (`-X POST` required) | **Yes** (auto-detected) |
### 3. HTTP-focused
cURL supports 25+ protocols (FTP, LDAP, SMTP, Gopher...). rick supports HTTP and HTTPS. That's it. This keeps the codebase simple, the binary small, and the mental model clear.
### 4. Zero dependencies
Single static binary. No OpenSSL. No system libraries. Download and run.
---
## Usage
```
rick [OPTIONS] <URL>
Arguments:
<URL> URL to request
Options:
-X, --method <METHOD> HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD)
-H, --header <HEADER> Add header (can be used multiple times)
-d, --data <DATA> Request body
--json <JSON> JSON body (sets Content-Type & Accept automatically)
-o, --output <FILE> Write response to file
-i, --include Show response headers
-v, --verbose Show request and response headers
--no-follow Don't follow redirects
-h, --help Print help
```
---
## Examples
### GET request
```bash
rick https://httpbin.org/get
```
### POST with form data
```bash
rick -d "username=rick&password=morty" https://httpbin.org/post
```
### POST JSON
```bash
rick --json '{"dimension": "C-137"}' https://httpbin.org/post
```
### Custom headers
```bash
rick -H "Authorization: Bearer abc123" -H "X-Custom: value" https://api.example.com
```
### PUT request
```bash
rick -X PUT --json '{"updated": true}' https://api.example.com/resource/1
```
### Download file
```bash
rick -o image.png https://example.com/image.png
```
### Debug request/response
```bash
rick -v https://httpbin.org/get
# > GET https://httpbin.org/get HTTP/1.1
# >
# < HTTP/1.1 200 OK
# < content-type: application/json
# ...
```
### Include response headers
```bash
rick -i https://httpbin.org/get
# HTTP/1.1 200 OK
# content-type: application/json
# ...
#
# {"args": {}, ...}
```
---
## vs cURL
| JSON POST | `-H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{}'` | `--json '{}'` |
| Follow redirects | Need `-L` | Default behavior |
| Auto-detect POST | Need `-X POST` | Automatic with `-d`/`--json` |
| Protocols | 25+ | HTTP(S) only |
| Binary size | ~540 KB (dynamic) | ~7 MB (static) |
| Dependencies | OpenSSL, libcurl, etc. | None |
### When to use cURL instead
- You need FTP, SFTP, SCP, or other protocols
- You need advanced features (cookies file, netrc, proxy auth)
- You're writing a shell script that must work everywhere
- Binary size is critical
### When to use rick
- 99% of your API testing
- You're tired of the JSON header dance
- You want sane defaults
- You want a single static binary
---
## Name
**rick** = **R**ust **I**ntegrated **C**url + **K** (for fun)
Yes, it should be "ric" but that looked weird.
---
## Design Philosophy
1. **Optimize for the common case** — JSON APIs are everywhere, make them easy
2. **Respect muscle memory** — Keep familiar flags (`-H`, `-d`, `-o`, `-v`, `-i`, `-X`)
3. **Modern defaults** — Follow redirects, auto-detect methods
4. **Do one thing well** — HTTP only, no feature creep
See [DECISIONS.md](DECISIONS.md) for detailed design rationale.
---
## Building from source
```bash
# Clone
git clone https://github.com/beratcano/rick
cd rick
# Build
cargo build --release
# Run tests
cargo test
# Install locally
cargo install --path .
```
### Requirements
- Rust 1.75 or later
- That's it
---
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please read the guidelines:
1. **Keep it simple** — rick is intentionally minimal
2. **Discuss first** — Open an issue before adding features
3. **Document decisions** — Update DECISIONS.md for non-trivial changes
```bash
# Format code
cargo fmt
# Run clippy
cargo clippy
# Run tests
cargo test
```
---
## Roadmap
- [ ] Progress bar for large downloads
- [ ] Timeout configuration (`--timeout`)
- [ ] Retry logic (`--retry`)
- [ ] Read body from file (`--json @file.json`)
- [ ] Response time display
- [ ] Config file for defaults
**Not planned:**
- Other protocols (FTP, etc.)
- Cookie jars
- .netrc support
- Feature parity with cURL
---
## License
MIT License — do whatever you want.
---
<p align="center">
<sub>Built with Rust and a mass hatred of typing Content-Type headers</sub>
</p>