post-tui 1.0.3

A professional terminal HTTP API client
post-tui-1.0.3 is not a library.

post-tui

post-tui is a professional terminal HTTP API client for developers who want a fast, keyboard-driven API workflow without leaving the terminal.

The app is written in Rust with ratatui, crossterm, reqwest, tokio, serde, and local JSON/TOML storage. It is designed to stay usable on modest hardware and small terminal windows.

Table of Contents

Preview

post-tui terminal interface

Installation

post-tui is distributed through crates.io, so the easiest installation path is through Rust's package manager, Cargo.

If you already have Rust and Cargo installed, skip to Install post-tui.

1. Install System Requirements

cargo install builds the app on your machine. Some operating systems need basic compiler tools installed first.

Linux

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential pkg-config

Fedora:

sudo dnf install -y gcc gcc-c++ make pkgconf-pkg-config

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel pkgconf

macOS

Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

Windows

Install:

During Build Tools installation, select:

  • Desktop development with C++
  • MSVC build tools
  • Windows SDK

2. Install Rust and Cargo

Rust and Cargo are installed together through rustup.

Linux and macOS

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Choose the default installation option when prompted.

After installation, restart your terminal or run:

source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

Windows

Download and run rustup-init.exe from:

https://rustup.rs/

Choose the default installation option when prompted, then restart your terminal.

3. Check Rust and Cargo

Run:

rustc --version
cargo --version

If both commands print versions, Rust and Cargo are ready.

4. Add Cargo to PATH if Needed

Most rustup installations configure this automatically. If cargo or post-tui is not found, add Cargo's bin directory to your user environment.

Linux and macOS

For Bash:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

For Zsh:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Windows PowerShell

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(
  "Path",
  $env:Path + ";$env:USERPROFILE\.cargo\bin",
  "User"
)

After running the command, close and reopen your terminal.

5. Install post-tui

cargo install post-tui

Cargo installs the binary into:

  • Linux/macOS: ~/.cargo/bin/post-tui
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin\post-tui.exe

6. Run post-tui

post-tui

7. Update post-tui Later

To update to the latest published version:

cargo install post-tui --force

Build From Source

If you cloned this repository, you can build it manually:

cd post-tui
cargo build --release
./target/release/post-tui

Features

  • Terminal-native HTTP API client with a focused request, response, collection, and history workflow.
  • Supports GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, and OPTIONS.
  • Request builder for URL, method, headers, query params, auth, and raw body.
  • Auth modes: No Auth, Bearer Token, Basic Auth, and API Key Header.
  • Response viewer with status code, response time, response size, headers, body, errors, and scroll support.
  • Pretty JSON response view.
  • Lightweight JSON tree viewer.
  • Raw response body view.
  • HTML response text view.
  • Open HTML responses in the system browser.
  • Search within the active response tab.
  • Generate a cURL command from the active request.
  • Import Collection v2.1 JSON files.
  • Browse imported collections, nested folders, saved requests, and request history.
  • Delete collections, folders, individual collection requests, saved requests, and history items.
  • Save requests locally.
  • Clear request history and local HTML response exports.
  • Local app data stored in the platform data directory.
  • Built-in help and about modals.

Interface

post-tui uses a compact layout:

  • Left sidebar: collections, saved requests, and history.
  • Top bar: app name, current mode, and shortcut hints.
  • Main panel: request builder.
  • Bottom panel: response viewer.
  • Footer: contextual help and status messages.
  • Modal popups: help, about, import, search, cURL, errors, and confirmations.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Press ? inside the app to open the built-in help modal.

Key Action
? Open help
a Open about
q Quit
r / Ctrl+r Run current request
Enter Edit focused request field or load selected sidebar request
Ctrl+s Save current request
n Create a new request
u Generate cURL for the current request
Tab / Shift+Tab Switch panels
j/k or arrow keys Navigate sidebar/request fields or scroll response
h/l or left/right arrows Change method, auth mode, or response tab
PageUp / PageDown Scroll response faster
Home / End Jump to start/end of response
/ Search collections/history/sidebar entries
/ in response panel Search within the active response tab
o Import a collection JSON file
d Delete selected sidebar item
c Clear history and local HTML response exports
b in HTML response tab Open HTML response in browser
Esc Cancel edit or close modal

Editing Requests

Focus the request builder with Tab, move between fields with j/k, then press Enter to edit the selected field.

Supported field formats:

  • Headers: one per line, Header-Name: value
  • Query params: one per line, key=value
  • Bearer auth: token only
  • Basic auth: username:password
  • API key auth: header-name: value
  • Raw body: any text; invalid JSON is allowed and sent as raw text

The input cursor is shown with a blinking block cursor so blank fields are easier to understand.

Running Requests

  1. Start the app:

    post-tui

  2. Edit the URL field with Enter.

  3. Change method with left/right arrows while focused on Method.

  4. Press r to run the request.

  5. Move to the response panel with Tab.

  6. Use h/l to switch response tabs.

The default request URL is:

https://example.com/api

Response Viewer

Response tabs:

  • Pretty: pretty JSON when possible, otherwise raw text.
  • Tree: lightweight JSON tree view.
  • Raw: original response body.
  • HTML: HTML converted to readable terminal text.
  • Headers: response headers.
  • Error: request or network errors.

Response controls:

  • j/k or arrow keys scroll line by line.
  • PageUp/PageDown scroll faster.
  • Home/End jump to the start/end.
  • / searches the active response tab and jumps to the first match.
  • b opens the last HTML response in the system browser from the HTML tab.

cURL Generation

Press u to generate a cURL command for the current request. The generated command includes:

  • HTTP method
  • URL with query params
  • Enabled headers
  • Auth headers or basic auth
  • Raw request body
  • Content-Type when applicable

Collection Import

Press o, type the path to a Collection v2.1 JSON file, then press Enter.

Example from this repository:

examples/sample-collection.json

Imported requests appear in the sidebar. Select a request with j/k; it loads into the request builder automatically.

Supported import data:

  • Collection name
  • Nested folders
  • Request name
  • Request method
  • URL as raw string or structured URL object
  • Headers
  • Query params
  • Raw body

Collections, Saved Requests, and History

The sidebar can contain:

  • Imported collections
  • Nested folders
  • Requests inside collections
  • Saved local requests
  • Request history

Useful shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+s: save the current request.
  • d: delete the selected sidebar item after confirmation.
  • c: clear request history and delete local HTML response exports after confirmation.

Delete supports:

  • Entire imported collections
  • Folders inside collections
  • Individual collection requests
  • Saved requests
  • Individual history items

Local Data

post-tui stores app data in the platform data directory reported in the footer.

Files include:

  • collections.json
  • history.json
  • requests.json
  • config.toml
  • *.html response exports created by the browser view action

Missing or corrupted local files are handled gracefully and recreated when data is saved.

Sample Collection

This repository includes a sample collection:

examples/sample-collection.json

It contains sample JSON and HTML requests that are useful for testing import, response tabs, and browser view.

Current Limitations

  • Editing is intentionally compact; multiline values are entered through a simple terminal input buffer.
  • Collection import supports common v2.1 structures, but not every vendor-specific feature.
  • HTML responses are rendered as readable terminal text, not as a full browser engine.
  • Requests currently run through the main app flow rather than a cancellable background task.
  • Clipboard support is not enabled yet.
  • Environment variables and variable substitution are not implemented yet.

Roadmap

  • Full multiline editor for headers and body.
  • Environment variables such as {{base_url}} and {{token}}.
  • Collection export.
  • Background requests with cancellation.
  • Clipboard integration for cURL and response bodies.
  • Request tabs.
  • Config screen for timeout, redirects, default headers, and theme.

Contributing

Contributions, ideas, and collaboration are welcome. If you want to help improve post-tui, discuss features, or contribute to development, contact me on LinkedIn:

https://linkedin.com/in/raufendro

Author

Created by raufendro.