Getting Started with IntelliJ's Text-Based HTTP Client

IntelliJ provides a pure text‑based HTTP client that lets you define and execute HTTP requests directly from .http or .rest files.

To begin, create a file whose name ends with .http or .rest, for example FunTester.http, and write a simple GET request such as: GET https://api.muxiaoguo.cn/api/dujitang IntelliJ adds a small Run‑icon beside the line, allowing you to send the request with a click. The response is displayed, for example:

GET https://api.muxiaoguo.cn/api/dujitang<br/><br/>HTTP/1.1 200 OK<br/>Server: nginx<br/>Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:17:55 GMT<br/>Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8<br/>…<br/>{"code":"200","msg":"success","data":{"comment":"你以为有钱人很快乐吗?他们的快乐你根本想象不到！"}}

If you need to send JSON parameters, add a Content-Type header and include the request body, e.g.:

GET  https://api.muxiaoguo.cn/api/dujitang<br/>Content-Type: application/json<br/><br/>{"aa":"FunTester","ss":"ok"}

Multiple requests in the same file are separated with ###:

GET  https://api.muxiaoguo.cn/api/dujitang<br/>…<br/><br/>###<br/><br/>GET  https://api.muxiaoguo.cn/api/dujitang<br/>…

Variables can be inserted using the {{..}} syntax. Define them in an http-client.env.json file, for example:

{
  "development": {"host": "http://localhost:8080"},
  "production": {"host": "http://my-cool-api.com"}
}

You can then write requests like GET http://{{host}}/products and select the desired environment when running the request.

Because request definitions are plain text, they can be easily shared with a team and checked into version control. Sensitive data such as API keys should be placed in a private file ( http-client.private.env.json) and excluded from the repository.

IntelliJ also supports private environment files for storing secrets, ensuring they are not inadvertently committed.