http-console
Speak HTTP like a local
Talking to an HTTP server with curl can be fun, but most of the time it's a PITA.
http-console is a simple and intuitive interface for speaking the HTTP protocol.
PS: HTTP has never been this much fun.
synopsis
installation
http-console was written for node, so make sure you have that installed
first. Then you need npm, node's package manager.
Once you're all set, to install globally, run:
$ npm install http-console -g
It'll download the dependencies, and install the command-line tool in /usr/local/bin
(you may need to make use of sudo or equivalent to gain access).
Installing the bleeding edge
The latest release will often be available on npm as http-console@latest, so you can run:
$ npm install http-console@latest
Alternatively, you can download a tarball of this repo, or clone it. Just make sure you have
the latest version of node.
introduction
Let's assume we have a CouchDB instance running locally.
connecting
To connect, we run http-console, passing it the server host and port as such:
$ http-console 127.0.0.1:5984
navigating
Once connected, we should see the http prompt:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/>
server navigation is similar to directory navigation, except a little simpler:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> /logs
http://127.0.0.1:5984/logs> /46
http://127.0.0.1:5984/logs/46> ..
http://127.0.0.1:5984/logs> ..
http://127.0.0.1:5984/>
requesting
HTTP requests are issued with the HTTP verbs GET, PUT, POST, HEAD and DELETE, and
a relative path:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> GET /
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 04:43:39 GMT
Content-Length: 41
{
couchdb: "Welcome",
version: "0.11.0"
}
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> GET /bob
HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 04:45:32 GMT
Content-Length: 44
{
error: "not_found",
reason: "no_db_file"
}
When issuing POST and PUT commands, we have the opportunity to send data too:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> /rabbits
http://127.0.0.1:5984/rabbits> POST
... {"name":"Roger"}
HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Location: http://127.0.0.1/rabbits/2fd9db055885e6982462a10e54003127
Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 05:09:15 GMT
Content-Length: 95
{
ok: true,
id: "2fd9db055885e6982462a10e54003127",
rev: "1-0c3db91854f26486d1c3922f1a651d86"
}
Make sure you have your Content-Type header set properly, if the API requires it. More
in the section below.
Note that if you're trying to POST to a form handler, you'll most probably want to send data
inmultipart/form-dataformat, such asname=roger&hair=black. http-console sends your POST/PUT data as is,
so make sure you've got the format right, and the appropriateContent-Typeheader.
setting headers
Sometimes, it's useful to set HTTP headers:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> Accept: application/json
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> X-Lodge: black
These headers are sent with all requests in this session. To see all active headers,
run the .headers command:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> .headers
Accept: application/json
X-Lodge: black
Removing headers is just as easy:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> Accept:
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> .headers
X-Lodge: black
Because JSON is such a common data format, http-console has a way to automatically set
the Content-Type header to application/json. Just pass the --json option when
starting http-console, or run the .json command:
$ http-console 127.0.0.1:5984 --json
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> .headers
Accept: */*
Content-Type: application/json
cookies
You can enable cookie tracking with the --cookies option flag.
To see what cookies are stored, use the .cookies command.
SSL
To enable SSL, pass the --ssl flag, or specify the address with https.
quitting
http://127.0.0.1:5984/> .q
nuff' said.