Building Requests

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The center panel is the request editor. At the top is the request bar — the method, the URL, and the Send button. Below it, a row of tabs lets you add query parameters, headers, a body, authentication, and post-response captures.

Edits save automatically. There is no Save button or shortcut — every change you make is written to disk a moment after you stop typing, so your work is always persisted and there's no unsaved state to lose.

The request bar

Method

Click the method button on the left to choose the HTTP verb:

Rest Hippo supports GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS, and a Custom… option for any non-standard verb your API expects.

URL

Type the request URL into the bar. You can drop {{variables}} anywhere in it — for example {{baseUrl}}/users/{{userId}}. When Show URL preview is on (Settings → Appearance), Rest Hippo shows the fully-resolved URL beneath the params, so you can confirm exactly what will be sent.

Press Enter in the URL bar to send the request, or click Send. While a request is in flight the button becomes Cancel.

Query parameters

The Params tab edits the query string as an editable key/value grid. Rest Hippo keeps it in sync with the URL — editing one updates the other.

• Each row has an enabled toggle, a name, and a value. Disabled rows are kept but not sent.
• Both name and value accept {{variables}}.
• Use + to add a row, the trash icon to remove one, and Delete All to clear them.
• Toggle Bulk Editor to edit all parameters as plain text instead of rows — handy for pasting.

Headers

The Headers tab works the same way — an enabled/name/value grid with a bulk text mode.

As you type a header name, Rest Hippo suggests standard header names (Content-Type, Authorization, Accept, …). Values accept {{variables}}.

Some headers are managed for you. When you choose an authentication type, the matching Authorization (or custom) header is added automatically at send time.

Request body

The Body tab lets you choose a body type from the dropdown and edit it:

For the structured editors (JSON / YAML / XML), Rest Hippo shows a ✓ VALID / ✗ badge as you type and can prettify the document. The code editor has line numbers, optional code folding, and a resize handle. {{variables}} are highlighted inline and resolved at send time.

The Form Data and Form URL Encoded editors use the same key/value grid as Params and Headers, with a bulk-text mode. In Form Data, switch a row between Text and File to attach a file.

Authentication & captures

Two more tabs round out the request:

• Auth — attach credentials (Bearer, OAuth 2.0, …).
• Captures — pull values out of the response into variables for later requests.

There's also a Notes tab for free-form Markdown notes attached to the request.

Tests

The Tests tab attaches assertions that validate the response after every send — a no-code way to turn a request into an API smoke test. (Enable it under Settings → Request → Show Tests tab; it's off by default.)

Each row is one check:

• Source — what to look at: the Status code, the Response time (ms), a Header, the raw Body, or a JSON body value (give a path like $.data.id in the Header / Path column).
• Matcher — how to compare: equals, does not equal, contains, does not contain, exists, does not exist, is less than, is greater than, or matches (regular expression).
• Expected — the value to compare against (ignored for exists / does not exist).

Rows have the familiar enabled toggle, drag-to-reorder, and delete controls. Results show on the response Tests tab with a pass/fail badge, and are saved with each run so the Timeline shows whether a past run passed. For checks that need logic, write hippo.test() assertions on the Scripts tab — they run alongside the grid and share the same Tests tab.

Next: Authentication →