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From .http files

A .http (or .rest) file is the plain-text request format that editors embed: requests written one after another, separated by ### lines, with {{variables}} filled in from environment files kept beside it. It becomes one REST API in the project you choose:

  • requests become requests;
  • @variables become project properties;
  • {{variables}} become Wirebench properties;
  • the environment files beside it become workspace environments.

Credentials do not come across. Response handlers are kept as text and never run. The import summary lists each of these, so you know what to set up before the first send.

To run the import, see .http files in the importers guide. It takes a picked or dropped file, or pasted text.

What carries over

Section titled “What carries over”
In the .http file In Wirebench More
The file A REST API named after the file, picked or dropped, without its .http or .rest extension. Pasted text has no file name, so its API is named “Imported requests” REST
A line starting with ### The end of one request and the start of the next. Text after ### names the next request
# @name x or // @name x before a request The request’s name, which wins over the ### text. A request with neither is named like GET /pets
Other # and // lines Ignored
@name = value, before or between requests A project property. When a name is defined twice, the first value is kept and the notes say so. A name the project already has keeps its value Environments and properties
A request line, [METHOD] URL [HTTP/x.y] A request with that method and URL. The method defaults to GET. The query string becomes rows in the Params table Path and query parameters
Indented lines starting with ? or & straight below the request line More of the URL’s query
Header lines, up to the first blank line Rows in the Headers table. A response handler, output redirect or < ./path body may follow them without a blank line. Any other line among them is ignored, and the notes give its line number
A body after the blank line A body chosen by its Content-Type: JSON and XML become a raw body in that language, application/x-www-form-urlencoded becomes a form body, anything else (or no Content-Type) a raw text body. Credential-looking values are emptied in JSON, form and XML bodies, and in a body with no Content-Type that starts with {, [ or <. In XML, that is the text of an element and the value of an attribute whose name looks like a credential. A multipart body is kept as raw text with its Content-Type, and the notes say so Request body
A body of < ./path A binary body pointing at that file, resolved against the .http file’s folder. The file is not copied. A file that is not there gets a note. An absolute path, or one that leaves the .http file’s folder, is not looked for, and a note says it was not checked. Pasted or dropped text has no folder, so the path stays as written and a warning asks you to check it
Every request starting with the same origin, or the same leading {{var}} The API’s Base URL. Request URLs become paths relative to it REST
# @no-redirect The request’s Follow redirects setting switched off
# @timeout N The request’s timeout. N may end in ms, s or m; a bare number below 1000 is seconds, and any other bare number is milliseconds
A response handler written inline, > {% … %} Saved as text under imported-scripts/ in the project folder, and never run. The notes say where each one went
A WEBSOCKET request A WebSocket request, in a second API named after the file with “(WebSocket)” added. A message written below it becomes one saved message WebSocket
{{name}} anywhere in a URL, header, body or variable ${name}. It looks the name up in the active environment first, then the project, the workspace and global properties Property syntax
{{$processEnv NAME}} ${#System#NAME}, read from the process environment at send time Property syntax

Environment files

Section titled “Environment files”

When you pick a .http file, Wirebench looks beside it for http-client.env.json and http-client.private.env.json, and for nothing else. When either is there, the dialog offers Also import N environments found beside the file, ticked by default. You can also import an environment file on its own, as the HTTP client environment file format; a picked file then brings its public or private partner from beside it. A dropped file is read by its name, so a dropped http-client.private.env.json is private; pasted JSON is read as the public file.

In the environment files In Wirebench More
Each top-level key other than $shared A workspace environment. A name the workspace already uses is imported as “dev 2”, “dev 3” and so on. The imported environment is never made active Environments and properties
A string, number or boolean value A variable of that environment, with {{name}} and {{$processEnv NAME}} rewritten as in the .http file. A user name and password in a URL are cut from it, with a warning
Any value in http-client.private.env.json A secret in the secret store. When both files set the same name, the private value wins Secrets
A value in http-client.env.json whose name looks like a credential A secret too, so it never reaches a workspace file, unless the value is made only of {{variables}}. The notes say which Secrets
$shared Project properties of the target project, which an environment variable of the same name outranks. A name the .http file’s own @variables set keeps the file’s value. Imported on their own, the files put $shared into workspace properties instead

What does not carry over

Section titled “What does not carry over”
In the .http file What happens What to do
A literal Authorization header Not copied. A Bearer or Basic header sets the request’s auth type with no token or password (Basic keeps the user name), and a warning asks for the credential. Any other scheme imports as auth none Enter the credential on the request’s or API’s Auth tab
Other headers, query parameters, form fields, multipart text parts and JSON keys with a credential-looking name and a literal value The header is dropped; the others are imported with an empty value. A warning names them. A value made only of {{variables}} is kept Set the value on the request, or point it at a secret
A user name and password in a URL, or in an @variable holding one Cut from the URL, with a warning. In a request URL, the request’s auth becomes Basic with the user name Enter the password on the Auth tab
A response handler file, > ./handler.js Not copied. The notes name the file Copy it into the project yourself if you want to keep it
Output redirects, >> and >>! Ignored. The notes count them Nothing: Wirebench keeps the response in History
Any other # @directive Ignored. The notes name it. On a WEBSOCKET request every directive is ignored Set the equivalent request setting by hand, if there is one
GRAPHQL and GRPC requests Skipped. A warning names the line Import the service’s .proto for gRPC
A WebSocket message read from a file, < ./path Not imported. The notes name the file Paste the message into a saved message
{{$dotenv NAME}}, {{$uuid}} and other {{$…}} dynamic variables Kept as written, and nothing generates a value. One warning names them all Replace each with a property, or with a value a script sets
A request-chaining reference, {{login.response.body.token}} Kept as written. A warning lists each one Capture the value with a script, or a sequence transfer
The HTTP/x.y version on a request line Dropped Nothing
An object value in an environment file, such as SSL settings Skipped. The notes name it Set the equivalent up by hand, if you need it
A .http file by URL Not supported Download the file, or paste its text

Limits

Section titled “Limits”
  • A .http file or an environment file larger than 10 MB is refused, and so is pasted text longer than about 10 million characters.
  • A file with more than 5,000 requests is refused.

After importing

Section titled “After importing”

  1. Read the summary, or choose Copy report to keep it as a checklist.

  2. Enter the passwords, tokens and keys the warnings name, on each Auth tab. See Secrets.

  3. Pick one of the imported environments to make it active. Import never switches environments for you. See Environments and properties.

  4. Read the response handlers under imported-scripts/, and rewrite the ones you need as scripts.

  5. Check the API’s Base URL, then send one request to confirm the setup.

Section titled “Related”