🚀 API Tool (Shell Edition)

A blazing-fast, Postman-like API testing experience right in your terminal

✨ Why API Tool?

Stop switching between terminal and GUI tools. API Tool brings the full power of API testing directly to your command line with:

• ⚡ Lightning Speed: Test APIs in seconds, not minutes
• 🎯 Zero Dependencies: Pure Bash with only curl required
• 💾 Smart Persistence: Save and reuse requests instantly
• 🌈 Beautiful Output: Color-coded responses with JSON formatting
• ⌨️ Developer-First: Built by developers, for developers

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📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start
• Installation
• Usage Examples
• Commands
• Advanced Features
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

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🔥 Features

Core Functionality

• ✅ All HTTP Methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE
• ✅ Smart Headers: Easy key:value input with validation
• ✅ Request Bodies: JSON, plain text, with auto-validation
• ✅ Auto-Timeouts: Lightning-fast workflow with smart defaults
• ✅ Response Formatting: Pretty JSON with syntax highlighting

Productivity Boosters

• 🔄 Request Collections: Save, list, run, and delete requests
• ⚡ Speed Mode: Auto-defaults for common scenarios
• 🎨 Color Output: Green success, red errors, blue info
• 📱 Cross-Platform: Linux, macOS, Windows (Git Bash/MINGW64)
• 🛡️ Error Handling: Graceful failures with helpful messages

Developer Experience

• 🚀 One-Command Testing: ./apitool.sh and go
• 💡 Intelligent Prompts: Context-aware input suggestions
• 📊 Request Summary: See exactly what you're sending
• 🔍 JSON Validation: Real-time JSON syntax checking

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🚀 Quick Start

# 1. Download
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aine1100/ApiTester/main/apitool.sh

# 2. Make executable
chmod +x apitool.sh

# 3. Run immediately
./apitool.sh

That's it! 🎉 You're ready to test APIs at terminal speed.

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🛠️ Installation

Prerequisites

• bash (4.0+) - Standard on all modern systems
• curl - For HTTP requests
• jq (optional) - For JSON pretty-printing

Install Dependencies

📦 Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y curl jq

🍎 macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install curl jq

# Using MacPorts
sudo port install curl jq

🪟 Windows

# Git Bash/MINGW64 (recommended)
# curl is usually pre-installed
# Install jq from: https://jqlang.github.io/jq/download/

# Or use Chocolatey
choco install jq

Setup

# Option 1: Direct download
curl -L https://github.com/aine1100/ApiTester/raw/main/apitool.sh -o apitool.sh
chmod +x apitool.sh

# Option 2: Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/aine1100/ApiTester.git
cd apiTester
chmod +x apitool.sh

# Option 3: Add to PATH (recommended)
sudo cp apitool.sh /usr/local/bin/apitool

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💡 Usage Examples

🚀 Lightning-Fast GET Request

$ ./apitool.sh

🚀 Welcome to API Tool (Shell Edition)
Choose HTTP method: > 1
✅ Method: GET
URL: https://api.github.com/users/octocat
✅ Target: https://api.github.com/users/octocat
Add headers? (y/N): [auto: n]
Send now? (Y/n): [auto: y]
✅ Sending...

Response:
✅ Status: 200 OK
{
  "login": "octocat",
  "id": 1,
  "name": "The Octocat",
  "public_repos": 8
}

Save as? test-user
✅ Saved as "test-user"

📤 POST with JSON Body

Choose HTTP method: > 2
✅ Method: POST
URL: https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts
Add headers? (y/N): y
Header 1: Content-Type: application/json
Header 2: [enter]
Add body? (y/N): y
Body: {"title": "My Post", "body": "Hello API!", "userId": 1}
✅ Body: 54 chars
✅ Valid JSON

Response:
✅ Status: 201 Created
{
  "id": 101,
  "title": "My Post",
  "body": "Hello API!",
  "userId": 1
}

⚡ Using Saved Requests

# List all saved requests
$ ./apitool.sh list
📋 Saved Requests:
  test-user: GET https://api.github.com/users/octocat
  create-post: POST https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts

# Run a saved request
$ ./apitool.sh run test-user
ℹ️ Running saved request: test-user
✅ Sending...
# ... response output

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📚 Commands

Command	Description	Example
./apitool.sh	Interactive mode - Full guided experience	./apitool.sh
./apitool.sh run <name>	Run saved request by name	./apitool.sh run api-test
./apitool.sh list	List all saved requests	./apitool.sh list
./apitool.sh delete <name>	Delete a saved request	./apitool.sh delete old-test
./apitool.sh help	Show help and usage info	./apitool.sh help

🎯 Pro Tips

# Quick API testing workflow
./apitool.sh                    # Test your API
./apitool.sh run my-endpoint    # Repeat tests
./apitool.sh list               # Manage saved requests

# Integration with other tools
./apitool.sh run auth-test && ./apitool.sh run data-fetch

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🔧 Advanced Features

⏱️ Auto-Timeout System

API Tool uses intelligent timeouts for lightning-fast workflows:

• Headers prompt: 5s timeout → defaults to "no headers"
• Body prompt: 5s timeout → defaults to "no body"
• Send confirmation: 3s timeout → defaults to "yes, send"
• Save prompt: 5s timeout → defaults to "don't save"

🎨 Color System

• 🟢 Green: Success messages, 2xx status codes
• 🔴 Red: Errors, 4xx/5xx status codes
• 🟡 Yellow: Warnings, input validation
• 🔵 Blue: Information, headers, metadata
• 🟣 Cyan: Headers, section titles

📁 Request Storage

Requests are stored in ~/.apitool/requests.json:

{
  "my-api-test": {
    "method": "GET",
    "url": "https://api.example.com/data",
    "headers": "Authorization: Bearer token",
    "body": "",
    "created": "2025-08-18T10:30:15Z"
  }
}

🔄 Fallback Mode

Without jq, API Tool gracefully falls back to:

• Plain text JSON output
• Simple file-based request storage
• Basic validation

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⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

# Customize config directory
export APITOOL_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.config/apitool"

# Adjust timeouts (seconds)
export APITOOL_HEADER_TIMEOUT=10
export APITOOL_BODY_TIMEOUT=30
export APITOOL_SEND_TIMEOUT=5

File Locations

~/.apitool/
├── requests.json          # Saved requests (with jq)
├── requests_simple.txt    # Fallback storage
└── temp/                  # Temporary files

Customization

Edit the script to customize:

• Colors and emojis
• Timeout values
• Default behaviors
• Output formats

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🔍 Troubleshooting

🐛 Common Issues & Solutions

Script hangs after method selection

# Debug mode
bash -x ./apitool.sh

# Check bash version
bash --version  # Needs 4.0+

# Try with different read timeout
export APITOOL_TIMEOUT=10

JSON not pretty-printed

# Install jq
sudo apt install jq    # Ubuntu/Debian
brew install jq        # macOS

# Verify jq works
echo '{"test":true}' | jq .

Curl command fails

# Test curl directly
curl -I https://httpbin.org/get

# Check network connectivity
ping google.com

# Verify curl supports HTTPS
curl --version | grep -i ssl

Permission denied

# Make executable
chmod +x apitool.sh

# Check script location
ls -la apitool.sh

Windows/MINGW64 issues

# Use Git Bash instead of CMD
# Ensure line endings are correct
dos2unix apitool.sh

# Test in PowerShell
powershell -c "./apitool.sh"

🚨 Error Codes

Exit Code	Description	Solution
0	Success	🎉 All good!
1	Invalid input/arguments	Check command syntax
2	Network/curl error	Verify URL and connectivity
3	File/permission error	Check file permissions
4	Missing dependency	Install curl/jq

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🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! Here's how to get involved:

🐛 Found a Bug?

1. Check existing issues
2. Create a new issue with:
   • Your OS and bash version
   • Steps to reproduce
   • Expected vs actual behavior

💡 Have an Idea?

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b amazing-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

🚀 Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/aine1100/apiTester.git
cd apitool

# Make changes
vim apitool.sh

# Test your changes
./apitool.sh

# Run tests (if available)
./test.sh

📝 Contributing Guidelines

• Keep it simple and fast
• Maintain cross-platform compatibility
• Add comments for complex logic
• Follow existing code style
• Test on multiple platforms

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📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

This means you can:

• ✅ Use commercially
• ✅ Modify and distribute
• ✅ Use privately
• ✅ Include in other projects

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🙏 Acknowledgements

Built with ❤️ for terminal enthusiasts everywhere

• Inspired by: Postman - The API testing gold standard
• Powered by: curl - The universal HTTP client
• Enhanced by: jq - The JSON processor
• Thanks to: The open-source community for endless inspiration

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🌟 Star History

If API Tool saved you time, please ⭐ star this repo and share it with your team!

Happy API Testing! 🚀

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Made with 💻 and ☕ by developers, for developers

Report Bug • Request Feature • Contribute • Star ⭐