Spring Boot HTTP Client for VS Code

A VS Code extension that brings IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate's HTTP client functionality to VS Code. Generate HTTP requests directly from your Spring Boot controller methods with a single click!

Features

🚀 One-Click HTTP Requests: Click the CodeLens above any Spring Boot mapping annotation to instantly send an HTTP request

📄 Generate .http Files: Create properly formatted .http files compatible with VS Code's REST Client extension

📋 Copy as cURL: Generate cURL commands for your API endpoints

🔍 Smart Parameter Detection: Automatically detects and handles:

• @RequestBody parameters (generates realistic sample JSON)
• @PathVariable parameters (substitutes with sample values)
• @RequestParam parameters (adds as query parameters)
• @RequestHeader parameters (adds as headers)

🎯 Intelligent Path Resolution: Combines class-level @RequestMapping with method-level mappings

⚙️ Configurable: Customizable settings for host, port, environment variables, and more

Supported Annotations

• @RequestMapping
• @GetMapping
• @PostMapping
• @PutMapping
• @DeleteMapping
• @PatchMapping

Usage

1. Install the extension and the REST Client extension

2. Open a Spring Boot project with controller classes

3. Look for CodeLenses above your mapping annotations:

   // <- CodeLens appears here
   @RestController
   @RequestMapping("/api/users")
   public class UserController {
       
       @GetMapping("/{id}")  // <- CodeLens appears here
       public User getUser(@PathVariable Long id) {
           // ...
       }
       
       @PostMapping  // <- And here
       public User createUser(@RequestBody CreateUserRequest request) {
           // ...
       }
   }

4. Click the CodeLens options:

   • 📄 Generate All Request: Create a .http file for the REST Client extension that contains all mapped requests in the controller
   • 🚀 Send Request: Execute the HTTP request immediately
   • 📄 Generate .http File: Create a .http file for the REST Client extension for specific request
   • 📋 Copy as cURL: Copy the request as a cURL command

Generated Examples

For a GET endpoint with path variable:

### Environment Variables
@host = localhost:8080
@contentType = application/json
@accept = application/json

### Request
GET {{host}}/api/users/123
Accept: {{accept}}

###

For a POST endpoint with request body:

### Environment Variables  
@host = localhost:8080
@contentType = application/json
@accept = application/json

### Request
POST {{host}}/api/users
Content-Type: {{contentType}}
Accept: {{accept}}

{
  "name": "sample",
  "email": "example@email.com",
  "age": 25,
  "active": true
}

###

Configuration

Access settings via File > Preferences > Settings and search for "Spring Boot HTTP Client":

• Enable CodeLens: Show/hide CodeLens above mapping annotations
• Use Environment Variables: Generate .http files with environment variables
• Default Port: Default port when not detected from application properties
• Default Host: Default host for requests
• Show Response in New Tab: Display HTTP responses in separate editor tabs
• Request Timeout: HTTP request timeout in milliseconds

Smart Features

🧠 Automatic Port Detection

The extension automatically detects your Spring Boot application's port and context path from:

• application.properties (server.port=8080, server.servlet.context-path=/api)
• application.yml/application.yaml (server.port: 8080, server.servlet.context-path: /api)
• Defaults to 8080 if not found

📊 Realistic Sample Data Generation

Instead of empty objects, the extension generates meaningful sample data:

• Strings: "sample", "example", "test"
• Numbers: Random values within reasonable ranges
• Booleans: Random true/false
• Dates: Current date in appropriate format
• Collections: Arrays with sample items
• Nested Objects: Recursively generated from referenced classes

🔗 Path Variable Substitution

Automatically replaces path variables with appropriate sample values:

• {id} → 123
• {userId} → 123
• {uuid} → 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Requirements

• VS Code 1.74.0 or higher
• REST Client extension (recommended for .http file support)
• Java Spring Boot project

Known Limitations

• Only supports Java Spring Boot projects
• Requires well-formatted Spring annotations
• Complex generic types may not be fully supported or may take longer to generate
• Circular references in model classes are handled with empty objects

Contributing

Found a bug or want to suggest a feature? Please open an issue on our GitHub repository.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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Enjoy faster API testing with Spring Boot HTTP Client! 🚀