How to use the command `xh` (with examples)

xh is a friendly and fast tool for sending HTTP requests. It provides a simple and convenient way to send various types of HTTP requests and interact with web services.

Use case 1: Send a GET request

Code:

xh httpbin.org/get

Motivation: This use case demonstrates how to send a GET request using the xh command. GET requests are used to retrieve data from a server. By specifying the URL to the desired resource, we can retrieve the response from the server.

Explanation: In this example, xh is used to send a GET request to httpbin.org with the /get path. The response will contain information about the request, such as the request headers, query parameters, and the IP address of the client.

Example output:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 319
Content-Type: application/json
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT
Server: gunicorn/19.9.0

{
  "args": {}, 
  "headers": {
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate", 
    "Host": "httpbin.org", 
    "User-Agent": "xh/0.1.0"
  }, 
  "origin": "192.0.2.1", 
  "url": "http://httpbin.org/get"
}

Use case 2: Send a POST request with a JSON body

Code:

xh post httpbin.org/post name=john age:=25

Motivation: This use case demonstrates how to send a POST request with a JSON body using the xh command. POST requests are used to submit data to be processed by the server. In this example, we are sending a JSON body with key-value pairs.

Explanation: In this example, xh is used to send a POST request to httpbin.org with the /post path. The request body is a JSON object with the key-value pairs “name” and “age”. The := operator is used to indicate that the value is a string.

Example output:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 536
Content-Type: application/json
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT
Server: gunicorn/19.9.0

{
  "args": {}, 
  "data": "{\"name\": \"john\", \"age\": 25}", 
  "files": {}, 
  "form": {}, 
  "headers": {
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate", 
    "Content-Length": "27", 
    "Content-Type": "application/json", 
    "Host": "httpbin.org", 
    "User-Agent": "xh/0.1.0"
  }, 
  "json": {
    "age": 25, 
    "name": "john"
  }, 
  "origin": "192.0.2.2", 
  "url": "http://httpbin.org/post"
}

Use case 3: Send a GET request with query parameters

Code:

xh get httpbin.org/get first_param==5 second_param==true

Motivation: This use case demonstrates how to send a GET request with query parameters using the xh command. Query parameters are used to filter or modify the request URL with additional information.

Explanation: In this example, xh is used to send a GET request to httpbin.org with the /get path. Two query parameters are specified: “first_param” with a value of 5 and “second_param” with a value of true. The == operator is used to indicate the equality of the value.

Example output:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 358
Content-Type: application/json
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT
Server: gunicorn/19.9.0

{
  "args": {
    "first_param": "5", 
    "second_param": "true"
  }, 
  "headers": {
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate", 
    "Host": "httpbin.org", 
    "User-Agent": "xh/0.1.0"
  }, 
  "origin": "192.0.2.3", 
  "url": "http://httpbin.org/get?first_param=5&second_param=true"
}

Use case 4: Send a GET request with a custom header

Code:

xh get httpbin.org/get header-name:header-value

Motivation: This use case demonstrates how to send a GET request with a custom header using the xh command. Custom headers are additional information sent by the client to the server.

Explanation: In this example, xh is used to send a GET request to httpbin.org with the /get path. The custom header specified is “header-name” with a value of “header-value”. The header name and value are separated by a colon.

Example output:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 305
Content-Type: application/json
Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT
Server: gunicorn/19.9.0

{
  "args": {}, 
  "headers": {
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip, deflate", 
    "Header-Name": "header-value", 
    "Host": "httpbin.org", 
    "User-Agent": "xh/0.1.0"
  }, 
  "origin": "192.0.2.4", 
  "url": "http://httpbin.org/get"
}

Use case 5: Make a GET request and save the response body to a file

Code:

xh --download httpbin.org/json --output path/to/file

Motivation: This use case demonstrates how to make a GET request and save the response body to a file using the xh command. This is useful when you want to save the response for further processing or analysis.

Explanation: In this example, xh is used to make a GET request to httpbin.org with the /json path. The --download option is used to specify that the response body should be downloaded. The --output option is used to specify the path and filename for the downloaded file.

Example output:

Saved response body to 'path/to/file'

Conclusion:

The xh command is a versatile tool for sending HTTP requests. With its simple syntax and various features, it provides a convenient way to interact with web services. Whether you need to send GET or POST requests, include query parameters or custom headers, or even download response bodies, xh has got you covered. Explore its many capabilities and unlock the full potential of HTTP requests.