.http files

.http files contain one or more HTTP requests. They follow the community-standard .http format compatible with VS Code REST Client and JetBrains HTTP Client.

Basic request

### Get single user
GET https://api.example.com/users/42

The ### line names the request (optional). The next line is the method + URL. Supported methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS, HEAD.

Multiple requests in one file

Use ### dividers to separate multiple requests:

### List users
GET https://api.example.com/users

### Get single user
GET https://api.example.com/users/42

### Create user
POST https://api.example.com/users
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Jane Doe",
  "email": "jane@example.com"
}

### Update user
PUT https://api.example.com/users/42
Content-Type: application/json

{ "name": "Jane Updated" }

### Delete user
DELETE https://api.example.com/users/42

Click any ▶ gutter button to run that specific request. Press ⌘⇧Enter to run all requests in the file sequentially.

File-level variables

Define variables before the first ###. Reference them anywhere with {{name}}.

@baseUrl = https://api.example.com
@token   = secret-key

GET {{baseUrl}}/users
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}

Variables resolve in priority order: file-level → active .env file → extracted flow variables.

Headers

Write headers between the method line and the body (one header per line):

### Authenticated JSON request
POST https://api.example.com/users
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {{API_TOKEN}}
Accept: application/json
X-Request-Id: {{REQUEST_ID}}

{ "name": "Alice" }

Request body

Leave one blank line after the last header, then write the body:

### Create post
POST https://api.example.com/posts
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "title": "Hello world",
  "body": "My content here",
  "userId": {{userId}}
}

Naming requests

Named requests can be referenced in flow files:

### Create Order
# @name createOrder
POST {{baseUrl}}/orders
Content-Type: application/json

{ "item": "widget", "qty": 3 }

File upload — multipart/form-data

Use # @file to attach a file and # @field for text fields. Sendpad sets the Content-Type: multipart/form-data boundary automatically.

### Upload avatar
POST {{baseUrl}}/users/42/avatar

# @file  photo       = ../testdata/avatar.jpg
# @field description = "Profile photo for {{username}}"
# @field tag         = profile
# @assert status == 200

Multiple files:

### Batch upload
POST {{baseUrl}}/documents

# @file primary   = ../testdata/report.pdf
# @file secondary = ../testdata/appendix.pdf
# @field category = "Q4 Reports"

File paths are relative to the .http file. Store test files in a testdata/ folder.

Raw binary upload

For non-multipart binary uploads:

### Upload raw image
PUT {{baseUrl}}/avatars/me
Content-Type: image/jpeg

# @body = ../testdata/avatar.jpg

Assertions

Validate responses with # @assert directives. They run after the request completes — if any fails, the step is marked as failed and @persist directives are skipped.

### Validate response
GET {{baseUrl}}/users/42

# @assert status == 200               # exact status code
# @assert status != 404               # status is not this code
# @assert body contains "jane"        # response body has this substring
# @assert body equals active          # response body is exactly "active" (trimmed)
# @assert body equals {{expected}}    # compare against a variable
# @assert header[content-type] contains application/json

Per-Request Config Overrides

Override global HTTP settings for an individual request using comment directives. Useful when one endpoint needs a longer timeout, a different proxy, or relaxed SSL checking without changing the global Settings.

### Slow endpoint — needs more time
# @timeout 30s
POST {{baseUrl}}/reports/generate
Content-Type: application/json

{ "type": "annual" }

### Internal endpoint with self-signed cert
# @no-verify
GET https://internal.corp/health

### Capture redirect without following it
# @follow-redirects off
GET {{baseUrl}}/auth/sso

### Route through a debug proxy
# @proxy http://localhost:8888
POST {{baseUrl}}/payments

Directive	Effect
# @timeout <duration>	Request timeout — e.g. 500ms, 5s, 1.5s, 2m, 1h
# @no-verify	Disable SSL certificate verification
# @verify-ssl on|off	Explicitly enable or disable SSL verification
# @follow-redirects on|off	Enable or disable HTTP redirect following
# @proxy <url>	Route this request through the given HTTP/S proxy

Per-request settings override the Settings panel for that request only. Other requests in the same file are unaffected.

Cookie control

The cookie jar is enabled by default. Disable it for a specific file:

# @cookies off

### This request sends no cookies and ignores Set-Cookie
GET {{baseUrl}}/endpoint

Running requests

• ▶ gutter button — runs the request on that line
• ⌘Enter — runs the request under the cursor
• ⌘⇧Enter — runs all requests in the file sequentially

Server-Sent Events (SSE)

If a response arrives with Content-Type: text/event-stream, Sendpad auto-detects SSE and switches the Results Panel to a live event timeline — no extra setup required. Events stream in as the server emits them.

You can assert on SSE events inside .http and .flow files using the @expect event and @extract event directives. See the SSE streaming reference for the full set of SSE directives (@sse-timeout, @sse-reconnect, @expect event, etc.).