purerequest Piotr Zieliński

api developer-tools http http-client rest

Use this command to install purerequest with WinGet:

winget install --id=pzielinski.purerequest -e

purerequest is a keyboard-driven, file-based desktop HTTP client for building, sending, and organizing HTTP requests from a local workspace.

purerequest

A minimal, keyboard-driven, fully configurable, file-based desktop HTTP client.

Built as a Tauri 2 desktop app with a React 19 + TypeScript frontend on the TanStack stack (Router, Query, Table, Form, Hotkeys) and shadcn/ui + Tailwind v4.

Prerequisites

Node.js - version pinned in .nvmrc. Run nvm use before any npm command.
Rust stable toolchain (rustc, cargo).
Tauri OS prerequisites - platform-specific system libraries (WebKitGTK on Linux, Xcode CLT on macOS, WebView2 + Build Tools on Windows). See https://tauri.app/start/prerequisites/

If the Rust toolchain or system prerequisites are missing, npm start fails fast with a build error from Cargo.

Setup

nvm use
npm install

Commands

Command	Description
`npm start`	Run the app in development (`tauri dev`).
`npm run tauri build`	Build the distributable desktop bundle.

Installing

macOS (Homebrew): brew install --cask piotrzielinski1994/tap/purerequest
Windows (winget): winget install pzielinski.purerequest
Any OS (manual): download the installer for your platform from the latest Release.

Both package manifests are updated automatically on every published Release: the Homebrew cask via publish-cask.yml and the winget manifest via publish-winget.yml. See packaging/winget/ for the initial manifests that must be submitted manually once, before the workflow can take over.

Releasing installers

The Release workflow builds installers for all three OSes and publishes them to a GitHub Release. It is manual only: GitHub -> Actions -> "Release" -> "Run workflow", enter a tag (e.g. v0.1.0). It produces a single universal macOS .dmg, a Windows installer, and a Linux .AppImage, attached to a draft Release. The binaries are unsigned: on macOS right-click the app and choose Open; on Windows choose "More info -> Run anyway".

To take installers down later, delete the Release (and its tag) or remove individual assets - the download links 404 immediately. Anyone who already downloaded keeps their local copy.

In-app auto-update

Release builds ship the Tauri updater: the app checks the latest GitHub Release on startup (and via Settings -> Updates -> "Check for updates") and, when a newer version exists, shows a toast with an "Update now" button that downloads the signed update in place and relaunches. Two caveats:

Only works forward. A given build can only auto-update to releases published after it. The first updater-enabled build (and any build a user already has that predates the updater) must be downloaded manually once.
Signing secrets required in CI. The workflow signs update artifacts with a minisign key. Add two GitHub repo secrets before releasing: TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY (the private key contents) and TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD (empty string if the key has no password). The matching public key lives in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json under plugins.updater.pubkey. Without the secrets the build still succeeds but emits unsigned artifacts the updater will reject.

Features

Requests - method selector, URL bar, structured Vars / Auth / Headers / Params / Body / Script tabs plus a Settings tab (timeout, HTTP version Auto / HTTP/3) and a raw-JSON editor; Send issues a real HTTP request (resolved config applied), Stop cancels one in flight.
Response - status, human-readable time/size, body with a JSONPath-ish Filter, headers, a Timing waterfall, and a Wireshark-style Protocols OSI dissection of the wire (TCP+TLS for HTTP/1.1+2; full QUIC packet/TLS/HTTP-3 decode for HTTP/3).
Collection - a file-based workspace tree: create / rename / duplicate / delete / drag-move folders and requests, with multi-select and full keyboard navigation.
Config & variables - inheritable variables, environments, headers, auth, scripts, and timeout; Bruno-style {{var}} and {{process.env.KEY}} interpolation with a completion popup.
Scripting - sandboxed pre/post JavaScript per request (Bruno bru.* / Postman pm.* aliased) with a Console.
Import / export - cURL, Bruno (.bru + OpenCollection), Postman, and OpenAPI/Swagger import; Bruno, Postman, and OpenAPI export; "Copy as code" (cURL / fetch).
UX - light / dark / system theme with custom colors, a command palette + quick-open, in-app find, and fully configurable keyboard shortcuts.

The on-disk workspace format and JSON data model are documented in docs/data-format.md. Per-feature specs live under docs/features/.

> Workspace files (including auth tokens / variable values) are stored plaintext - treat a > workspace folder as sensitive and gitignore secrets accordingly.