HTTPie (http/https) In-Depth Reference

Comprehensive reference for HTTPie — a command-line HTTP client designed for the API era. Covers the full CLI surface, request items syntax, authentication, sessions, output formatting, SSL/TLS, downloads, configuration, plugins, scripting, and the carapace-bin completer.

Data Flow

http [flags] [METHOD] URL [REQUEST_ITEM ...]
  → parse flags & default_options from config.json
    → resolve URL (default scheme, localhost shortcuts, path normalization)
      → build request (method, headers, body from request items)
        → apply auth (basic/digest/bearer/plugin, .netrc, session)
          → send request (proxy, SSL/TLS, redirects, timeout)
            → receive response
              → format output (pretty, style, print options, stream)
                → stdout / file (--output) / download (--download)

Sub-Resources

Load the reference that matches your task. When in doubt, load multiple references.

Keywords	Reference
invocation, command line, flags, options, --json, -j, --form, -f, --multipart, --boundary, --raw, --compress, -x, --verbose, -v, --all, --quiet, -q, --debug, --traceback, --help, --version, --offline, --ignore-stdin, -I, --timeout, --max-headers, --max-redirects, --check-status, --path-as-is, --chunked, http vs https, METHOD, GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD, positional arguments	references/cli.md
request items, request item, separator, header, :, URL parameter, ==, data field, =, raw JSON, :=, file upload, @, embed file, =@, :=@, :@, ==@, escaping, backslash, --, nested JSON, key[subkey], array, escaping brackets, Content-Type, form data, JSON object	references/request-items.md
authentication, auth, --auth, -a, --auth-type, -A, basic, digest, bearer, token, .netrc, --ignore-netrc, password prompt, auth plugins, NTLM, OAuth, JWT, HMAC, AWS, EdgeGrid, SPNEGO, Hawk	references/auth.md
session, --session, --session-read-only, named session, anonymous session, session file, cookie persistence, Set-Cookie, cookie domain, unbound cookie, session upgrade, sessions upgrade-all, --bind-cookies, session storage, session JSON format	references/sessions.md
output, --print, -p, --headers, -h, --body, -b, --meta, -m, --verbose, -v, --all, --stream, -S, --pretty, --style, -s, --sorted, --unsorted, --format-options, --response-charset, --response-mime, --output, -o, binary data, redirected output, terminal output, format options, headers.sort, json.format, json.indent, json.sort_keys, xml.format, xml.indent, Pie theme, color style	references/output.md
SSL, TLS, --verify, --ssl, --ciphers, --cert, --cert-key, --cert-key-pass, certificate verification, CA bundle, REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE, protocol version, ssl2.3, tls1, tls1.1, tls1.2, tls1.3, OpenSSL cipher list	references/ssl.md
download, --download, -d, --continue, -c, --output, -o, Content-Disposition, filename, resume, Range, 206 Partial Content, piping download, wget-like, progress bar	references/downloads.md
configuration, config file, config.json, default_options, plugins_dir, HTTPIE_CONFIG_DIR, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, legacy config, ~/.httpie, config directory resolution, --no-OPTION, unsetting options, http --debug, config_dir	references/config.md
plugins, plugin manager, httpie cli plugins, install, list, upgrade, uninstall, AuthPlugin, TransportPlugin, ConverterPlugin, FormatterPlugin, PluginManager, entry points, httpie-unixsocket, httpie-ntlm, httpie-jwt-auth, httpie-oauth, httpie-aws-auth, httpie-edgegrid, httpie-hmac-auth, httpie-api-auth, httpie-negotiate, requests-hawk, plugin development	references/plugins.md
scripting, exit codes, --check-status, shell script, automation, --ignore-stdin, --timeout, piping, stdin, redirected input, --raw, here string, piping output, best practices, cron	references/scripting.md
URL, URL syntax, default scheme, --default-scheme, localhost shortcut, :/foo, :3000, ://, query string, ==, path normalization, path-as-is, dot segment, URL escaping, http+unix	references/url-syntax.md

Quick Guide

• What flags and options does http support? → references/cli.md
• How do I specify headers, data fields, query params, or file uploads? → references/request-items.md
• How do I authenticate with basic, digest, or bearer token? → references/auth.md
• How do sessions work and how do I persist cookies/headers across requests? → references/sessions.md
• How do I control output formatting, colors, and what gets printed? → references/output.md
• How do I configure SSL/TLS certificates and protocol versions? → references/ssl.md
• How do I download files with http? → references/downloads.md
• Where is the config file and what can I configure? → references/config.md
• How do I install, list, or develop HTTPie plugins? → references/plugins.md
• What exit codes does HTTPie use and how do I use it in scripts? → references/scripting.md
• How do URL shortcuts like :/foo or :3000 work? → references/url-syntax.md
• What is the difference between http and https commands? → references/cli.md
• How do I send nested JSON or arrays via request items? → references/request-items.md
• How do I pipe data into HTTPie via stdin? → references/scripting.md
• How do I resume an interrupted download? → references/downloads.md
• How do I set default options for every invocation? → references/config.md

Cross-Project References

• For carapace completion integration (the http/https completers in completers/common/http_completer/ and completers/common/https_completer/), see the carapace-dev skill and the project's AGENTS.md. The completer uses shared actions from pkg/actions/net/http/ for request headers, methods, media types, and status codes.
• For the carapace YAML spec format and spec-based completions, see the carapace skill → references/spec.md.
• For shell quoting rules that affect how request items are passed on the command line, see the bash, zsh, or fish skills as appropriate.
• For HTTP protocol fundamentals (status codes, headers, methods, content negotiation), consult RFC 7230/7231 or the MDN Web Docs — this skill covers HTTPie's CLI surface, not HTTP itself.