Tool Xh

tool-xh

When To Use

• Probe HTTP endpoints quickly with clean CLI syntax.
• Send JSON requests and inspect response headers/status.
• Validate API behavior with straightforward failure handling.

Trusted Commands

xh get httpbin.org/json
xh post httpbin.org/post name=Alice age:=30
xh get api.example.com Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN"
xh --json get api.example.com
xh --follow get example.com
xh --print=hHbB get httpbin.org/get
xh --check-status get api.example.com
xh -b get api.example.com
xh -h get api.example.com
xh --download get example.com/file.zip

Safe Defaults

• Use --check-status in scripts so 4xx/5xx produce non-zero exits.
• Use explicit method forms (get, post) for readability.
• Use key:=value for raw JSON numbers/booleans, not quoted strings.

Common Pitfalls

• key=value sends strings; key:=value sends typed JSON.
• Headers and bodies can leak secrets in shell history if not handled carefully.
• xh option behavior is not one-to-one with curl flags.

Output Interpretation

• Pretty response body is written to stdout by default.
• -b prints body only; -h prints headers only.
• --print=hHbB controls request/response header/body visibility.

Why It Matters For Agents

• Reduces curl quoting complexity for API tests.
• Combines readable defaults with strict exit handling when needed.

Repo Conventions

• Prefer xh for interactive API probing.
• Use curl when low-level transfer or compatibility control is required.

Trigger Examples

• Should trigger: "Quickly test this webhook endpoint with JSON body."
• Should trigger: "Show response headers for this API URL."
• Should not trigger: "Rename a function symbol across source files."