NitroHttp (nhttp) CLI Guide | Nitro OS Documentation

Overview & Subcommands

NitroHttp CLI (nhttp) is the command-line companion to NitroHttp. It is a blazing-fast HTTP testing tool for rapid API validation directly from the terminal, featuring syntax-highlighted JSON rendering, structured table views, and rich response statistics.

Subcommand	Short Alias	Description
get	`g`	Fetch resources and render formatted JSON in a bordered table with response statistics.
post	`p`	Create a resource or submit inline JSON payload or file contents to an endpoint.
put	`pu`	Replace a target resource entirely with JSON content from string or file.
patch	`pa`	Update part of a resource with partial JSON payload.
delete	`del`	Remove a remote resource by ID or query endpoint.

Installation & Verification

NitroHttp is pre-installed on Nitro OS. You can also install or update it as a global .NET tool or compile it with Native AOT for instant sub-millisecond execution:

# Install via .NET Tool
dotnet tool install -g NitroHttp

# Verify installation & view help
nhttp --help

# Update to the latest release
dotnet tool update -g NitroHttp

# Uninstall if needed
dotnet tool uninstall -g NitroHttp

General Usage & Syntax Rules

The standard invocation syntax for all commands:

nhttp <command> --url <endpoint> [--body <json-or-file>]

–url is required

Every command requires a target URL. If no protocol is provided, https:// is automatically prepended.

–body for payloads

Required for post, put, and patch. Sent as application/json automatically.

Automatic file reading

If –body points to an existing file path (e.g. ./payload.json), nhttp reads and transmits file contents.

Stats panel

Displays HTTP status code, response time in ms, payload byte size, and array/object item counts.

GET Requests & JSON Rendering

Fetch endpoints with automatic formatted JSON tables and timing statistics:

# Standard GET command
nhttp get --url https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users

# Using short alias and implicit https://
nhttp g --url jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts

POST, PUT & PATCH with Inline/File Payloads

Transmit payloads using either inline JSON strings or existing local JSON file paths:

# POST with inline JSON string
nhttp post --url https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users --body '{"name":"Ada Lovelace"}'

# POST with JSON file payload
nhttp p --url jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users --body ./payloads/user.json

# PUT full update
nhttp put --url https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/42 --body ./payloads/user-update.json

# PATCH partial update
nhttp patch --url https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/42 --body '{"title":"Lead Systems Engineer"}'

DELETE Requests

Remove remote records and inspect status codes:

# Standard DELETE
nhttp delete --url https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/42

# Using short alias
nhttp del --url jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/10

Response Output & Stats Panel

Every response renders with an integrated diagnostic panel:

Status Text & Code: Visual indicators for 2xx, 3xx, 4xx, and 5xx responses.
Latency & Elapsed Time: High-precision millisecond timing for request lifecycle.
Payload Size: Human-readable byte formatting (e.g. 1.42 KB).
Item Count: Automatic length detection for JSON arrays and object collections.