In Visual Studio, you can use .http files to send HTTP requests and test APIs directly from the IDE. This feature is available in Visual Studio 2019 and later versions.
How do you test your APIs before this feature?
- Postman
- Swagger
- Unit testing
How we can use a .http file in our project?
We can test an API from a .http file, Let me explain how it works.
Create a new .NET 8 API project. It is by default created with .NET 8, it looks like this.
![ChatGPT]()
What is the purpose of this file?
.http file editor provides a way to test ASP.NET Core and API projects without any third-party configuration like (Swagger).
How we can use it?
- Create request.
- Sends HTTP requests specified in
.httpfiles.
- Displays the responses
What does this file look like?
This file contains this code(weather forecast) API by default.![]()
![Formatted]()
We can add a new variable by using the rate (@) sign and use it.
Three hashtags (###) are used as delimiters to tell this file that the previous API has ended here and we have another API after that.
How we can send the request or call API?
To execute the request, right-click anywhere inside the .http file and select "Send Request". Visual Studio will send the request and display the response in the Output window.
![Headers]()
We can add other requests for other HTTP Methods like (OPTIONS, HEAD, POST, PATCH, DELETE, TRACE).
You can also include request headers, request bodies, and query parameters in your .http file.
Visual Studio will automatically highlight syntax errors and provide suggestions for valid HTTP methods, headers, and more.
Using .http files in Visual Studio can greatly simplify the process of testing APIs and debugging HTTP requests. It allows you to quickly iterate and validate your API calls without leaving the IDE.
Note. (.http files) are specific to Visual Studio and are not part of the .NET Core framework itself. They are a convenient tool provided by Visual Studio for API testing and development.