Documentation / Getting Started
Getting Started with Apicurl
A quick, opinionated guide to sending your first request, organizing work into collections, and using environments so you can move from local to production with confidence.
1. Open the App
Apicurl runs entirely in the browser. You can open the app at /app and start testing APIs without creating an account or installing anything.
The layout is simple on purpose: a request builder on the left, a response viewer on the right, and collections in the sidebar for organizing your work.
2. Send Your First Request
To try a basic REST call, choose the GET method and enter a URL such as https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1. Click Send to see the response body, status code, and headers.
You can add query parameters and headers directly in the request builder. Apicurl keeps the interface minimal so you can focus on the HTTP details that matter.
3. Use Ready-Made Examples
Apicurl ships with a large library of examples for REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, authentication, GitHub, Stripe, OpenAI, Slack, and more.
Browse the examples at /examples, open any language and category, and click Try It in Apicurl. The request will load into the app with the method, URL, headers, params, and body already configured.
From there you can adapt the request to your own API by changing the URL, environment, and authentication settings.
4. Save Collections
Collections let you group related requests, such as all endpoints for a single service or microservice. This makes it easy to share, review, and re-run tests over time.
As you design and test new APIs, save important requests into a collection so your team always has an up-to-date reference for how the API behaves.
5. Configure Environments
Use environments to switch between local, staging, and production setups without editing every request by hand. Define variables such as base_url, api_key, or tenant_id, then reference them directly in your requests.
Once environments are configured, you can run the same collection against multiple backends with a single click, which is especially useful before a deployment or when debugging a production incident.
6. Next Steps
After you are comfortable sending requests and organizing collections, explore the CLI and advanced testing features to automate your checks in CI. You can continue with the CLI & Automation guide or dive into API testing patterns.