We’re excited to announce the public release of Rext HTTP — a smart HTTP client built as a VS Code extension that introduces the .rext file format for writing, testing, and automating HTTP requests.

Why We Built Rext

As developers, we’ve all been there: switching between our code editor and a heavy desktop app just to test an API endpoint. Copying tokens manually. Losing track of which environment we’re testing against. Fighting with proprietary collection formats that don’t play well with Git.

We built Rext to solve these problems by keeping everything in plain text, inside your editor.

What Makes .rext Files Different

Traditional .http files are great for simple requests, but they fall short when your API workflow gets complex. Rext extends the concept with smart directives:

  • @capture — Extract values from responses and store them as variables
  • @pre — Chain requests together automatically
  • @assert — Validate responses inline
  • @config — Share base URLs, headers, and timeouts across requests
  • @retry and @timeout — Built-in resilience

Here’s what a real workflow looks like:

@config
baseUrl: https://api.example.com
headers:
  Content-Type: application/json


###
@id a1b2c3
@name Login
POST /auth/login


{
  "email": "{{email}}",
  "password": "{{password}}"
}


@capture env.token = body.access_token
@assert status == 200


###
@name Get Profile
@pre a1b2c3
GET /profile
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}


@assert status == 200
@assert body.email exists
```rext


## Privacy First


Every credential stays on your machine. There's no cloud sync, no account required, no telemetry. Your `rext.env.json` files stay local, and we recommend adding them to `.gitignore`.


## Getting Started


Install Rext HTTP from the [VS Code Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=rext-labs.rext-vs-code) or run:


```rext
ext install rext-labs.rext
```rext


Then create your first `.rext` file and press `Ctrl+Enter` to execute.


Check out the [full documentation](/rext-http/introduction) to learn everything `.rext` files can do.


---


This is just the beginning. We have a lot planned for the Rext ecosystem — stay tuned by following us on [GitHub](https://github.com/Rext-Labs).