I'm Still Not Using Postman!! I Use This NEW VS Code Extension Instead...

This VS Code extension replaces Postman for me! marketplace.vi...
The RapidAPI Client VS Code extension has several really nice features.
- create request from Clipboard
- works well with your color theme
- generate code snippets for making API request
- generates TypeScript types
- and more!
RapidAPI Studio - rapidapi.com/s...
RapidAPI Hub - rapidapi.com/h...
Follow RapidAPI on Twitter - Ra...
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[@JamesQQuick]

Try out the RapidAPI Client VS Code extension today marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=RapidAPI.vscode-rapidapi-client&DevRel&DevRel

[@locim9201]

Hi James, may I know how does it comparing to Thunder Client, another VS code extension?

[@pegexo]

Thunder Client vs RapidAPI Client... Which is better in your opinion?

[@AhmadAwais]

Thank you James - this is awesome. Glad you like our work. It's a great team effort feels like years worth of work! Woohoo! 🥳🥳🥳

[@jgonzalez102]

🙌

[@covle9180]

If this could be saved in the project rather than some online service it would make a lot more sense. It would be documenting your api as you build it. (Without the need of third party services) Also, if this could be used with supertest or something to deal with endpoint testing, that would be even better. Right now it looks good, but it's really just postman in vscode. I don't really see how it's better.

[@Cranked1]

This is an online service because they want you to pay. Thats why this video and the other 10+ are payed commercials. Love to see that from a "look at what i found in this week" guy.

[@Booyamakashi]

@@Cranked1 Yeah, disappointing.

[@HrFessor]

This extension has really nice features. However, it would be great if the extension stored the project data as a file (like REST Client does it).

[@AnderssonHenning]

Yes, the ability to store the requests as a files in "my own" repository is an absolute requirement.

[@d_taldykin]

Channeling results to other requests is also massive advantage of rest client

[@grumpydeveloper69]

The first thing I thought, I'll be sticking to REST Client

[@larsthomasdenstad9082]

Yeah, this is top priority for me also, and being able to check .http-files into Git and share and version them is just absolutely key for me. Sticking with REST Client.

[@jkristia9478]

@@grumpydeveloper69 yep, nothing (so far) beat REST Client. Used it for many years. My default 'go-to' rest client.

[@ramonguerrero5399]

Good to know there's a new kid on the block for REST testing! Thanks for this! I currently use Thunder Client myself.

[@matansanbira6852]

I just use Loadmill its way easier 🤷

[@christerjohanzzon]

Great stuff! I will definately try this extension out. I was never a fan of Postman anyway. My favorite theme is Popping and Locking Black theme, with the GlassIt Extension. (This makes colors pop, and makes VS Code transparent (adjustable));

[@JamesQQuick]

I'll definitely have to try out the Popping and Locking theme. What a great name! lol

[@nishatsayyed8326]

Hey, what problems do you find in Postman?

[@Prathkum]

Thanks for the video, James! RapidAPI DevTools are amazing. Great flow state and DX for API developers using Studio and Client.

[@JamesQQuick]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Booyamakashi]

I found you on linkedin. Maybe you love it so much because you developer advocate in RapidAPI and this is sponsored video?

[@deejaydev]

This makes our lives so much easyer working with API's Thank you

[@scmiller2421]

I honestly didn't like this solution as much as I did Thunder Client (or Postman). You cannot change the Environments between Sandbox and test as readily as you can with Thunder Client. There also are not any options to capture information from the Response as are available in Thunder Client or Postman. It certainly is not as intuitive as Thunder Client (which I use with some of my colleagues who tend to get overwhelmed by Postman. Great to see that there is another option out there. But definitely not as good as Thunder Client or Postman. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the good work. I really love your channel.

[@chazzems]

Glad another extension is entering the space. Definitely has improved my workflow.

[@joshuaberrios]

This is so sick! It is basically Thunder Client on steroids. Definitely going to download this extension immediately.

[@chazzems]

I'm using thunder. If you don't mind what was the big difference. I liked the raw requests, but didn't see anything that crazy

[@brianmmdev]

Plugin looks pretty awesome, gonna have to check it out!

[@JamesQQuick]

Yeah I've got it running now. really enjoying it!

[@StrikerFeed]

You can generate types using "Paste JSON as Code" extension and still use lightweight Thunder Client. Didn't sell.

[@Miionu]

Really cool to have this directly available in VSCode! However, one of the best feature in Postman I think is creating tests before / after a request. It's possible to test automatically all the endpoints for example. I wonder how this workflow would be translated using RapidAPI 🤔

[@LimitlessDriveOffical]

Thunder Client has this features you're looking for, I use it all the time.😀👍

[@summertoo]

REST Client more suitable for you

[@savvyprogrammer]

appreciate your hard work sir 😍 the postman also already had this Request snippet feature but not that advance as compared to RapidAPI & plus point for RapidAPI is typescript for me. btw I have used some features before by using Postman.☺

[@muhammadalirakhimov4387]

You showed thunder client as postman alternative before. What is the difference between Thunder and RapidAPI. It would be better if you do a video about it

[@ThunderClient]

Not sure you noticed or not, this is paid promotional video by RapidApi. Thunder Client has lot more features than RapidApi and still it is very lightweight( 3 times less size then rapidapi) Our extension supports - Import/Export to json files - Import postman/Openapi collection - Save requests to git project - Run Tests - Works in vscode split mode - Works with remote containers Our Code generation feature is far more advanced - Supports more langs than rapidapi including Dart and Php laravel - Updates snippet in realtime as you make changes to request - You can save snippet to a file and there is even lot more features

[@shivanshmishra7992]

@@ThunderClient I have never used anything other than thunderclient.

[@romimaximus]

i could be wrong , ...but It looks a identical copy of the "Thunder Client" extension in the VsCode ??

[@phreakadelle]

Well, this looks great! Might give it try! Used Postman for a while and switched to Insomnia. Used REST Client in VS Code now, but I'm really annoyed because it splits tabs all the time to display responses...

[@JenuelDevTutors]

Its great but for me I still use postman because it has feature that is really great, like it creates a documentation automatically, you can add your team members to work on the API this way your team have access to the API, and it is sync so that you can still work on your API on different computers.

[@MaxProgramming]

This is a super better version of Thunder Client :o The TypeScript feature became my favourite!!

[@JamesQQuick]

Typescript feature is super neat!

[@yasserhy]

I have tried both. I still like postman better. Also, if you have multiple monitors, you can have postman on one monitor and your vscode on the other, making it am amazing experience

[@sherribooher7930]

Another great, informative video! Thank you!

[@harleyspeedthrust4013]

You convinced me at 5:16, that's an awesome feature

[@JamesQQuick]

Yeahhhh :)

[@chazzems]

Use paste types as code extension. Better flow because it works for everything.

[@ms.r1611]

Lol you literally control my extensions, when you suggested ThunderClient it became my everything, I guess I am jumping to RapidAPI now. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@JamesQQuick]

haha both great options. Give this one a try and see what you think!

[@michalk2072]

Hey! Thanks for the video, this extension looks really useful! Can You make another short video, how to use it to make queries with OAuth2 authentication? Best regards:)

[@abugsbunny]

Thanks for great info

[@LimitlessDriveOffical]

I really love this RapidAPI Client VS Code extension, But I do have a question, what is the difference between Thunder Client and RapidAPI Client except for the UI?

[@dibbyo456]

Thunder Client is way better than RapidApi because it’s lightweight.

[@DeanHickerson]

How did you find this extension? Seems very new or not well known with less than 500 installs right now.

[@irvingmontero5653]

At this point, we are to use VS Code as our grocery list. Jokes aside, good video I literally installed this extension yesterday, you just made a video on it. Neat

[@JamesQQuick]

hahah yeah VS Code can do a lot! Glad you're trying it out!

[@ordinarygg]

So basically, you can just use simple test frameworks that will go in your CI/CD and don't rely on 3-rd party vendor. Also, you lock yourself to a mediator company instead of direct library usage with a pinned version for your package. I don't see also how it will be included in CI/CD pipeline, propagating NO TEST code inside your package. Seems like marketing for marketing. You literally can just install a client of service you use connect middleware or service that monitors API requests and save tons of money by not using Rapid.

[@thebigdatajedi]

Yes, if you have to do that, you can do that. It's like the difference between using a purely open no, support solution and an open but supported solution or commercial license solution that is supported. Costs are going to start going up, right? But all you are doing is transferring cost from a supported solution and the dollars you spend there and where you burn the dollars that are used in the form of time with the solutions described. All three legitimate approaches are being used based on the maturity model of your org. The solution you presented might be (and I say might be because this is just back-of-the-envelope SWAG) my shoestring budget lone developer checking for commercial viability of my potential product phase of the project. Neither what he is suggesting nor what you are suggesting is wrong. It's just about dealing with real numbers and mitigating costs and, of course, if the tools are needed or things can be done differently. Good luck!

[@luisuran4050]

Have you tried thunder client?

[@kyledomz]

Thanks for this!

[@JThompson_VI]

What is the appeal to using something like this over purpose built tools like insomnia? Just a preference thing?

[@cloudkungfu]

that TS feature is mint! 👌

[@dmitriygalaganov8238]

Well, I need import postman json without cloud saving also. Anyway very good extension. Thanks )

[@alexotoous]

exactly why do you think this is better than Thunder in comparison: here is what someone said @Hamza Ahmad I think Thunder Client extension of VS Code is much better. Below is the list of features RapidApi doesn't have: - Cannot export/import the requests as JSON files - Cannot import Postman collection - Cannot save requests to git project, which is a major feature in Thunder Client. - Cannot Perform Tests - It does not support split view mode. - Thunder Client Code snippet supports more languages than them, and also updates the snippet in real-time. - Thunder Client is much more lightweight

[@sermarr]

Great for quickly testing, but in the great scheme of a project I must stick to using Insomnia. Does RapidApi o Thunderclient have any documenting support? OpenAPI/Swagger/Redoc? I usually test and document at the same time using OpenAPI. Does James have any videos on the whole process? I admit I haven't watched them all.

[@deathcoder]

Cool. I hope they improve it. It has potential. Not nearly all the functionality that postman provides though

[@JohannesBitcube]

Hey James, I wanted to ask if the extension authors have changed the extension icon because the one I am seeing here doesn't look the same as the one from your 1-year-old video.

[@RianY2K]

Nice tips, Postman more and more heavy to me. So I'm using thunder client and rest client for testing API.

[@OpenJavaScript]

Great tutorial!

[@PavelLokhmakov]

VsCode Rest client (stored in repo) with git history + git-crypto for transparent encryption of secrets + VsCode JSON to TS

[@superchrishovids]

Nice. It would be great if it allows to import/export config and environment configurations from postman because we work with other platforms like iOS and android.

[@itsikgol]

Tnx James :) what is a difference from "Thunder Client" extension (also in vscode) ?

[@YogeshM-sk5mp]

Hey I really love your editor theme! What's athe name? Also, have you done your own customisations on top of it?

[@xosece]

great video, as usual. Which theme do you use in VS Code?

[@JamesQQuick]

In this video Midnight Synth and Shades of Purple!

[@harag9]

Thanks, looks a good expansion. Do you know if there is something like this for Visual Studio 2019/2022 ?

[@40fps143]

isn't thunder api client enough ?

[@PhunkyBob]

I can't save request in my project as files. So I can't add them to a Git repo and share them with my team --> "no go" for me.

[@supunbatagoda8061]

Hello, James. Can this rapidAPI client save response values into an environment variable? If so, could you please tell us how to do it? Cheers.

[@_alekss]

Can't get RapidApi Client working in Github Codespaces it just keeps loading all the time

[@JeyPeyy]

VS code is definitely my favorite operating system

[@adithyam4503]

Lmao yt vanced skipped 90p of this video

[@surajkumarwaghmode2286]

I am getting "no response" while testing http rest api, same URL is working in Postman. I think postman is still robust and reliable.

[@fever0]

Can we share the curl for the request as we can do in the Postman?

[@bulelanibotman]

James, I've watched almost all your videos regarding APIs and most of them do not vouch for Postman, is there a particular reason behind that or you just hate context switching? & please, do the rapid where you generate and API and launch it to RapidAPI

[@JamesQQuick]

I think Postman is great. I just love being able to stay with VS Code as much as possible so I don't have to context switch. So I LOVE finding good extensions that add functionality right inside of the editor. Definitely going to do a video on building and launching an API soon. Keep an eye out :)

[@NotAChannelll]

I am hearing a lot about this extension from all youtubers with same title bashing postman. I mean they are running a really good campaign, I guess.

[@HuyNguyen-vg5hq]

Should I use RAPIDAPI or THUNDERCLIENT?

Great! What if I have to send form-data?

[@0FF537]

😂 I literally just got a KZbin advertisement for POSTMAN when I clicked on this video.

[@JamesQQuick]

Omgosh that’s hilarious. All publicity is good publicity I guess haha

[@jeffersonlinares3923]

I liked this awesome tool but I want to know if there is a way to collaborate with team members like in real time creating, modifying a request with a mate ?

[@גלריש]

In one of the request snippets code languages is python available?

[@pWnaz]

Hi!, anything for graphql? Does this work for? Great video!

[@crazyst3ve01]

okay, now run it automatically as an integration test to ensure stability on the environment. Looks like a tool I would use just to say I don't use postman.

[@aj.arunkumar]

the only thing that i found interesting was the interface gen. i use rest client and it works more than fine

[@chrisalexthomas]

Can I store the tests inside the git repository? Cause that would be a killer feature.

[@sergeygr]

Thunder Client still the best.

[@everyhandletaken]

Looks ideal, will be trying out! I just want the basics when it comes to a client & only use 5% of the features of Postman, which feels more bloated with each release.

[@mirkonik8788]

Neat Extension! Thanks for the great video! One question: is there a way to put environment variables directly into the request body? Can't seem to figure it out...

[@AhmadAwais]

Please set the env variables and then use them by typing {}

[@mirkonik8788]

@@AhmadAwais I know that this is working on the URL-Field. But I like to use Env-Variables in the body. So let's say I need to register by sending a JSON Body with the Username and Key

[@mirkonik8788]

Ok, a little correction: it is not working on the JSON input, but it is indeed working in JSON Tree or Text mode.

[@ali.veseli]

IDK Why everyone is getting exited and making videos about this, I have been using vscode plugins to test apis for years one is REST Client by Huachao Mao and the other which came out late and has better interface Thunder Client by Ranga Vadhineni.

[@JamesQQuick]

Glad you've got something that works for you!

[@user-hd5gz4de7y]

Thanks for this, Postman doesn't support arm64 linux so I can't use it anymore!

[@khuman-sv6sy]

I tested thunder extension. Now i'm using insomnia standalone

[@miltonr87]

Try "Dark Walker" theme🎨, it is really dark!

[@rfphill]

I use postman for data driven testing which is clunky, I would be very interested in a better testing tool than PM.

[@thesanjithkumar]

Ur fancy !-= looks so good Can U tell is how to do it in vs code

[@OmriYaHoo]

I really don't understand why people (developers) always looking for a way to be "special". As it looks from your demo, RapidAPI has no real "extra" features compared to Postman. I'm not sure what every developer is searching for in an API client but Postman has really everything I need to test my APIs - saving variables like in the video, creating different environments to quickly change them, doing automated scripts before and after API call, Sharing my APIs (collections) with team members, everything is saved in the cloud in case you want to switch working machine, exporting/importing documentation, etc. In the video, you gave 0 reasons on why NOT to use Postman. I'm not saying this to sound negative, I'm just wondering why would you want to switch Postman with this client. 🤷‍♂

[@JamesQQuick]

We’ll the reason for me is simple. I don’t have to download a separate app. I can stay in vs code

[@OmriYaHoo]

@@JamesQQuick I'm not going to sacrifice a lot of my productivity work and ease of use just to save "alt+tab/command+tab". Really sounds ridiculous in my perspective until I get the same features. IntelliJ (my focus IDE) also has a built-in HTTP client but I still prefer to use Postman. To be clear, I'm not working at Postman, nor do I even pay for their app :)

[@sailorman2159]

This maybe fine for a simple request sending and a response validation but Postman is much more than just API requests. Even Insomnia is loaded with features which a dev requires when he's doing serious work in a company with various team members. That's where Postman shines. Maybe for devs starting out or a quick prototype this is okay, but I still dont understand what benefits this Rapid API technique has other than a tab integration with VS code. What if you dont use VS Code? What if you want colloboration features/auto testing/mocking? I would advise against using a product if there's something ethically/price wise/features wise wrong/lacking, but Postman seems to run circles around this in every aspect and is a standard used in all major companies. Not sure if you just hate Postman or using this a war cry for just views. I respect your preferences but you gave 0 reasons as to why to use this instead of Postman/Insomnia/Even thunderclient other than not willing to switch between applications.

[@pelaoinfo]

how can you import a json using rapid api client?

[@ulrich-tonmoy]

Theres Thunder Client extension which is similar to postman

[@JamesQQuick]

Yep! I did a video in that one last year. I also really good!

[@ulrich-tonmoy]

@@JamesQQuick yeah i think i started to use that after watching that video

[@JamesQQuick]

@@ulrich-tonmoy Ah so cool! Glad that worked out!

[@willi1978]

The thing I don't like about postman and this client is that they sont store directly to file. If you are working with a git repository you have to edit the request in the app and then export the collection to git. Rest client just saves to a file

[@FacelookHK]

I use Node-RED to test APIs.

[@Toxicbanana01]

Curious what makes this any better than Thunder Client?

[@gryg666]

So it's similar to Thunder Client.. :)

[@JamesQQuick]

Lots of similarities yes. This extension will have more direct integration with RapidAPI platform if you build/sell APIs there as well.

[@praveengajjala4311]

Can we import postman collection ?

[@Guillen8606]

This is so much complete compared to thunder client. Postman team should be worried lol

[@pzftw]

I exported my postman definitions and imported them into Insomnia. I do miss the unit test aspect of postman but I can live without it.

[@victorvandermilte5857]

Good to see alternatives to Postman. The fact that Postman wants you to """log in""" (why does an API mocker need accounts?) and also forces you to name your queries makes me want to puke. A case study in how to NOT design a software product.

[@echonabin]

It's great as per the use case but what if we have to make that secret key dynamic, on postman we simply give it a test case and when we hit login route and auth token came out of it we set it to secret key dynamically so even if the token expires doing simple login would work again without copy and paste each time on variable.

[@JamesQQuick]

That's a great question. So in Postman, you can have it automatically log you in, get a token back, and set it in environment variables?

[@echonabin]

@@JamesQQuick no but once we hit the login route and if it's success login then other things are done automatically.

[@JamesQQuick]

@@echonabin Gotcha. That's a great use case. that functionality may not be there now, but RapidAPI is definitely going to be pushing updates with this so hopefully we'll see that in the future.

[@Dev_Eli]

Is this better than thunder client?

[@zachzeurcher6450]

🔥🔥🔥

[@frostrap]

Me over here using curl...

[@RicardoBuquet]

well the reason why you should use postman it is just because it is the standard and it is easier to work and share stuff.

[@JamesQQuick]

Fair enough. Whatever works for you!

[@fredguth1315]

Why is rapidapi better than thunder client that you presented before?

[@JamesQQuick]

Well, I'm excited about more direct integrations as I explore RapidAPI more. So, when I publish an API with RapidAPI being able to sync that to the extension will be awesome. I'm going to do a video on that soon!

[@faketrump3605]

why switch away from postman?

[@JamesQQuick]

I like having something embedded in my code editor!

[@mrlectus]

Laughs in curl

[@MrSaatchyan]

Works not as good as Postman. Hope they will make it better. Still have some problems editing duplicated request (Updated description returned back to old description after switching to another request, same as with lost get parameters and other request settings which are resetting to the state on time of duplication) . Anyway it is great to test your API right from VSCode.

[@JamesQQuick]

I'm expecting them to be continuing to make updates and improvements. Exciting times!

[@notme9801]

I've been using curl in git bash

[@JamesQQuick]

Whatever works!

[@AhmadAliSaim]

A new competitor for thunder client

[@JamesQQuick]

Both great options!

[@amruthavs2851]

can anyone tell how to set cookie in rapidapi?