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This guide walks you through the essential features of LiteClient. You’ll make your first API request, set up an environment with variables, and organize your work with collections.

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Make your first request

Let’s start by making a simple GET request to a public API.
1

Open LiteClient

Click the LiteClient icon in the Activity Bar to open the sidebar.
2

Create a new request

Click New Request in the sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) and run LiteClient: New Request.
3

Enter the URL

In the URL bar at the top of the request panel, enter:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users
4

Send the request

Click the Send button or press Ctrl+Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Enter (macOS).
5

View the response

The response appears in the panel below with syntax highlighting, status code, headers, and execution time.
You can press Ctrl+L (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+L (macOS) to quickly focus the URL bar from anywhere in the request panel.

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Create an environment

Environments let you manage different configurations for local, staging, and production. Let’s create your first environment with variables.
1

Open the Environments tab

Click the Env tab in the LiteClient sidebar.
2

Create a new environment

Click New Environment and enter a name like “Development”.
3

Add a variable

Click Add Variable and create your first variable:
  • Name: baseUrl
  • Value: http://localhost:3000
  • Type: Default
  • Enabled: Yes
4

Add more variables

Add an API key variable:
  • Name: apiKey
  • Value: your-api-key-here
  • Type: Secret (this masks the value in the UI)
  • Enabled: Yes
5

Use variables in requests

Go back to your request panel and update the URL to use your variable:
{{baseUrl}}/api/users
Type {{ to see an autocomplete dropdown with available variables.
Variables follow a layered resolution order: Globals → Collection → Environment. Variables defined in narrower scopes override those in broader scopes.

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Organize with collections

Collections help you organize related API requests in a hierarchical structure.
1

Open the Collections tab

Click the Collections tab in the LiteClient sidebar.
2

Create a new collection

Click New Collection and name it something descriptive like “My API”.
3

Add a request to the collection

Right-click the collection and select Add Request. Give it a name like “Get Users”.
4

Configure the request

The request opens in a new panel. Add your URL, headers, and any authentication:
{{baseUrl}}/api/users
5

Save the request

Your request is automatically saved to the collection. Any changes you make are persisted.
6

Create folders for organization

Right-click the collection and select New Folder to create logical groupings. You can drag and drop requests between folders.
You can import existing Postman Collections (v2.1) by clicking Add Collection → Import from Postman in the Collections tab.

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Add authentication

LiteClient supports multiple authentication methods. Let’s add a Bearer token to a request.
1

Open the Auth tab

In your request panel, click the Auth tab.
2

Select authentication type

Choose Bearer Token from the dropdown.
3

Enter your token

You can enter a token directly or use a variable:
{{apiKey}}
4

Send the request

Click Send. The Authorization header is automatically added with your Bearer token.

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Other authentication methods

API Key

Add an API key as a custom header or query parameter

Basic Auth

Username and password with automatic Base64 encoding

OAuth 2.0

Authorization Code, PKCE, and Client Credentials flows with automatic token refresh

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Use the request history

Every request you send is automatically recorded in the History tab.
1

Open the History tab

Click the History tab in the LiteClient sidebar.
2

Browse your requests

History is organized by day (Today, Yesterday, Last Week). Each entry shows the method, URL, and execution time.
3

Replay a request

Click any history entry to open it in a new request panel and send it again.
4

Clean up history

Right-click any day group to delete all requests from that day, or click Clear History to remove everything.

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Storage scopes

LiteClient gives you control over where your data is stored.
  • Global storage (default) - Collections, environments, and history are stored in VS Code’s global storage, available across all workspaces
  • Workspace storage - Data is stored in a .liteclient/ folder in your project root, perfect for sharing API collections via Git
Click the LiteClient: Global/Workspace indicator in the status bar to switch between scopes.
Workspace storage requires an open folder. Each scope maintains independent collections, environments, and history.

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Next steps

You’ve learned the basics of LiteClient. Here’s what to explore next:

Scripting

Write pre-request and post-response scripts to automate workflows

Cookie management

View and manage cookies with the built-in Cookie Manager

Import collections

Migrate from Postman by importing Collection v2.1 files

OAuth 2.0

Set up OAuth 2.0 flows with automatic token caching and refresh