exploring terminal user interfaces with Spectre.Console by building a lightweight HTTP client in .NET

PST ( "ph-st" )

A lightweight terminal HTTP workspace built with .NET and Spectre.Console.

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Overview

PST is a simple terminal HTTP client for developers who prefer working in the command line.

It provides a clean text-based interface for creating, sending, and inspecting HTTP requests without needing a full desktop application like Postman or Insomnia.

Built with .NET 10 and Spectre.Console, PST focuses on simplicity, and a keyboard-first workflow.

[!NOTE] PST is a personal learning project and an experiment in building a terminal HTTP client with .NET and Spectre.Console. It is not intended to replace tools like Postman or Insomnia and does not aim to match their feature set. While it is suitable for basic API testing, it has not been thoroughly tested and you may encounter bugs or missing features.

[!WARNING] it is still under active development. features may change, some parts may be incomplete, and breaking changes can happen as the project evolves.

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/netcrawlerr/pst.git
cd pst
dotnet run

Build Debian Package

PST includes a build script that creates a standalone .deb package for Debian-based Linux distributions.

Make the script executable:

chmod +x build.sh

Run the build:

./build.sh

The script will:

• Publish a self-contained single-file binary
• Create the Debian package structure
• Package PST as a .deb file
• Place the executable in /usr/local/bin/pst

The generated files will be available in:

dist/
├── pst_1.0.0.deb
└── publish/
    └── pst

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Install Debian Package

Install the generated package:

cd dist && sudo apt install ./pst_1.0.0.deb

After installation, run PST from anywhere:

pst

To remove PST:

sudo apt remove --purge pst

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Usage

Launch the application:

pst

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Features

• Terminal-based HTTP client
• Support for common HTTP methods
• JSON body editor with external editor support
• Header management
• JSON formatting
• cURL export
• Clipboard integration
• Request history
• Standalone single-file builds

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License

PST is licensed under the MIT License.