Call API

EasyApi provides an integrated API Explorer tool window that lets you browse, test, and export all API endpoints in your project — without leaving the IDE.

Opening the API Explorer

Open the explorer via View > Tool Windows > API Explorer, Tools > Open API Explorer, or click the gutter icon on any API method (see Gutter Icon Navigation below).

Gutter Icon Navigation

EasyApi adds a gutter icon (▶) next to API method declarations in the editor. Click it to jump directly to that endpoint in the API Explorer.

Supported annotations:

Framework	Annotations
Spring MVC	@RequestMapping, @GetMapping, @PostMapping, @PutMapping, @DeleteMapping, @PatchMapping
JAX-RS	@GET, @POST, @PUT, @DELETE, @PATCH, @Path
gRPC	RPC methods in classes extending BindableService or annotated with @GrpcService

If the endpoint is not found in the index (e.g., after switching branches or creating a new file), clicking the gutter icon triggers an automatic re-scan of the containing file before navigating.

Explorer Overview

The API Explorer consists of two main areas:

• Left panel — A tree view of all API endpoints organized by module and controller
• Right panel — Endpoint details with request editor and response viewer

Toolbar Actions

Action	Description
Refresh	Re-scan the project for API endpoints
Export	Open the export dialog for all endpoints
Collapse All	Collapse all tree nodes
Expand All	Expand all tree nodes
Search	Filter endpoints by address, name, path, folder, description, or class name

Context Menu

Right-click on any node in the tree to access:

Option	Available On	Description
Export	Any node	Export selected endpoints to Markdown, Postman, cURL, HTTP Client, or any enabled channel
Copy API URL	Selection	Copy the address of each selected endpoint, one per line, as METHOD /path
Copy Path	Endpoint	Copy the endpoint path to clipboard
Copy as cURL	Endpoint	Copy a cURL command for the endpoint
Navigate to Source	Endpoint	Jump to the source method in the editor
Reset to Default	Endpoint	Reset all user edits to the original extracted values
Collapse All / Expand All	Folder / Root	Collapse or expand tree nodes

Copy API URL copies the address, not just the path — GET /api/user/get rather than /api/user/get. The HTTP method is included because a path alone cannot distinguish GET /user/{id} from PUT /user/{id}. It resolves through the same entry point every export action uses, so a copied address always matches what an export of the same selection would contain. No host is added: the host is a deployment concern that the environment selector resolves. It can be turned off in Features (Copy API URL).

Sending Requests

HTTP Requests

1. Select an endpoint in the tree
2. The right panel shows the request details with editable fields
3. Select or enter a host URL in the host dropdown
4. Modify parameters, headers, or body as needed
5. Click Send to execute the request

Editable request fields:

Tab	Description
Path Params	URL path variables (e.g., {id} in /users/{id})
Params	Query string parameters
Headers	Request headers
Form	Form data (for application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data)
Body	JSON request body (for application/json)

gRPC Requests

For gRPC endpoints, the explorer provides:

• Request Message tab — Edit the gRPC request message as JSON
• Info tab — View service name, package name, streaming type, and proto file

Response Viewer

After sending a request, the response section displays:

• Status code — Color-coded (green for success, orange for client errors, red for server errors)
• Body tab — Response body with JSON formatting and Raw/Formatted toggle
• Headers tab — Response headers table
• Copy button — Copy the response body to clipboard

For gRPC responses, gRPC status codes are displayed with descriptive labels.

Binary responses

File responses (octet-stream, images, PDF, ZIP, …) are no longer decoded as text. The explorer shows them as a metadata summary with a Save as action so the original bytes survive:

Response kind	What you see
Text (JSON, XML, HTML…)	Formatted in the Body tab. Bodies larger than 500,000 characters are truncated for display.
Binary	Content type, size and a Save as button — the bytes are streamed to a temp file, never rendered as text.

Large responses are streamed to a temporary file instead of being materialized in the editor, keeping the UI responsive.

In scripts, the same distinction is exposed on the response object:

Method	Description
response.bytes()	Raw response bytes; null for a text response
response.saveBody(path)	Write the body to path; returns false when there is nothing to save
pm.response.responseSize	Body size in bytes (it used to report characters)

Auto-Save

All edits to request parameters, headers, body, and host selection are automatically saved and restored when you revisit an endpoint — even across IDE sessions. Reset to Default discards the edits and re-reads them from the source, so fields newly added to a DTO appear again.

Exporting from the Explorer

You can export endpoints directly from the explorer:

1. Right-click an endpoint, folder, or the root node
2. Select Export > choose a format
3. Or click the Export toolbar button to export all endpoints

Supported export formats:

Format	HTTP	gRPC	Description
Markdown	✅	✅	Generate Markdown documentation
Postman	✅	❌	Export as Postman collection (file or API upload)
cURL	✅	✅	Generate cURL commands
HTTP Client	✅	✅	Generate IntelliJ HTTP Client .http files
Hoppscotch (Beta)	✅	❌	Upload to your Hoppscotch instance
OpenAPI (Beta)	✅	❌	Export an OpenAPI 3.0.3 document
ApiPost (Beta)	✅	❌	Push to an ApiPost project, or write apipost.json

The export dialog lets you select specific endpoints, choose output options, and for Postman, select a workspace and collection.

Searching Endpoints

In the Explorer

The explorer's search bar accepts the same query grammar as Search Everywhere:

• One query can combine the address and the name — user 用户 matches /api/user/get whose name is 获取用户信息
• Tokens shorter than three characters must match literally, so a two-letter query does not return almost every endpoint
• A pasted path is never fuzzed: it stays a precise statement, which keeps a shortened URL working
• A method prefix (GET /users) filters by HTTP verb, and path templates match concrete values (/api/users/42 finds /api/users/{id})
• Results are ordered by score, so a literal path hit comes before a fuzzy one

In Search Everywhere

Use IntelliJ's Search Everywhere (double-press Shift) to find API endpoints across the project:

• Endpoints appear under their own APIs tab, and also in All
• Search by path: /api/users
• Search by method prefix: GET /users, POST /api/orders
• Paste a full URL: http://localhost:8080/api/users/42 — the path is auto-extracted for matching
• Path variable matching: Searching /api/users/42 matches /api/users/{id}
• Fuzzy matching: aus用户 matches /api/user/get as a subsequence
• gRPC URL search: grpc://localhost:9090/my.package.UserService/GetUser

Click a search result to navigate to the source method in the editor. The APIs tab can be turned off in Features (Search Everywhere); it keeps reading the retained API index, so it still works — and an explorer Refresh refills that index — even while API Scanning is off.

HTTP Call Hooks

You can customize the request before sending and process the response after receiving using rules:

# Modify request before sending
http.call.before=groovy:logger.info("Calling: " + request.url())

# Process response after receiving
http.call.after=groovy:logger.info("Response: " + response.code())