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Basic usage

In this chapter, you'll see how to use Cartero.

Starting Cartero

When you open Cartero, the previous session is restored. This means that if you had endpoints opened the last time you closed Cartero, they will open automatically. If there is no previous session state, you will see the welcome screen.

A screenshot of Cartero shows the message 'Welcome to Cartero'

To start a new session, you will probably want to create a request. There are many ways to do this:

  • Press the New tab button in the welcome message.
  • At any time, pressing Ctrl + T (Cmd + T on macOS).
  • Use the New tab button in the application toolbar.
  • Choose New tab from the dropdown menu at the top right corner of the window.

You can also open saved requests. Saved requests are files with the .cartero extension, that can be saved anywhere. They are plain text files, so if you are working on a project, you could even add them to the version control system to track changes to the files. To open an existing request you can do so from one of the multiple ways:

  • Press the Open request button in the welcome message.
  • At any time, pressing Ctrl + O (Cmd + O on macOS).
  • Use the Open button in the application toolbar.
  • Choose _Open request...` from the dropdown menu.

Your first request

The endpoint panel offers you a form to configure your HTTP request. You can then send the request using the Send button.

A screenshot of the empty request panel of Cartero

To send a request, you will have to at least set the request URL. Use the Request URL entry box to fill the request URL. That will enable the Send button.

A screenshot of Cartero after filling the request URL

However, there are many things you can also configure before submitting the request.

  • You can set the HTTP verb with the dropdown that is next to the request URL field.
  • You can use the notebook pane that appears below the URL to set the parameters, the headers, the variables, the payload...

Submit a request

To send a request, press the Submit button, or press Ctrl + Enter (Cmd + Enter on macOS).

Once a response is received, you will see in the response panel information about it.

A screenshot of the response panel of Cartero

  • The Headers tab allows you to explore the headers sent by the server.
  • The Body tab lets you see the server response. If Cartero detects a known response type such as JSON, XML or HTML, it will apply syntax highlighting automatically.
  • Above the tab bar you will see metadata about the request, such as the status code received, the duration and the size of the response.

Saving a request

To save a request for later, you can do it from one of the following ways:

  • Press the Save button in the toolbar.
  • Press Ctrl + S (Cmd + S on macOS).
  • Choose Save request from the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the window.