Sending your first request

A request in Rewind is just four things: a method, a URL, optional headers or query parameters, and an optional body. This page walks you through the URL bar — the part you'll use most.

The URL bar

The URL bar is the row at the top of the request area, just below the request tabs. It is laid out as two compact rows inside a single rounded container.

Top row — the actual request:

1. Method picker — a dropdown with GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS, and HEAD. The default is GET. The chip is color-coded by method (see Workspace overview → Request area).
2. URL input — the only required field. Type a full URL, including scheme (https://).
3. Send (or Cancel, while a request is in flight). The button takes the right end of the row.

Bottom row — the supporting controls:

4. Request name — the name of the current request. Defaults to Untitled request for new tabs.
5. Environment picker — a globe icon plus the current environment's name (for example Local). Click to switch.
6. Variables (gear icon) — opens the environments sheet.
7. Save (floppy-disk icon) — saves the request to its collection. Creates one if needed.
8. Code (</> icon) — opens the code generator.

Sending

Pick a method, type a URL, and:

• press Enter while focused in the URL bar, or
• click Send, or
• press Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter from anywhere in the app.

While the request is in flight, Send turns into a red Cancel button. Clicking it aborts the in-flight request on the server side.

Reading the response

The response panel below the request area fills in as soon as the proxy returns. Its compact header strip shows:

• Status code (color-coded badge).
• Duration in milliseconds, with a human-friendly ms or s suffix.
• Size in bytes, formatted with the appropriate unit (B, kB, MB).
• Copy and Download icon buttons on the right.

The tabs underneath show different views of the body and metadata:

• Pretty — syntax-highlighted body matched to the response Content-Type. JSON, XML, HTML, and text responses render in a code view. Image responses render inline; HTML responses get a sandboxed Preview tab.
• Raw — the unformatted body.
• Headers — every response header in a table. The tab label shows the count.
• Redirects — only appears when the request followed one or more 3xx redirects. The tab label shows the hop count.

To grab the body, use the Copy button in the response header. To save it, use Download.

Common pitfalls

• Missing scheme — example.com/users fails with "Request URL must be absolute after variables resolve." Always include http:// or https://.
• Missing variable — {{baseUrl}}/users fails with "Request has unresolved variables" and a list of missing keys if no environment has a baseUrl defined. See Variables.
• CORS error in the browser — Rewind sends requests through the local proxy, so a browser CORS error means the dev server isn't running. Run bun run dev (or just bun run dev:api).
• Empty response, no status — the request was aborted, timed out, or never left the local proxy. Check the status bar to confirm the API is connected (the dot at the bottom-left is green) and that the current-request segment shows a status.

What's next?

• Query params and headers — add a few ? parameters or Authorization headers
• Request bodies — send JSON, form data, or a file
• Authentication — attach a Bearer token or API key