# Getting Started

This page covers installing go-rest-client and sending your first request.

## Prerequisites

| Item | Requirement |
|------|-------------|
| Go | 1.25.1 or higher (declared in `go.mod`; only needed to build from source or `go install`) |
| Terminal | 256-color support; rendering is handled by `tcell` |
| Network | Access to the target APIs in your `.http` file |

## Installation

### From Source

```bash
git clone https://github.com/pardnchiu/go-rest-client.git
cd go-rest-client
go build -o gorc ./cmd/tui
sudo cp gorc /usr/local/bin/gorc
```

### Using go install

```bash
go install github.com/pardnchiu/go-rest-client/cmd/tui@latest
sudo cp "$(go env GOPATH)/bin/tui" /usr/local/bin/gorc
```

`go install` names the binary `tui` after the package directory; copying it as `gorc` is only for convenience, and the rest of this site refers to it as `gorc`.

## First Run

Create `api.http`:

```http
### Get User Info
GET https://api.github.com/users/pardnchiu
Accept: application/json

###
```

Launch:

```bash
gorc api.http
```

The left pane lists "Get User Info" and the right pane previews the request line and headers. Press <kbd>Enter</kbd> to send; the right pane then shows the status, response headers, duration, and the formatted JSON body. Press <kbd>Esc</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl+C</kbd> to exit.

## Next Steps

- Write more requests: [.http File Format](/http-file-format)
- Learn the keys: [Keyboard Controls](/keyboard-controls)
- Edit while testing: [Hot Reload](/hot-reload)