▶️ Run

The run command executes requests stored in your Fetch Client data directory. Depending on the options you use, you can run:

• A single request
• Every request in a folder
• Every request in a collection
• Every request in every collection
• A raw cURL command

While it runs, Fetch Client CLI automatically:

• Resolves variables
• Runs any configured Pre-Requests
• Sends the HTTP request
• Runs Tests
• Shows the result
• Generates reports (optional)

💻 Syntax

fc-cli run [options]

⚙️ Options

Option	What it does
--req	Run a request
--fol	Run a folder
--col	Run a collection
--curl	Run a raw cURL command
--name	Find the resource by name
--id	Find the resource by ID
--all	Run every collection/folder
--var-id	Override the Variable Set by id
--var-name	Override the Variable Set by name
--export	Export the run results
--export-path	Folder where reports get saved

Simplified syntax

The CLI supports a simplified syntax where names or IDs can be passed directly after --req, --fol, --col, and --var.

For example:

fc-cli run --req "Get Users"
fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests"
fc-cli run --var "QA Variables"

The legacy options (--name and --id) are still fully supported for backward compatibility.

📖 Run Commands

Action	Preferred command	Legacy command
Run a request by name	fc-cli run --req "Get Users"	fc-cli run --req --name "Get Users"
Run a request by ID	fc-cli run --req <request-id>	fc-cli run --req --id <request-id>
Run a folder by name	fc-cli run --fol "Authentication"	fc-cli run --fol --name "Authentication"
Run a folder by ID	fc-cli run --fol <folder-id>	fc-cli run --fol --id <folder-id>
Run a collection by name	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests"	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests"
Run a collection by ID	fc-cli run --col <collection-id>	fc-cli run --col --id <collection-id>
Run every collection	fc-cli run --col --all	Same
Run an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json	Same
Run a folder from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol "Authentication"	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol --name "Authentication"
Run a folder by ID from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol <folder-id>	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol --id <folder-id>
Run a request from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req "Login"	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req --name "Login"
Run a request by ID from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req <request-id>	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req --id <request-id>
Override variables for an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --var-file variables.json	Same
Run a raw cURL command	fc-cli run --curl "curl https://api.example.com/users"	Same
Override Variable Set by name	fc-cli run --req "Login" --var "QA Variables"	fc-cli run --req --name "Login" --var-name "QA Variables"
Override Variable Set by ID	fc-cli run --req "Login" --var <variable-set-id>	fc-cli run --req --name "Login" --var-id <variable-set-id>
Export an HTML report	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests" --export html	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests" --export html
Export a JSON report	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests" --export json	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests" --export json
Export an XML report	fc-cli run --col --all --export xml	Same
Export to a custom folder	fc-cli run --col --all --export json --export-path "./reports"	Same

📨 Run a Request

Run a single request by name or ID.

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Run by name	fc-cli run --req "Get Users"	fc-cli run --req --name "Get Users"
Run by ID	fc-cli run --req <request-id>	fc-cli run --req --id <request-id>

📂 Run a Folder

Run every request in a folder.

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Run by name	fc-cli run --fol "Authentication"	fc-cli run --fol --name "Authentication"
Run by ID	fc-cli run --fol <folder-id>	fc-cli run --fol --id <folder-id>

Requests run sequentially, in the same order they appear in the Fetch Client extension.

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📚 Run a Collection

Run every request in a collection.

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Run by name	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests"	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests"
Run by ID	fc-cli run --col <collection-id>	fc-cli run --col --id <collection-id>

---

🚀 Run All Collections

Run every request across every collection.

fc-cli run --col --all

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📦 Run an Exported Collection

Fetch Client CLI can execute an exported collection JSON file directly.

This mode does not require the Fetch Client database or the VS Code extension. Simply share the exported collection and run it anywhere the CLI is installed.

Database-free execution

Running an exported collection is completely self-contained.

• ✅ No Fetch Client database required
• ✅ No VS Code extension required
• ✅ Perfect for CI/CD pipelines
• ✅ Easy to share with teammates
• ✅ Great for running APIs on build agents or remote machines

Collection

fc-cli run --file collection.json

Folder

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Run by name	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol "Authentication"	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol --name "Authentication"
Run by ID	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol <folder-id>	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol --id <folder-id>

Request

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Run by name	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req "Login"	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req --name "Login"
Run by ID	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req <request-id>	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req --id <request-id>

Override Variables

Replace the embedded variables using another exported Variable Set.

Action	Command
Override collection variables	fc-cli run --file collection.json --var-file variables.json
Override folder variables	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol "Authentication" --var-file variables.json
Override request variables	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req "Login" --var-file variables.json

info

When using --file, the CLI loads everything from the exported files.

Database-based options such as --var, --var-id, and --var-name are not supported. Use --var-file instead.

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🌐 Run a Raw cURL Command

Run a raw cURL command without importing it into Fetch Client first.

fc-cli run --curl "curl https://api.example.com/users"

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🔄 Override the Variable Set

By default, requests use the Variable Set linked to the collection. You can temporarily override it when running a request, folder, or collection.

Request

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Variable Set by name	fc-cli run --req "Login" --var "QA Variables"	fc-cli run --req --name "Login" --var-name "QA Variables"
Variable Set by ID	fc-cli run --req "Login" --var <variable-set-id>	fc-cli run --req --name "Login" --var-id <variable-set-id>

Folder

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Variable Set by name	fc-cli run --fol "Authentication" --var "QA Variables"	fc-cli run --fol --name "Authentication" --var-name "QA Variables"
Variable Set by ID	fc-cli run --fol "Authentication" --var <variable-set-id>	fc-cli run --fol --name "Authentication" --var-id <variable-set-id>

Collection

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Variable Set by name	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests" --var "QA Variables"	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests" --var-name "QA Variables"
Variable Set by ID	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests" --var <variable-set-id>	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests" --var-id <variable-set-id>

Variable Set Priority

If a collection already has a linked Variable Set, that linked Variable Set always takes precedence.

In this case, --var, --var-id, and --var-name are ignored, and the CLI displays an informational message.

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🔗 Pre-Requests

If a request has one or more Pre-Requests configured, Fetch Client CLI executes them automatically before the main request.

Common use cases include:

• Authenticating users
• Generating access tokens
• Preparing test data
• Executing dependent requests

No additional command-line options are required.

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✅ Tests

After each request completes, Fetch Client CLI automatically executes any configured Tests and displays the results.

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📊 Export Reports

Use the --export option to generate a report after execution completes.

Supported formats

• HTML
• JSON
• CSV
• XML
• NUnit

Export Examples

Action	Preferred	Legacy (still supported)
Export a request report	fc-cli run --req "Login" --export html	fc-cli run --req --name "Login" --export html
Export a collection report	fc-cli run --col "Regression Tests" --export json	fc-cli run --col --name "Regression Tests" --export json
Export all collections	fc-cli run --col --all --export xml	Same
Export an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --export html	Same
Export a folder from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol "Authentication" --export json	fc-cli run --file collection.json --fol --name "Authentication" --export json
Export a request from an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req "Login" --export xml	fc-cli run --file collection.json --req --name "Login" --export xml

📁 Export to a Custom Folder

Use --export-path to specify where reports are saved.

Action	Command
Export all collections	fc-cli run --col --all --export json --export-path "./reports"
Export an exported collection	fc-cli run --file collection.json --export html --export-path "./reports"

info

--export-path must point to an existing directory.

If omitted, reports are saved to the fetch-client-exports folder located alongside your Fetch Client data directory.

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🔄 Backward Compatibility

The simplified syntax is recommended for all new commands and scripts.

For compatibility with existing automation and CI/CD pipelines, the legacy options continue to be fully supported.

Preferred	Legacy
--req "Login"	--req --name "Login"
--req <request-id>	--req --id <request-id>
--fol "Authentication"	--fol --name "Authentication"
--fol <folder-id>	--fol --id <folder-id>
--col "Regression Tests"	--col --name "Regression Tests"
--col <collection-id>	--col --id <collection-id>
--var "QA Variables"	--var-name "QA Variables"
--var <variable-set-id>	--var-id <variable-set-id>