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Your first request

Welcome! If you’re new to ATAC, this page will walk you through creating and sending your very first HTTP request — step by step — so you can start exploring its features right away.

1. Launch ATAC​

After installing ATAC (for example, using your distribution’s package manager), you can start it by running this command in your terminal:

atac

This will open the ATAC interface inside your terminal.

If you’re unsure what to do next, look at the bottom-right corner of the screen — there you’ll see the available actions and their shortcut keys.

2. Create a Collection​

In ATAC, a Collection is like a folder: it groups multiple related requests together.

To create one:

  • Press n (the key shown next to the "Create" action).
  • Choose to create a Collection (chosen by default if no collection exist yet).
  • Give it a name (for example, My First Collection).
note

ATAC does not come with a default collection — you create your own to organize requests the way you want.

3. Create Your First Request​

With your collection selected:

  • Press n again.
  • This time, choose to create a Request inside the collection.
  • Fill in the Name (e.g., Get Example)
  • Once the request is selected you can edit these two fields :
    • Method (e.g., GET)
    • URL (e.g., https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1)

and you’re ready!

tip

If you’re on Linux and Ctrl + c / Ctrl + v don’t work for copy-paste, remember to use Ctrl + Shift + c / Ctrl + Shift + v — that’s a terminal thing, not specific to ATAC.

4. Send the Request​

Once your request is set up:

  • Select it in the list if not done yet.
  • Press space (the key shown for "Send") to execute it.

You’ll see the response displayed, including status code, headers, and body. You can cycle through those tabs with Shift + tab

5. Explore and Customize​

By pressing tab and cycling through the request tabs, you can:

  • Edit headers, query parameters, or body
  • Set authentication (press a to cycle through auth types)
  • Write pre- or post-request scripts (if you want automation)

Need More Help?​

  • Press Ctrl + h inside the app for in-app and key-bindings help
  • Check the documentation on this site for detailed guides
  • Look at the bottom-right of the ATAC interface to see your next possible actions