Getting started

HarborClient is a desktop app for building, sending, and inspecting HTTP requests. You do not need Node.js, pnpm, or any other development tools — download the installer for your operating system, install it, and launch the app. Your collections and requests are saved locally on your machine.

Verbose logging

HarborClient supports optional main-process logging for troubleshooting.

Flag	Environment variable	What is logged
-v / --verbose	HARBOR_VERBOSE=1	Startup steps and diagnostic output
-vv / --very-verbose	HARBOR_VERBOSE=2	Everything in -v, plus each outbound HTTP request's method, URL, request headers, and body

Response headers and response bodies are never logged, even with -vv.

These flags and HARBOR_VERBOSE control console output only. To write the same diagnostic channels to a rotating log file on disk, set Log file path in Settings → General. When a path is configured, HarborClient writes [verbose] and [request] lines to that file regardless of whether you pass -v or -vv. See Settings — Diagnostic log file for rotation defaults and Browse behavior.

Packaged build:

./HarborClient -v
./HarborClient -vv

Development:

pnpm dev -- -v
pnpm dev -- -vv

Seed collection

Pass --seed on startup to ensure the HarborClient Echo sample collection exists. The flag is idempotent: it imports the collection only when it is missing.

Packaged build:

./HarborClient --seed

Development:

pnpm dev -- --seed

Plugins

Pass --disable-plugins on startup to keep every plugin inactive for that session only. Saved enablement in Settings is unchanged; plugins return to their previous on/off state on the next launch without the flag.

Packaged build:

./HarborClient --disable-plugins

Development:

pnpm dev -- --disable-plugins

Theme

Pass --theme on startup to use a built-in appearance theme for that session only. Saved Settings are unchanged; the theme returns to your stored preference on the next launch without the flag.

Value	Description
light	Light theme
dark	Dark theme
system	Match the operating system preference
high-contrast	High-contrast theme (aliases: high contrast, high_contrast)

Packaged build:

./HarborClient --theme dark
./HarborClient --theme high-contrast

Development:

pnpm dev -- --theme dark
pnpm dev -- --theme high-contrast

Quit without warning

Pass --quit-without-warning on startup to close or quit the app without prompting when request tabs have unsaved changes. Unsaved edits are discarded.

To make this behavior persistent without passing the flag on every launch, uncheck Warn when exiting the app with unsaved changes in Settings → General. See Settings — Unsaved changes and confirmations.

Packaged build:

./HarborClient --quit-without-warning

Development:

pnpm dev -- --quit-without-warning

Theme picker

Pass --pick-theme on startup to open the appearance theme picker on launch. HarborClient also shows this picker automatically on first install until you choose a theme.

Packaged build:

./HarborClient --pick-theme

Development:

pnpm dev -- --pick-theme

What's next

• Action menu — global navigation, actions, and slash commands.
• Search — sidebar, settings, and marketplace search.
• Making requests — build, send, and inspect HTTP requests.
• Collections — organize saved requests and share variables, headers, and scripts.
• Features — overview of the request builder, collections, tabs, and response viewer.
• Environments — define variable groups and switch between them while testing APIs.
• Request scripts — run JavaScript before or after requests to set variables and write tests.
• Storage — pluggable backends, team collaboration, and choosing where data lives.
• Settings — configure appearance, storage connections, and backend field reference.
• Team hubs — connect to HarborClient Team Hub for shared collections with API tokens.