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trillium client

A curl-like HTTP client that pretty-prints JSON, streams bodies, follows redirects by default, and negotiates HTTP/2 over TLS via ALPN.

trillium client <METHOD> <URL> [OPTIONS]
trillium client get https://example.com
trillium client get https://httpbin.org/json

The method is case-insensitive (get, GET, Get all work). A URL with no scheme is assumed to be http://.

Output​

When stdout is a terminal, client formats for humans:

  • JSON responses (any application/json or +json content type) are pretty-printed with syntax-colored output.
  • Other bodies stream straight to stdout.
  • A colored Status: line is printed for non-200 responses.

When stdout is not a terminal (piped or redirected), the colorized status line and request log are suppressed and JSON is emitted as plain pretty-printed text, so it composes cleanly with jq and friends:

trillium client get https://httpbin.org/json | jq .slideshow.title

Raise the verbosity with -v to also print the request line, request and response headers, peer address, negotiated version, and any response trailers.

Request bodies​

Provide a body inline, from a file, or from stdin — the three forms are equivalent:

trillium client post https://httpbin.org/anything -b '{"hello": "world"}'
trillium client post https://httpbin.org/anything -f ./body.json
cat ./body.json | trillium client post https://httpbin.org/anything
FlagNotes
-b, --bodyinline request body string
-f, --fileread the body from a file (streamed)
(stdin)a piped/redirected stdin is streamed as the body

File and stdin bodies are streamed, not buffered, so they're fine for large uploads.

Headers​

Repeat -H KEY=VALUE for each header:

trillium client post https://httpbin.org/anything \
  -H Authorization="Bearer $TOKEN" -H Content-Type=application/json \
  -b '{"hello": "world"}'

Saving the body​

-o / --output-file writes the response body to a file instead of stdout. With no argument it derives the filename from the URL's last path segment:

trillium client get https://example.com/report.pdf -o          # → ./report.pdf
trillium client get https://example.com/report.pdf -o out.pdf  # → ./out.pdf

Redirects​

Redirects are followed automatically (up to 10 hops). HTTPS→HTTP downgrades are refused unless you opt in.

FlagDefaultNotes
--no-follow-redirectsprint the 3xx response as-is instead of following
--max-redirects10maximum hops before erroring
--allow-downgradepermit following an https:// → http:// redirect

TLS and HTTP version​

trillium client get https://example.com --http-version 2
trillium client get https://localhost:8443 -k     # self-signed dev cert
FlagDefaultNotes
-t, --tlsrustlsclient TLS backend: rustls/native/openssl/none
--http-version1.10.9, 1.0, 1.1, 2, or 3 (h3 requires the h3 feature)
-k, --insecureskip certificate verification (rustls only) — dangerous

Over TLS, HTTP/2 is negotiated via ALPN when the server supports it; pass --http-version to force a specific protocol. Requests to https:// URLs with --tls none will fail.

Timeouts and dry runs​

trillium client get https://slow.example.com --timeout 30s
trillium client post https://api.example.com -b '{}' --dry-run
FlagDefaultNotes
--timeout10sper-request timeout (e.g. 30s, 1m, 500ms)
--no-timeoutdisable the per-request timeout entirely
--dry-runprint the request that would be sent, then exit

--dry-run is handy for inspecting exactly what would go over the wire — method, URL, headers, and body — without making a request.

Full flag reference​

trillium client [OPTIONS] <METHOD> <URL>

Arguments:
  <METHOD>  HTTP method (case-insensitive)
  <URL>     Request URL (http:// assumed if no scheme)

Options:
  -b, --body <BODY>
  -f, --file <FILE>
  -o, --output-file [<OUTPUT_FILE>]
  -H, --headers <HEADERS>          KEY=VALUE, repeatable
  -t, --tls <TLS>                  [default: rustls]
      --http-version <HTTP_VERSION>  [default: 1.1]
  -k, --insecure
      --dry-run
  -v, --verbose...
  -q, --quiet...
  -h, --help

Timeout:
      --timeout <TIMEOUT>          [default: 10s]
      --no-timeout

Redirects:
      --no-follow-redirects
      --max-redirects <MAX_REDIRECTS>  [default: 10]
      --allow-downgrade