Syntax Overview

The Restflow DSL is designed to be as readable and intuitive as possible. This page provides a comprehensive reference for all the components of the .flow file syntax.

File Structure

A .flow file is a plain text file that consists of one or more steps. Comments can be added on any line by starting the line with a #.

Step Declaration

Every step must begin with a level-3 markdown header (###).

### This is a valid step name

HTTP Request

The line immediately following the step name defines the HTTP request.

METHOD /path/to/resource

• Supported Methods: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, HEAD, OPTIONS.
• URL: Can be a relative path (e.g., /users/1) or a full URL (e.g., https://api.example.com/users/1). Relative paths are automatically prefixed with the BASE_URL from your environment file.

Headers

HTTP headers are specified as key-value pairs, one per line, after the request line.

Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}

Request Body

The request body is placed after the headers, separated by a single blank line.

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com"
}

Directives

Directives are special commands that are executed after the HTTP request is complete. They always start with a > character.

The two main directives are assert and capture.

> assert status == 200
> capture userId = body.id

A Complete Example

Putting it all together, here is a complete, valid step:

# This flow registers a new user and captures their ID.
### Register New User
POST /users
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Jane Doe",
  "email": "jane.doe@example.com",
  "password": "a-secure-password"
}

# Verify that the user was created successfully
> assert status == 201
> assert body.id != null
> assert body.email == "jane.doe@example.com"

# Capture the new user's ID for use in subsequent steps
> capture userId = body.id