A powerful, terminal-native API debugging and testing tool designed to streamline HTTP requests, assertions, and document generation directly from the command line.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install api-workbench
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install api-workbench using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is API Workbench?
API Workbench is a robust, terminal-native API debugging tool that empowers developers to inspect, test, and document their web services directly from the command line. Designed as one of the highly functional Openclaw Skills, it bridges the gap between manual HTTP execution and complex testing suites. By supporting multi-mode inputs—including natural language prompts, curl commands, and OpenAPI specifications—it lets you run queries instantly without switching to heavy graphical interfaces.
Whether you are verifying public endpoints or orchestrating multi-step authentication sequences, this tool provides real-time response analysis, execution timing, and detailed error tracking. Built with native security measures like local request execution and SSRF protection, it is an essential resource for modern backend and frontend developers seeking to optimize their workflow within Openclaw Skills.
API Workbench Use Cases
- Quick endpoint validation using natural language queries directly from your terminal.
- Importing and immediately testing complex curl commands shared by team members or extracted from browser dev tools.
- Automating multi-step API workflows and token passing using JSON-based request collections.
- Generating complete, markdown-formatted API documentation automatically from real request-response cycles.
- Validating response standards and SLAs using built-in assertion tests for status codes, headers, and response times.
How API Workbench Works
- Input Parse: The tool receives an input via the command line (such as a natural language query, a raw curl command, or an OpenAPI JSON specification) and routes it through specialized parsers (
nl_parser.pyorcurl_parser.py). - Security & Validation Check: The request is checked against a local security layer (
security.py) to block SSRF attempts targeting private IP spaces (e.g., 127.0.0.1) and sanitize credentials. - HTTP Dispatch: The HTTP engine (
request.py) executes the request over the network from the local machine. - Response Processing: The system parses the HTTP response, formatted JSON outputs, headers, response sizes, and latency metadata.
- Assertion & Logging: Built-in assertions validate response conditions, update request history locally, and output formatted test results to the console.
API Workbench Setup
To quickly install and get started with API Workbench on Openclaw Skills, run the following commands in your terminal:
# Install the API Workbench skill
clawhub install api-workbench
# Run your first natural language GET request
clawhub run api-workbench "GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1"
For advanced schemas (such as parsing YAML-based OpenAPI specifications), ensure you have optional packages installed in your environment if required by your script context.
API Workbench Data Schema & Taxonomy
API Workbench organizes its logical components cleanly to ensure rapid execution and offline security. Below is the file structure and purpose layout:
| Directory / File | Description |
|---|---|
scripts/request.py |
Handles outbound connection, fetching, and network payload assembly. |
scripts/response.py |
Parses response headers, sizes, and formats JSON body outputs. |
scripts/curl_parser.py |
Converts complex curl syntax into actionable HTTP request objects. |
scripts/assertions.py |
Runs logical validations (e.g., response time thresholds, status checks). |
scripts/collection.py |
Coordinates sequential execution of multi-step collections. |
scripts/security.py |
Prevents SSRF attacks and handles secure environment variables. |
Request History & Configuration
Requests are saved locally (up to 100 historical records) ensuring your credentials and auth tokens never leave your local machine or get stored in logs.
API Workbench Advanced Features
- Data-Driven Collection Runner: Execute nested JSON collections (
collection.py) that pass dynamically extracted variables, such as authorization tokens, across successive requests. - OpenAPI Schema Import: Automatically discover and test up to dozens of endpoints by feeding OpenAPI/Swagger JSON specifications directly to the CLI.
- Local SSRF Defense Layer: Active network protection automatically blocks queries to localhost and private networks (10.x, 192.168.x) safeguarding your intranet while leveraging Openclaw Skills.
- Automated Markdown API Docs: Seamlessly convert real-time request and response payloads into clean, production-ready Markdown documentation.
- Local Environment Variable Support: Use native
$ENV_VARor${ENV_VAR}syntax to securely parameterize API keys, passwords, and server domains without hardcoding values in command history.
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