The MCP REST API Tester is a TypeScript-based server that allows you to test and interact with any REST API endpoints directly from your development environment through Cline. It provides detailed request/response information and handles authentication automatically.
To install REST API Tester for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install dkmaker-mcp-rest-api --client claude
First, install the package globally:
npm install -g dkmaker-mcp-rest-api
Then, configure Cline Custom Instructions by adding the following to your Cline settings (Settings > Custom Instructions):
# REST API Testing Instructions
The `test_request` tool enables testing, debugging, and interacting with REST API endpoints. The tool provides comprehensive request/response information and handles authentication automatically.
## When to Use
- Testing specific API endpoints
- Debugging API responses
- Verifying API functionality
- Checking response times
- Validating request/response formats
- Testing local development servers
- Testing API sequences
- Verifying error handling
## Key Features
- Supports GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH methods
- Handles authentication (Basic, Bearer, API Key)
- Normalizes endpoints automatically
- Provides detailed response information
- Configurable SSL verification and response limits
## Resources
The following resources provide detailed documentation:
- examples: Usage examples and common patterns
- response-format: Response structure and fields
- config: Configuration options and setup guide
Access these resources to understand usage, response formats, and configuration options.
## Important Notes
- Review API implementation for expected behavior
- Handle sensitive data appropriately
- Consider rate limits and API constraints
- Restart server after configuration changes
Add the server to your MCP configuration based on your operating system:
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Due to a known issue with Windows path resolution, you must use the full path instead of %APPDATA%.
Add to C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\globalStorage\saoudrizwan.claude-dev\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"rest-api": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"C:/Users/<YourUsername>/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/dkmaker-mcp-rest-api/build/index.js"
],
"env": {
"REST_BASE_URL": "https://api.example.com",
"AUTH_BASIC_USERNAME": "your-username",
"AUTH_BASIC_PASSWORD": "your-password",
"REST_ENABLE_SSL_VERIFY": "false",
"REST_RESPONSE_SIZE_LIMIT": "10000",
"HEADER_X-API-Version": "2.0",
"HEADER_Custom-Client": "my-client",
"HEADER_Accept": "application/json"
}
}
}
}
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"rest-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"dkmaker-mcp-rest-api"
],
"env": {
"REST_BASE_URL": "https://api.example.com",
"AUTH_BASIC_USERNAME": "your-username",
"AUTH_BASIC_PASSWORD": "your-password",
"REST_ENABLE_SSL_VERIFY": "false",
"HEADER_X-API-Version": "2.0",
"HEADER_Custom-Client": "my-client",
"HEADER_Accept": "application/json"
}
}
}
}
Only configure one authentication method at a time:
Basic Authentication:
AUTH_BASIC_USERNAME: "your-username"
AUTH_BASIC_PASSWORD: "your-password"
Bearer Token (if Basic Auth is not configured):
AUTH_BEARER: "your-token"
API Key (if neither Basic Auth nor Bearer Token is configured):
AUTH_APIKEY_HEADER_NAME: "X-API-Key"
AUTH_APIKEY_VALUE: "your-api-key"
Once installed and configured, you can use the REST API Tester through Cline:
use_mcp_tool('rest-api', 'test_request', {
"method": "GET",
"endpoint": "/users"
});
use_mcp_tool('rest-api', 'test_request', {
"method": "POST",
"endpoint": "/users",
"body": {
"name": "John Doe",
"email": "[email protected]"
}
});
use_mcp_tool('rest-api', 'test_request', {
"method": "GET",
"endpoint": "/products",
"headers": {
"Accept-Language": "en-US",
"X-Custom-Header": "custom-value"
}
});
To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:
claude mcp add-json "rest-api" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","dkmaker-mcp-rest-api"],"env":{"REST_BASE_URL":"https://api.example.com"}}'See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.
There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.
If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.
To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".
When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:
{
"mcpServers": {
"rest-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"dkmaker-mcp-rest-api"
],
"env": {
"REST_BASE_URL": "https://api.example.com"
}
}
}
}To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.
Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.
The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.
You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.
To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:
1. Find your configuration file:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json2. Add this to your configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"rest-api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"dkmaker-mcp-rest-api"
],
"env": {
"REST_BASE_URL": "https://api.example.com"
}
}
}
}3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect