When you run httpYac tests in your CI pipeline, everything goes smoothly: tests pass, the team knows it, but as soon as someone asks 'Can we see a report?', you realize staring at terminal output is not enough. That's where httpyac-plugin-reporter-html comes in—a tool that transforms your test results into a self-contained, dependency-free HTML report.
If you haven't used httpYac yet, think of it as the command-line sibling of the REST Client VS Code extension. You write your API calls in plain .http files—method, URL, headers, body, assertions—and run them from the terminal or in your CI/CD pipelines. It's fast, scriptable, and integrates seamlessly with any workflow. But it was missing one piece: a shareable, human-readable report.
That piece is httpyac-plugin-reporter-html. This plugin hooks into the httpYac lifecycle and generates a single standalone HTML file after your tests complete. Open it in any browser—no server, no internet, no dependencies. Everything—CSS, JavaScript, test data—is inlined into the file.
Installation is straightforward: npm install --save-dev httpyac-plugin-reporter-html. httpYac automatically discovers the plugin with no extra configuration. Then run your tests with httpyac send **/*.http and the report.html file appears in your project root. If you need to customize the title or output path, you can add an htmlReporter block in your .httpyac.config.js.
What does the report actually show? It's not a simple wall of green checkmarks. Each test region gets a card with everything you need: a hero bar with 9 statistics—requests, passed, failed, skipped, duration plus test-level totals—color-coded cards (green for 2xx, amber for 3xx, orange for 4xx, red for 5xx), collapsible panels for request and response headers and bodies (with pretty-printed JSON), assertion badges that display the error message inline when they fail, metadata per request (source file, line number, timestamp, titles and descriptions from your .http file), and a client-side filter and search that lets you filter by outcome or HTTP status class without page reload. Non-HTTP regions (AMQP, MQTT, gRPC, WebSocket) are automatically skipped, keeping the report focused on HTTP requests.
Under the hood, the plugin hooks into the responseLogging lifecycle event, not onResponse. This distinction matters: onResponse fires immediately after the HTTP response arrives—before assertions run. Collecting results there gives you empty test data every time. responseLogging fires after the full execution loop including all assertions. By then, every assertion has been evaluated and the full status (SUCCESS, FAILED, ERROR, SKIPPED) is available on the region. Additionally, the report is written progressively after each request, so even if a run is interrupted mid-way, you get a partial report with whatever completed.
This approach is perfect for CI environments. For instance, in GitHub Actions you can upload the report as an artifact, even if tests fail, using if: always(). That way the whole team can download the HTML and review results without relying on external infrastructure.
At Q2BSTUDIO, a company specialized in custom software development, we know that software quality rests on solid automated testing. That's why we incorporate tools like httpYac and its reporting plugin into our workflows. Our clients migrating to cloud AWS/Azure often need shareable reports that don't require extra infrastructure, and this plugin fits perfectly. Moreover, in projects where we integrate AI, cybersecurity, or BI/Power BI, having a clear API test report accelerates regression detection and improves collaboration between technical and business teams.
The plugin's simplicity doesn't limit its power. With configuration options like report title and output path, it adapts to any project. And if you need additional features—JSON export, multiple output formats, Slack integration—the project is open to contributions on GitHub.
In short, httpyac-plugin-reporter-html solves a real problem: how to share API test results elegantly, without relying on external services and with a user experience that any team member can appreciate. Give it a try, use it in your pipeline, and discover how a well-designed report can improve communication in your development team.
