Does Karve read http-client.env.json environment files?

No. Karve uses plain .env files (KEY=value lines) registered in its Environments panel, injected into {{variable}} resolution on send. The variables themselves are the same double-curly-brace references, so the .http files stay portable — only the environment file format differs.

Karve — the same .http files, without the IDE

Q: Do my JetBrains .http files work in Karve?

Yes — it's the same plain-text format. Requests, headers, bodies, ### separators, @variables, and {{variable}} references open and run in Karve as-is. The exceptions are JetBrains-specific extras: response handler scripts and http-client.env.json environment files, which Karve does not execute or read.

Q: Can I use the JetBrains HTTP Client without an IDE?

JetBrains offers ijhttp, a free command-line runner that executes .http files in a terminal or CI and requires a JDK. There is no standalone JetBrains GUI — the graphical HTTP Client lives inside the IDE. Karve is a standalone native Windows GUI for the same files, with no IDE or JVM involved.

Q: Can I open .http files without IntelliJ or Rider?

Yes. A .http file is plain text, so any editor opens it. What matters is what runs it. Without IntelliJ or Rider your options are Karve (double-click the file on Windows and press Run), the VS Code REST Client extension, the Visual Studio 2022 .http editor, or the free ijhttp command-line runner, which needs a JDK but no IDE license.

This isn't a rivalry — it's a relay. The JetBrains HTTP Client is one of the best reasons the .http format exists, and if you live in IntelliJ or Rider you should absolutely use it there. Karve picks up where the IDE stops: a standalone native Windows app for the same files — for the machine without an IDE license, the QA teammate, or the moment you want to run requests without opening a project.

Why Karve

What you get

A dedicated native Windows home for the .http files you already write: double-click a file and run it, gather files from every repo into virtual folders without opening projects, keep per-file .env environments and a persistent searchable history — no IDE, no JVM, no per-project window.

What it leaves out — on purpose

No response handler scripts or request chaining, no http-client.env.json support (Karve uses plain .env), no CLI for CI, no code completion tied to your Spring or ASP.NET routes. Inside the IDE, JetBrains keeps those advantages.

Side by side

Dimension	Karve	JetBrains HTTP Client
Runs as	Standalone native Windows app (WinUI 3)	Feature inside JetBrains IDEs; separate free ijhttp CLI (needs a JDK)
Licensing & price	$29.99 sale ($39.99 regular), one-time	Bundled with paid JetBrains IDE subscriptions; CLI free
Request format	Standard .http/.rest files	Same .http format
Scope	Any file on disk; virtual folders gather files across repos	Files within the open IDE project
Environments	Plain .env files (dotenv), global active environment	http-client.env.json (+ private variant)
Scripting	None — requests stay declarative	JavaScript response handlers, request chaining, tests
History	Persistent, searchable, saved locally across sessions	Recent responses kept per project
CI / automation	None	ijhttp CLI runs files in CI

JetBrains details reflect its public documentation as of July 2026; Karve's reflect the shipping v1.0.5 scope.

Where Karve fits

The JetBrains HTTP Client's strength is also its boundary: it lives inside an IDE window, scoped to the open project, on a machine with a JetBrains license. That's perfect while you're deep in the code. It's less perfect when your .http files are spread across a dozen services, when a teammate without an IDE seat needs to reproduce a call, or when opening a heavy IDE just to send one request feels absurd.

Karve is the standalone half of that workflow. The same files — unchanged, still in Git, still runnable in the IDE — get a fast native Windows app of their own: organized across repos in virtual folders, with environments, tabs, and a history that survives restarts. Keep the IDE client; give the files a home outside it.

Using Karve alongside Rider

Rider ships the same HTTP Client as IntelliJ IDEA, so everything on this page applies to it unchanged. If you're a .NET developer on Windows, Rider is probably where the .http files were written in the first place, and nothing about Karve asks you to stop. There's no plugin to install and no import step. Karve opens the files already sitting in your solution directory.

What changes is what happens between coding sessions. Rider's HTTP Client is scoped to the open solution, and its request log lives in that solution's .idea/httpRequests/ folder, so the calls you made against the payments service yesterday aren't there when today's work is in the gateway service. Karve gathers .http files from every repository into one window, keeps searchable history across all of them, and starts fast enough to run one request without loading a solution.

In practice you write requests where the code is, in Rider, and keep Karve open beside it for the debugging loop, the cross-service calls, and the machines that have no JetBrains license at all: QA, a build box, a colleague. See also the .NET developer workflow.

Why developers choose Karve

Run .http files without opening an IDE — double-click and send.
One workspace over every repo's request files, not one project window at a time.
No JetBrains subscription or JVM needed — one-time $29.99 during the current sale ($39.99 regular).
QA and teammates without IDE licenses get the same requests, same format, native app.
Persistent searchable history and per-file .env environments built in.

Same format the IDE taught you — in a home of its own.

FAQ

Do my JetBrains .http files work in Karve?

Yes — same plain-text format: requests, headers, bodies, ### separators, @variables, and {{variable}} references run as-is. JetBrains-specific extras — response handler scripts and http-client.env.json — are the exception: Karve doesn't execute or read those.

Can I use the JetBrains HTTP Client without an IDE?

Only as ijhttp, the free CLI runner (JDK required) — there's no standalone JetBrains GUI. Karve is a standalone native Windows GUI for the same files.

Is there a Rider alternative for running .http files?

Rider ships the same JetBrains HTTP Client as IntelliJ IDEA, so the answer is the same. Karve is a standalone native Windows app that runs those exact files without opening a solution or holding a JetBrains license. It replaces neither Rider nor a plugin: keep writing requests in Rider, and Karve gives the files a workspace spanning every repository instead of one solution at a time.

Can I open .http files without IntelliJ or Rider?

Yes. A .http file is plain text, so any editor opens it; what matters is what runs it. Without IntelliJ or Rider that means Karve (double-click on Windows, press Run), the VS Code REST Client, the Visual Studio 2022 .http editor, or the free ijhttp CLI, which needs a JDK but no IDE license. The run guide walks through all five.

Does Karve read http-client.env.json?

No — Karve uses plain .env files in its Environments panel. The {{variable}} references in your .http files stay identical; see the environments guide for the mapping.

Working in the IDE day to day? See the hands-on JetBrains HTTP Client guide for the portable-syntax boundaries.

On Karve's roadmap

Everything above ships in Karve v1.0.5 today — including environments and persistent, searchable history. A few more things are planned for upcoming v1.x updates, included in the one-time price and on the way:

Workspace Code completion Import (Postman & cURL) WebSocket

See the full roadmap for what's coming and what's deliberately out of scope.

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