README.adoc

April 28, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

:doctype: book

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= HAL Explorer

HAL Explorer helps you explore http://stateless.co/hal_specification.html[HAL]- and https://rwcbook.github.io/hal-forms/[HAL-FORMS]-based RESTful Hypermedia APIs.

== Reference Docs and Demos

|=== | Release | 2.3.0 | https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/release/reference-doc/[Reference Documentation] | https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/release/hal-explorer/#theme=Cosmo&uri=examples/examples.hal-forms.json[HAL Explorer Demo] | Snapshot | 2.3.1-SNAPSHOT | https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/snapshot/reference-doc/[Reference Documentation] | https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/snapshot/hal-explorer/#theme=Cosmo&uri=examples/examples.hal-forms.json[HAL Explorer Demo] |===

You can also try HAL Explorer online at https://hal-explorer.com.

== Screenshots

Dark Mode with Default Theme:

image::./doc/img/hal-explorer-dark.png[HAL Explorer Dark Mode]

Light Mode with Default Theme:

image::./doc/img/hal-explorer-light.png[HAL Explorer Light Mode]

== Features

  • Dark/Light/Auto color modes with 26+ Bootstrap themes
  • Full HTTP method support (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS)
  • HAL-FORMS support with property validation
  • Spring Data REST integration with profile detection
  • URI template parameter editor
  • Custom request headers
  • CURIE-based documentation
  • Syntax-highlighted JSON responses

See the https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/release/reference-doc/#features[complete feature list] in the documentation.

== Backend Integration

WebJar (Java/Spring Boot):

Maven: [source,xml]

org.webjars hal-explorer 2.3.0 ----

Gradle (Groovy): [source,groovy]

runtimeOnly 'org.webjars:hal-explorer:2.3.0'

Gradle (Kotlin): [source,kotlin]

runtimeOnly("org.webjars:hal-explorer:2.3.0")

Access at: /webjars/hal-explorer/2.3.0/index.html

For Spring Data REST integration, see the https://toedter.github.io/hal-explorer/release/reference-doc/#setup[Setup Guide].

== Development

Dev Server: [source,bash]

pnpm start

Navigate to http://localhost:4200/. The dev server proxies /api and /docs to localhost:8080 (no CORS needed).

Build: [source,bash]

pnpm build

Build artifacts are in dist/ directory.

Tests: [source,bash]

pnpm test # unit tests pnpm test:headless # headless unit tests pnpm e2e # e2e tests (Playwright)

Code Quality:

[[license]] == License

MIT, see http://toedter.mit-license.org