Thunder Client Migration Guide - Escape the Paywall

Before Thunder Client completely locks you out, export everything. You'll need your existing collections to migrate anywhere else.

Export Collections from Thunder Client

If you still have access (before the paywall kicked in):

1. Open Thunder Client in VS Code
2. Right-click on any collection → Export
3. Choose JSON format (most compatible)
4. Save to a folder you'll remember (like ~/api-exports/)
5. Export each collection separately - Thunder Client doesn't do bulk export

If you're already paywalled:

You're fucked for the GUI export, but your data is still on disk at:

• Linux/Mac: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/rangav.vscode-thunder-client/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\globalStorage\rangav.vscode-thunder-client\

The files are JSON but in Thunder Client's internal format. You'll need to manually convert them.

What You're Actually Exporting

Your Thunder Client collections contain:

• Request definitions (URL, method, headers, body)
• Environment variables (dev/staging/prod configs)
• Test scripts (if you wrote any)
• Authentication configs (API keys, tokens)

⚠️ Security Warning: These exports contain your API keys and secrets in plain text. Don't commit them to Git or share them.

Understanding Thunder Client's Storage

Thunder Client stores everything in these files:

thunder-collection_[collection-name].json  # Your actual requests
thunder-environment_[env-name].json        # Variables and settings
thunder-tests_[collection-name].json       # Test scripts

Each collection export gives you a single JSON file with all requests for that collection. Environment variables are separate files.

If You Can't Export (Nuclear Option)

If Thunder Client won't let you export, you can manually reconstruct from the storage files. The format is readable JSON, just structured differently than standard formats.

The key fields in `thunder-collection_*.json`:

• colName: Collection name
• requests[]: Array of all your requests
  • name: Request name
  • url: Full URL
  • method: HTTP method
  • headers[]: Request headers
  • body: Request body (if POST/PUT)

This manual extraction sucks, but it's better than losing months of API development work.

If you want to stay in VS Code and never worry about paywalls again, the REST Client extension is your best bet. It's been free since 2016 and uses simple `.http` files that work with any text editor.

Install REST Client Extension

1. Open VS Code Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
2. Search for "REST Client" by Huachao
3. Install the one with 3M+ downloads
4. Restart VS Code

Why this is better than Thunder Client:

• Can't be paywalled - it's just text files
• Built-in Git sync - your API requests are just files in your repo
• No vendor lock-in - works in any editor that can read text
• Super lightweight - no extra data storage or sync

Converting Thunder Client Collections to .http Files

Unfortunately, there's no automatic converter, but the manual process is straightforward. Here's how to convert a typical Thunder Client request:

Thunder Client JSON:

{
  "name": "Get Users",
  "url": "{{baseUrl}}/api/users",
  "method": "GET",
  "headers": [
    {"key": "Authorization", "value": "Bearer {{token}}"}
  ]
}

REST Client .http file:

#### Get Users
GET {{baseUrl}}/api/users
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}

Creating Your .http Files Structure

Create a folder structure that matches your old Thunder Client organization:

api-requests/
├── users.http          # User-related requests
├── auth.http           # Authentication requests  
├── products.http       # Product requests
└── environments/
    ├── dev.http        # Development variables
    ├── staging.http    # Staging variables
    └── prod.http       # Production variables

Setting Up Environment Variables

Instead of Thunder Client's environments, use `.http` files with variables:

Create environments/dev.http:

@baseUrl = https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com
@token = dev_api_key_here
@userId = 123

In your request files, reference them:

#### Get user profile
GET {{baseUrl}}/api/users/{{userId}}
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
Content-Type: application/json

Converting Complex Requests

POST request with JSON body:

#### Create new user
POST {{baseUrl}}/api/users
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "role": "admin"
}

Request with form data:

#### Upload file
POST {{baseUrl}}/api/upload
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=boundary123

--boundary123
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="document.pdf"
Content-Type: application/pdf

< ./files/document.pdf
--boundary123--

Pro Tips for REST Client Workflows

Use comments for organization:

#### Authentication requests

#### Login to get token
POST {{baseUrl}}/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "user@example.com", 
  "password": "password123"
}

#### #### Verify token is working
GET {{baseUrl}}/auth/me
Authorization: Bearer {{token}}

Chain requests with variables:

#### Login and save token
## @name login
POST {{baseUrl}}/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "user@example.com", 
  "password": "password123"
}

#### Use token from previous request
GET {{baseUrl}}/api/profile
Authorization: Bearer {{login.response.body.token}}

The learning curve is about 15 minutes, and you'll never have to worry about API testing tools getting paywalled again.

If you get stuck:

• REST Client docs - The only link you actually need
• This tutorial if you want more examples
• VS Code HTTP syntax highlighting for better editing experience
• JSONPlaceholder API for testing your new setup