Traces & Diff

Every request Glubean makes is captured and logged. You don’t need to dig through terminal output or sprinkle console.log() across your tests to see what happened.

Instant feedback

When you click the ▶ play button on a test, the extension automatically opens the Trace Viewer side-by-side with your code as soon as the test finishes.

The underlying trace data captures the full HTTP conversation:

{
  "request": {
    "method": "POST",
    "url": "https://api.example.com/users",
    "headers": { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    "body": { "name": "Alice" }
  },
  "response": {
    "status": 201,
    "duration_ms": 87,
    "body": { "id": 42, "name": "Alice" }
  }
}

If your test contains multiple steps or requests, they will all be logged sequentially in the same trace record.

Result viewer

When a test finishes, the extension also writes a result JSON file (recommended path: .glubean/last-run.json) with pass/fail outcome and assertion details. You can open it with Glubean: Open Last Result JSON from the Command Palette — it renders in a rich viewer showing status, duration, and any failed assertions with expected vs actual values.

Copy as cURL

While viewing a trace in the Trace Viewer, you can copy any captured request as a ready-to-run shell command.

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Search for Glubean: Copy as cURL
3. Paste it into your terminal.

Trace history

Glubean remembers the past. By default, it keeps the last 20 traces for each individual test (configurable via glubean.traceHistoryLimit in your settings).

Above each test in your .test.ts file, you will see a CodeLens that looks like this: Trace (5)

Clicking this CodeLens opens the most recent trace for that specific test in the Trace Viewer.

While viewing a trace, look at the Status Bar at the bottom of VS Code. You’ll see an indicator like Trace 1/5 (meaning you are viewing the newest of 5 saved traces).

You can step backward and forward through history:

• Older trace: Alt + [ (Mac/Win)
• Newer trace: Alt + ] (Mac/Win)

Diff with previous run

One of the most practical day-to-day features is seeing exactly what changed between two runs. For example: before and after a backend deployment, or before and after changing your request payload.

While viewing a trace in the Trace Viewer, open the Command Palette and run: Glubean: Diff with Previous Run

This opens VS Code’s native side-by-side diff editor, comparing the trace you were just viewing with the one immediately preceding it. You’ll instantly see added, removed, or modified fields in the JSON response body and headers.

Raw trace artifacts are still written to .glubean/traces/*.trace.jsonc for archival and CLI workflows.