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Request headers are key-value pairs sent along with an HTTP request to provide additional information to the server about the request. The request headers give the server more information about how to process the incoming request. Default Headers: Default headers are predefined headers that are part of the HTTP specification. Custom Headers: Custom headers are headers that are user-defined and are not part of the official HTTP specification.

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Create request headers in Bruno

  1. Create request inside collection.
  2. Navigate to the Headers tab.
  3. Enter the Name, Value, and an optional Description for each header.
  4. Save and execute the request.

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View default headers

Bruno adds a set of default headers, such as User-Agent, Accept, Accept-Encoding, Connection, and Host, to every request at runtime. You can view them directly in the Headers tab:
  1. Navigate to the Headers tab.
  2. Click Show Inherited Headers at the bottom of the tab.
The tab now shows an Inherited Headers section with the default headers and a Request Headers section with your own headers. Click Hide Inherited Headers to collapse the view.
To verify the headers that were actually sent with a request, check the Timeline tab.

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Omit a default header

You can omit individual default headers on a per-request basis:
  1. Click Show Inherited Headers in the Headers tab.
  2. Uncheck the default header you want to omit.
Bruno saves the omitted headers in the request file and skips them when sending the request, both in the app and in the Bruno CLI.
Adding your own header with the same name overrides the default header. Bruno shows a warning icon next to both headers when this happens. The Host header is required by HTTP and cannot be omitted.

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Streaming with Server-Sent Events

To work with Server-Sent Events (SSE), set:
Bruno keeps the connection open, streams chunks into the response panel live, and swaps the Send button for Cancel while the stream is active. See Server-Sent Events (SSE) for details on cancellation, collection runs, and CLI behavior.