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Debug and dry-run

soap-cli provides two flags that help you understand exactly what is being sent and to troubleshoot problems:

  • --dry-run – show what would be sent without performing the HTTP call.
  • --debug – send the request and print extra diagnostics to stderr.

Dry-run mode (--dry-run)

Use --dry-run when you want to verify the effective configuration and SOAP body but do not want to touch the remote service.

java -jar SoapCLI.jar \
  --endpoint https://example.com/soap \
  --request-file request.xml \
  --dry-run

Dry-run mode prints:

  • Endpoint and proxy information.
  • HTTP request headers, including any added via profiles or --header / auth options.
  • The final SOAP XML body after:
  • Profiles have been applied.
  • XML placeholders and --arg overrides have been resolved.
  • Attachments (--attachment) and MTOM/XOP (--mtom) transformations have been applied.

Then the program exits without sending the HTTP request.

The XML body is pretty-printed and, if color output is enabled, also colorized using the current theme.

Debug mode (--debug)

Use --debug for low-level troubleshooting while still sending the request.

java -jar SoapCLI.jar \
  --endpoint https://example.com/soap \
  --request-file request.xml \
  --debug

When --debug is enabled, soap-cli:

  • Prints a full request preview similar to --dry-run (endpoint, proxy info, headers, final SOAP XML body).
  • Prints a summary of the HTTP request (endpoint, content length, attachment metadata) while omitting raw binary/Base64 payloads.
  • Still performs the HTTP call and prints the normal response body to stdout.

All debug information is written to stderr, so your normal stdout output (e.g. SOAP response XML) remains suitable for piping or capturing in scripts.

Combining with other options

Both --dry-run and --debug take into account the same configuration sources as a normal run:

  • Profiles (--profile, --profile-file).
  • XML placeholders and --arg overrides.
  • Attachments via --attachment and --mtom.
  • Custom headers via --header.
  • HTTP Basic auth via --auth-basic / --auth-basic-env.

This makes them ideal for verifying complex requests before running them in a sensitive environment.