***

title: Send requests over Unix sockets or named pipes
updated: 2025-11-06T00:00:00.000Z
max-toc-depth: 2
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If you are running a local server, Postman can send requests to that server using [Unix domain sockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_domain_socket) (UDS) on macOS or Linux, or [named pipes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Named_pipe#In_Windows) on Windows. This is a form of [inter-process communication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-process_communication) (IPC). Unix domain sockets are also called Unix sockets.

## Format Unix sockets request on macOS or Linux

On Unix-like systems (macOS, Linux), a Unix domain socket (UDS) is a special kind of file that lets processes on the same machine communicate using the socket API.

Suppose you've created a local HTTP server with a Unix domain socket whose path is `/tmp/http-server.sock`, and that serves a resource whose path is `/hello`.

You can send a request to this server from Postman using the following syntax:

```shell
<protocol>://unix:<socket-path>:<resource-path>
```

Provide values for the placeholders as follows:

* `<protocol>` (optional) can be either `http` or `https`. If omitted, Postman defaults to `http`.
* `<socket-path>` is the absolute path to the socket file. In the example, that's `/tmp/http-server.sock`.
* `<resource-path>` (optional) is the path to a resource on the server. In the example, that's `/hello`.

Applying the example values, the URL for communicating with your UDS will be this:

```shell
http://unix:/tmp/http-socket.sock:/hello
```

If you omit the optional `<protocol>` section, the URL will be:

```shell
unix:/tmp/http-socket.sock:/hello
```

When you create the request in Postman, the HTTP method to select will depend on how you've configured your local server. For the `hello` example resource, the appropriate method will be GET.

## Format a named pipes request on Windows

Windows doesn't support Unix domain sockets as filesystem path-based sockets. Instead Windows provides a similar abstraction with its version of named pipes. The name of the pipe and its path are the same.

Suppose you've created a local HTTP server with a Windows named pipe whose path is `\\.\pipe\myserver`.

You can send a request to this server from Postman using either the Windows-style backslashes, or forward slashes.

For backslashes, use the following syntax:

```shell
http://unix:\\\\.\\pipe\local-service:\hello
```

If you prefer forward slashes, the URL will be:

```shell
http://unix://./pipe/local-service:/hello
```

When you create the request in Postman, the HTTP method to select will depend on how you've configured your local server. For the `hello` example resource, the appropriate method will be GET.

## Send your request

Click **Send** to make your call to the Unix domain socket or named pipe. On success, Postman displays the response in the lower tab.

The following screenshot shows a slightly more elaborate example that uses the POST method:

![UDS example](https://assets.postman.com/postman-docs/v11/sending-requests-unix-socket-v11.70.4.jpg)