diff --git a/src/Network/HTTP/Barf.hs b/src/Network/HTTP/Barf.hs
index cf5f728..c5e6738 100644
--- a/src/Network/HTTP/Barf.hs
+++ b/src/Network/HTTP/Barf.hs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
--- | 'Nework.HTTP.Barf' is a http client library that tries to make scripting http requests as easy as possible.
+-- | 'Network.HTTP.Barf' is a http client library that tries to make scripting http requests as easy as possible.
 --  It provides a monoidal combinator library that should not clash with 'Prelude' imports.
 --  It delegates to and includes for convenience the great aeson library for e.g. decoding of json
 --
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ module Network.HTTP.Barf
 
     -- ** debugging helpers
   , inspectRequest_
+  , dryRyn_
 
     -- * useful reexports
   , module Reexports
diff --git a/src/Network/HTTP/Barf/Internal.hs b/src/Network/HTTP/Barf/Internal.hs
index f7f3523..0a06d9d 100644
--- a/src/Network/HTTP/Barf/Internal.hs
+++ b/src/Network/HTTP/Barf/Internal.hs
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ module Network.HTTP.Barf.Internal
   , q_
   , h_
   , j_
+  , v_
   , inspectRequest_
+  , dryRun_
 
     -- * internal
   , httpWithManager
@@ -35,15 +37,22 @@ import GHC.Generics (Generic)
 import GHC.IsList (IsList (Item, fromList, toList))
 import Network.HTTP.Client
 import Network.HTTP.Client.TLS (tlsManagerSettings)
+import System.Exit (exitFailure)
+import System.IO (hPutStrLn, stderr)
 import Prelude hiding (head)
 
 -- | a data type representing an http request
 data Req' = MkReq'
-  {queryParams :: Vector (String, String), headers :: Vector (String, String), jsonBody :: Maybe Value, inspectRequest :: Bool}
+  { queryParams :: Vector (String, String)
+  , headers :: Vector (String, String)
+  , jsonBody :: Maybe Value
+  , inspectRequest :: Bool
+  , dryRun :: Bool
+  }
   deriving stock (Eq, Ord, Show, Generic)
 
 defaultReq' :: Req'
-defaultReq' = MkReq' {queryParams = mempty, headers = mempty, jsonBody = Nothing, inspectRequest = False}
+defaultReq' = MkReq' {queryParams = mempty, headers = mempty, jsonBody = Nothing, inspectRequest = False, dryRun = False}
 
 newtype Req = MkReq {appReq :: Req' -> Req'}
   deriving
@@ -67,12 +76,10 @@ instance IsList Req where
 -- | creates a @GET@ request, use it like
 --
 -- @'get_' "http://localhost:8080"@
--- or
--- @'get_' "https://example.com"@
 get_
   :: MonadIO m
   => String
-  -- ^ the url to connect to
+  -- ^ the url toiconnect to
   -> Req
   -- ^ the modifier(s) to the request
   -> m LazyByteString
@@ -81,8 +88,6 @@ get_ = httpWithManager "GET"
 -- | creates a @HEAD@ request, use it like
 --
 -- @'head_' "http://localhost:8080"@
--- or
--- @'head_' "https://example.com"@
 head_
   :: MonadIO m
   => String
@@ -95,8 +100,6 @@ head_ = httpWithManager "HEAD"
 -- | creates a @DELETE@ request, use it like
 --
 -- @'delete_' "http://localhost:8080" []@
--- or
--- @'delete_' "https://example.com" []@
 delete_
   :: MonadIO m
   => String
@@ -109,8 +112,6 @@ delete_ = httpWithManager "DELETE"
 -- | creates a @PUT@ request, use it like
 --
 -- @'put_' "http://localhost:8080" []@
--- or
--- @'put_' "https://example.com" []@
 put_
   :: MonadIO m
   => String
@@ -123,8 +124,6 @@ put_ = httpWithManager "PUT"
 -- | creates a @POST@ request, use it like
 --
 -- @'post_' "http://localhost:8080" []@
--- or
--- @'post_' "https://example.com" []@
 post_
   :: MonadIO m
   => String
@@ -141,8 +140,15 @@ buildRequestFromReq method url req = do
       . (\r -> r {requestBody = RequestBodyLBS $ Aeson.encode req.jsonBody})
       . (\r -> r {method = BS8.pack method})
       <$> parseRequest url
+  let err = hPutStrLn stderr
   when req.inspectRequest do
-    print r
+    err "request parameters"
+    err (show req)
+    err "the resulting request"
+    err (show r)
+  when req.dryRun do
+    err "dryrun, exiting"
+    exitFailure
   pure r
 
 httpWithManager :: MonadIO m => String -> String -> Req -> m LazyByteString
@@ -169,15 +175,29 @@ h_
   -> Req
 h_ k v = MkReq \req -> req {headers = (k, v) `V.cons` req.headers}
 
+-- | 'v_' like "value"
+--
+-- if the json body is already set, it *will be overwritten*
+v_
+  :: Value
+  -- ^ the value of the json body
+  -> Req
+v_ val = MkReq \req -> req {jsonBody = Just val}
+
 -- | 'j_' like "json"
 --
 -- if the json body is already set, it *will be overwritten*
 j_
-  :: Value
+  :: Aeson.ToJSON a
+  => a
   -- ^ the value of the json body
   -> Req
-j_ val = MkReq \req -> req {jsonBody = Just val}
+j_ val = MkReq \req -> req {jsonBody = Just (Aeson.toJSON val)}
 
 -- | print the request before dispatching, useful for debugging
 inspectRequest_ :: Req
 inspectRequest_ = MkReq \req -> req {inspectRequest = True}
+
+-- | when set, do not execute the request
+dryRun_ :: Req
+dryRun_ = MkReq \req -> req {dryRun = True}