So, given a hateos api, and stock firefox (or chrome, or safari, or whatever), it will generate client views with crud functionality?

Let alone ux affordances, branding, etc.

Yes. You used such an api to post your reply. And I am using it as well, via the affordances presented by the mobile safari hypermedia client program. Quite an amazing system!

No. I was served HTML. not a json respoise that the browser discovered how to display.

The connection between the "H" in HTML and the "H" in HATEOAS might help you connect some dots.

Yes. Exactly.

html is the hateoas response