Alternatives / Postman
These projects cover different parts of the Postman ecosystem, from interactive API clients and Git-native collections to test generation, mock APIs, OpenAPI documentation, and production API management. Not every option is a direct replacement for the Postman desktop client.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
An API client sends requests interactively: Hoppscotch, Bruno, Insomnia, Yaak, HTTPie, and Firecamp. Keploy focuses on automated testing, Mockoon specializes in mock servers, Scalar focuses on OpenAPI documentation and interactive references, and Fusio and Gravitee manage production APIs. These categories overlap but solve different primary problems.
Postman popularized cloud collections and workspaces. Bruno stores requests in .bru files, Yaak keeps data locally and supports Git workflows, and Voiden uses Markdown as the API workspace and source of truth. These approaches make API changes reviewable alongside application code. Insomnia also supports Git Sync.
Keeping API definitions in Git provides pull-request review, commit history, branches, backups, and versioning alongside application code without a proprietary cloud database. Bruno and Voiden are especially focused on this model; Insomnia also supports Git synchronization.
Hoppscotch has a CLI, Bruno provides collection automation, Insomnia offers Inso CLI, and HTTPie fits shell scripts and CI. Keploy is specifically built to record application traffic and replay it as regression tests. Yaak's CLI and automation support are developing.
Mockoon specializes in local mock APIs and can run through its desktop app, CLI, or Docker. Scalar and Insomnia provide OpenAPI-oriented workflows; Scalar can generate interactive documentation and client workflows from a shared specification. Keploy can create dependency mocks from observed application traffic.
Requestly's API Client is proprietary; the open-source part is its HTTP Interceptor repository. Yaak's source is MIT, while official prebuilt binaries require a commercial license for commercial use. Keploy and Gravitee provide open-source cores with separate Enterprise features. Check the exact project and edition terms when selecting a tool.
Developers look for Postman alternatives to keep collections local, work offline, store requests as plain text in Git, self-host collaboration, control secrets, or avoid a cloud-centric workflow. A small API client may be enough to send and test requests; teams using documentation, mocks, CI testing, collaboration, and API governance may need several tools or a broader platform.
| Alternative | Type | License | Status | GitHub stars | Local / self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoppscotch | API platform | MIT | Open source | ~80.5k | Local / cloud / self-hosted |
| Bruno | API client | MIT | Open source / commercial editions | ~47.2k | Local |
| Insomnia | API client | Apache-2.0 | Open source / commercial cloud | ~40k | Local / Git / cloud |
| Yaak | API client | MIT source | Open source source / paid binaries | ~19.3k | Local |
| Keploy | API testing | Apache-2.0 core | Open source / Enterprise | ~18.5k | Local / self-hosted |
| Scalar | API client + docs | MIT | Open source | ~16.2k | Local / self-hosted |
| Mockoon | Mock API | MIT | Open source | ~8.4k | Local / Docker |
| Requestly | API client / interceptor | Proprietary client | Mixed | ~6.8k community repo | Local / cloud |
| HTTPie | CLI HTTP client | BSD-3-Clause | Open source | ~38.4k | Local |
| Firecamp | API client | AGPL-3.0 | Open source | ~2.6k | Local |
| Voiden | Git-native API workspace | Apache-2.0 | Open source | ~1.5k | Local |
| Fusio | API management | Apache-2.0 | Open source | ~2.1k | Self-hosted |
| Gravitee | API management | Apache-2.0 core | Open source / open core | ~455 | Self-hosted / cloud |
Want the closest open-source Postman replacement
Hoppscotch combines HTTP requests, GraphQL, WebSockets, collections, environments, scripts, tests, team workspaces, CLI, desktop/web clients, and self-hosting.
Want a local-first desktop API client
Bruno stores requests as plain-text .bru files in a project directory for offline use and Git review, diffing, branching, and merging.
Want API collections in Git or plain text
Bruno uses .bru files; Voiden stores executable requests, docs, and tests in Markdown; Yaak supports local data and Git integration.
Want a broad desktop client for multiple protocols
Insomnia supports REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, SSE, OpenAPI, tests, mocking, plugins, and local, Git, or cloud synchronization.
Want a terminal-based API client
HTTPie provides readable CLI syntax, JSON, sessions, authentication, file transfer, plugins, and shell or CI automation.
Need automated regression tests from real traffic
Keploy records real requests and dependencies and turns them into replayable API, integration, and end-to-end tests.
Need local mock APIs
Mockoon specializes in local mock APIs with dynamic responses, templating, latency simulation, OpenAPI import, CLI, and Docker.
Want OpenAPI documentation and interactive references
Scalar builds API clients, interactive references, editors, mock servers, SDKs, and documentation around OpenAPI specifications.
Want production API management
Gravitee manages API gateways, publishing, lifecycle, analytics, security policies, rate limits, and developer portals; Fusio is another self-hosted API management option.
Want HTTP traffic interception
Requestly's open-source interceptor can modify and inspect traffic, but its current API Client is proprietary and should not be treated as an open-source client.