Hoppscotch: The Modern, Lightweight Alternative to Postman and Bruno

In the world of software development, API client tools are as essential as a good code editor. For years, Postman has been the reigning champion, the default choice for developers everywhere. More recently, tools like Bruno have emerged, catering to developers who prefer a more git-native, offline-first approach. But what if there was a tool that combined the best of both worlds—a fast, web-native experience with the flexibility of open-source?

Enter Hoppscotch, the open-source API development suite that’s rapidly gaining popularity. It’s a powerful, lightweight, and beautifully designed tool that challenges the way we think about API testing and collaboration.

What is Hoppscotch?

At its core, Hoppscotch is a web-based API client. You can simply navigate to their website and start making requests immediately—no installation required. But don’t let its simplicity fool you. It’s a feature-rich platform that supports REST, GraphQL, and real-time protocols like WebSocket, Socket.IO, and MQTT.

Being open-source, it offers a level of transparency and community involvement that proprietary tools can’t match. Plus, for teams concerned with data privacy, it can be entirely self-hosted.

Hoppscotch vs. Postman: A Battle of Philosophies

Postman is a powerful, mature platform, but its recent focus on cloud features and team collaboration has come at a cost. The desktop application can feel heavy, slow to start, and many of its most compelling features are locked behind a paid subscription and require an account.

Here’s how Hoppscotch offers a refreshing alternative:

• Performance and Accessibility: Hoppscotch is web-first, meaning it’s incredibly fast and accessible from any device with a browser. There’s no hefty installation, and it launches instantly. For those who prefer a desktop experience, it’s available as a Progressive Web App (PWA).
• True Open Source and Cost-Effectiveness: Hoppscotch is free and open-source. While they offer a paid cloud service for teams, the core functionality is available to everyone. Postman’s free tier has become increasingly restrictive, pushing users towards paid plans for what many consider basic features.
• Collaboration Model: Hoppscotch allows for creating team workspaces and sharing collections without forcing every user into a complex, account-based ecosystem. You can instantly share a request via a link. Postman’s collaboration is powerful but tightly integrated with its paid cloud services.
• User Experience: Hoppscotch boasts a clean, modern, and intuitive UI that feels less cluttered than Postman’s feature-packed interface.

For developers tired of Postman’s sluggish performance and account-walled garden, Hoppscotch is a breath of fresh air.

Hoppscotch vs. Bruno: A Different Kind of Open Source

Bruno is another fantastic open-source tool that has gained a following for its unique, git-friendly approach. It stores all collection data directly on your local filesystem, allowing you to version control your API tests just like your code. This is a brilliant concept, but it serves a different workflow compared to Hoppscotch.

• Philosophy: Hoppscotch is web-first, designed for speed and seamless online access. Bruno is local-first, designed for developers who want to manage everything within their Git repository.
• Collaboration: Collaboration in Bruno happens via pull requests, which is perfect for teams deeply embedded in a GitOps workflow. Hoppscotch offers more immediate, real-time collaboration through shared workspaces and links, which is often faster for quick debugging or pairing sessions.
• Accessibility: With Hoppscotch, you can send a teammate a URL, and they can immediately see and interact with the request. With Bruno, your teammate needs to have the app installed and pull the latest changes from the repository.

If your team’s identity is “everything-in-Git,” Bruno is a perfect fit. If your team values speed, accessibility, and real-time web-based tools, Hoppscotch has the edge.

Key Features That Make Hoppscotch Shine

Beyond the comparisons, Hoppscotch has a feature set that makes it a compelling tool on its own:

• Multi-Protocol Support: It’s not just for REST. First-class support for GraphQL (with a schema explorer) and real-time protocols is a huge advantage.
• Pre-Request Scripts & Tests: Write JavaScript code to run before a request is sent or to validate the response, similar to Postman.
• Environments & Variables: Manage different environments (like development, staging, production) with ease.
• PWA for Offline Use: Install Hoppscotch as a PWA to get a desktop-like experience and use it even when you’re offline.
• Self-Hosting: For ultimate data privacy and control, you can host your own instance of Hoppscotch with just a few commands.

Conclusion

The choice of an API client depends heavily on your team’s workflow and priorities.

• Postman remains a powerful, enterprise-grade tool, but its performance and cost can be significant drawbacks.
• Bruno is the ideal choice for developers who want to live entirely within their Git workflow, treating API collections as code.
• Hoppscotch carves out a unique and compelling niche. It’s the perfect tool for developers and teams who prioritize speed, accessibility, and a clean user experience, all wrapped in a transparent, open-source package.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you owe it to yourself to give Hoppscotch a spin. It might just become your new default API client.