Bruno

It's an API client that stores everything in plain text files on your filesystem. No cloud sync, no account required, no collections locked in a proprietary format. Your API requests live in Git alongside your code.

MIT licensed. Supports REST, GraphQL, and gRPC. Has scripting (pre-request and post-response), environment variables, assertions, and collection runners. The desktop app runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Bruno Golden Edition is $19 one-time (not a subscription) and adds visual Git diff for collections, secrets management, and a few quality-of-life features. That's it: one payment, forever.

The filesystem-first approach is different. Your team commits .bru files to the repo, reviews API changes in PRs, and never worries about syncing collections across accounts. No lock-in. Export is just, copying files.

The catch: the ecosystem is smaller than Postman's. Fewer integrations, fewer tutorials, smaller plugin library. If you rely on Postman's monitoring, mock servers, or team workspace features, Bruno doesn't replace all of that. And gRPC support is still maturing.