Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is a rapid, minimalistic, and open-source framework for developing APIs by allowing developers to test, debug, and document APIs right within their web browser or computer. It was initially called "Postwoman" in 2019 and has since become one of the most popular Postman alternatives, boasting over 78,000 GitHub stars and 100,000 active monthly users globally .

The distinct feature of Hoppscotch is its approach to being browser-first and zero-installation. Hoppscotch is a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means it is fully operational within the browser itself without needing any installation; simply head over to hoppscotch.io and test APIs. This ensures accessibility without the need for bulky Electron-based desktop software.

Another feature that makes Hoppscotch special is its approach to privacy. There is no analytics tracking, storage is local first, and it supports self-hosting for enterprises. Hoppscotch has received a good reputation on Thoughtworks' Technology Radar for being an appropriate tool for intuitive API sharing while ensuring data privacy.

The tool is not only good at REST API testing; other supported protocols include GraphQL, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events (SSE), Socket.IO, and MQTT. The features of the tool include environment variables, pre-request scripts, post-request tests, team collaboration, workspaces, and a proxy to deal with CORS.

One thing that distinguishes Hoppscotch from others is that it is an open-source project under an MIT license; therefore, the main part of the tool is completely free. Enterprises, however, have other options such as Hoppscotch Cloud ($8 per user per month).

Key Features

Zero-Install PWA: You can run it right in your browser or install it as a desktop app through PWA. You don't need an account to start testing.


Multi-Protocol Support: REST (all HTTP methods), GraphQL (with schema introspection and query builder), WebSocket (full-duplex), SSE (server-sent events), Socket.IO, and MQTT. 

Collections and folders: You can organize API requests into as many nested folders as you want. You can export and import files or GitHub gists. It syncs with sessions in the cloud or on your computer. 

Environments: Keep variables (like {{baseUrl}}) for different settings. There are unlimited environments with pre-request script initialization.

Pre-Request and Post-Request Scripts: JavaScript code that runs before requests (to set dynamic values) or after responses (to write assertions). Add timestamps, random strings, and set environment variables. 

There are no authorization methods, only Basic Auth, Bearer Token, OAuth 2.0, and OIDC Access Token/PKCE. 

Built-in Proxy: Turn on proxy mode to get around CORS problems, hide your IP address, or get to endpoints that don't use HTTPS. Hoppscotch hosts the official proxy server. 

Teamwork: Make teams with shared collections, role-based access control, and cloud sync. You can get it in Hoppscotch Cloud for $8 per user per month.

Workspaces: Put your own and your team's collections and environments into workspaces. You can easily switch between projects. 

Admin Dashboard: Control users, teams, and invites. For organizations that host their own servers and those that use the cloud. 

Code Snippets: Make request code in more than 10 languages and frameworks, such as cURL, JavaScript, Python, Go, and more. 

Import and export: You can import from Postman collections, OpenAPI specs, and cURL commands. You can export collections as files or GitHub gists. 

Self-Hosted Option: You can host Hoppscotch on your own servers to have full control over your data. The desktop app works with instances that are hosted by the user. 

Keyboard Shortcuts: A lot of shortcuts for power users to move around and send requests without using the mouse. 

Theming: You can change the colors of the background, foreground, and accents (green, teal, blue, indigo, purple, yellow, orange, red, pink). Zen mode lets you work without distractions.