[opensourcedex]

Hoppscotch is a free, open source api development & testing project written in TypeScript and released under MIT. It has 80,331 GitHub stars, 6,110 forks and 820 open issues, and was last pushed 31 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #2 of 103 tracked projects in API Development & Testing, and is listed as an open source replacement for 1 paid product, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 35 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

What is Hoppscotch?

What it is

Hoppscotch is an open-source API development ecosystem that provides a full-featured client for designing, testing, and documenting APIs. It operates as a web-based application, desktop app, and CLI tool, supporting offline, on-premises, and cloud deployments. Built with TypeScript and licensed under MIT, it serves as a direct open-source alternative to proprietary tools like Postman and Insomnia.

The platform solves the problem of vendor lock-in and cost barriers in API development by offering a lightweight, privacy-friendly, and customizable environment. Users can avoid recurring licensing fees, run entirely offline, and retain full control over their data—without sacrificing core functionality like real-time request/response handling, environment management, or collaborative sharing.

Key capabilities

  • Supports all standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS, TRACE) and custom methods
  • Real-time request execution with instant response preview and status code visualization
  • Built-in support for GraphQL, WebSocket, Server-Sent Events, Socket.IO, and MQTT protocols
  • Authorization helpers including Basic Auth, Bearer Token, OAuth 2.0, and OIDC (PKCE)
  • Code generation for over 10 languages and frameworks (e.g., cURL, JavaScript, Python, Node.js)
  • Environment variable management with scoped and global variables
  • Theme customization with system/light/dark/black modes and accent color selection

Who uses it and how

Developers use it to rapidly prototype and debug REST and GraphQL APIs during local development and CI workflows. Teams deploy on-premises instances to maintain data sovereignty and integrate with internal CI/CD pipelines. Educators and students adopt it for teaching API concepts due to its free, self-hosted nature and minimal resource footprint.

Getting started

Install via Docker (hoppscotch/hoppscotch), use the official cloud instance at hoppscotch.io, or run the desktop app (Electron-based) for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The PWA version supports offline use and installation to home screen on mobile devices.

When to use it — and when not to

Hoppscotch replaces Postman for users prioritizing cost, privacy, and self-hosting—but lacks built-in team collaboration features like shared workspaces and versioned collections without external tooling. Self-hosting requires managing a PostgreSQL database, Redis cache, and optionally SMTP for notifications. It is less suitable for enterprises needing advanced monitoring, automated test reporting, or deep integration with commercial API gateways.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline
Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch

Open Source API Development Ecosystem

contributions welcome Website Tests Tweet

Built with ❤︎ by contributors 


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We highly recommend you take a look at the Hoppscotch Documentation to learn more about the app.

Support

Chat on Discord Chat on Telegram Discuss on GitHub

Features

❤️ Lightweight: Crafted with minimalistic UI design.

⚡️ Fast: Send requests and get responses in real time.

🗄️ HTTP Methods: Request methods define the type of action you are requesting to be performed.

  • GET - Requests retrieve resource information
  • POST - The server creates a new entry in a database
  • PUT - Updates an existing resource
  • PATCH - Very similar to PUT but makes a partial update on a resource
  • DELETE - Deletes resource or related component
  • HEAD - Retrieve response headers identical to those of a GET request, but without the response body.
  • CONNECT - Establishes a tunnel to the server identified by the target resource
  • OPTIONS - Describe the communication options for the target resource
  • TRACE - Performs a message loop-back test along the path to the target resource
  • `` - Some APIs use custom request methods such as LIST. Type in your custom methods.

🌈 Theming: Customizable combinations for background, foreground, and accent colors — customize now.

  • Choose a theme: System preference, Light, Dark, and Black
  • Choose accent colors: Green, Teal, Blue, Indigo, Purple, Yellow, Orange, Red, and Pink
  • Distraction-free Zen mode

Customized themes are synced with your cloud/local session.

🔥 PWA: Install as a Progressive Web App on your device.

  • Instant loading with Service Workers
  • Offline support
  • Low RAM/memory and CPU usage
  • Add to Home Screen
  • Desktop PWA

🚀 Request: Retrieve response from endpoint instantly.

  1. Choose method
  2. Enter URL
  3. Send
  • Copy/share public "Share URL"
  • Generate/copy request code snippets for 10+ languages and frameworks
  • Import cURL
  • Label requests

🔌 WebSocket: Establish full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection.

📡 Server-Sent Events: Receive a stream of updates from a server over an HTTP connection without resorting to polling.

🌩 Socket.IO: Send and Receive data with the SocketIO server.

🦟 MQTT: Subscribe and Publish to topics of an MQTT Broker.

🔮 GraphQL: GraphQL is a query language for APIs and a runtime for fulfilling those queries with your existing data.

  • Set endpoint and get schema
  • Multi-column docs
  • Set custom request headers
  • Query schema
  • Get query response

🔐 Authorization: Allows to identify the end-user.

  • None
  • Basic
  • Bearer Token
  • OAuth 2.0
  • OIDC Access Token/PKCE

📢 Headers: Describes the format the body of your request is being sent in.

📫 Parameters: Use request parameters to set varying parts in simulated requests.

📃 Request Body: Used to send and receive data via the REST API.

  • Set Content Type
  • FormData, JSON, and many more
  • Toggle between key-value and RAW input parameter list

📮 Response: Contains the status line, headers, and the message/response body.

  • Copy the response to the clipboard
  • Download the response as a file
  • View response headers
  • View raw and preview HTML, image, JSON, and XML responses

⏰ History: Request entries are synced with your cloud/local session storage.

📁 Collections: Keep your API requests organized with collections and folders. Reuse them with a single click.

  • Unlimited collections, folders, and requests
  • Nested folders
  • Export and import as a file or GitHub gist

Collections are synced with your cloud/local session storage.

📜 Pre-Request Scripts: Snippets of code associated with a request that is executed before the request is sent.

  • Set environment variables
  • Include timestamp in the request headers
  • Send a random alphanumeric string in the URL parameters
  • Any JavaScript functions

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Teams: Helps you collaborate across your teams to design, develop, and test APIs faster.

  • Create unlimited teams
  • Create unlimited shared collections
  • Create unlimited team members
  • Role-based access control
  • Cloud sync
  • Multiple devices

👥 Workspaces: Organize your personal and team collections environments into workspaces. Easily switch between workspaces to manage multiple projects.

  • Create unlimited workspaces
  • Switch between personal and team workspaces

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts: Optimized for efficiency.

Read our documentation on Keyboard Shortcuts

🌐 Proxy: Enable Proxy Mode from Settings to access blocked APIs.

  • Hide your IP address
  • Fixes CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) issues
  • Access APIs served in non-HTTPS (http://) endpoints
  • Use your Proxy URL

Official proxy server is hosted by Hoppscotch - GitHub - Privacy Policy.

🌎 i18n: Experience the app in your language.

Help us to translate Hoppscotch. Please read TRANSLATIONS for details on our CODE OF CONDUCT and the process for submitting pull requests to us.

☁️ Auth + Sync: Sign in and sync your data in real-time across all your devices.

Sign in with:

  • GitHub
  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • Email
  • SSO (Single Sign-On)[^EE]

🔄 Synchronize your data: Handoff to continue tasks on your other devices.

  • Workspaces
  • History
  • Collections
  • Environments
  • Settings

✅ Post-Request Tests: Write tests associated with a request that is executed after the request's response.

  • Check the status code as an integer
  • Filter response headers
  • Parse the response data
  • Set environment variables
  • Write JavaScript code

🌱 Environments: Environment variables allow you to store and reuse values in your requests and scripts.

  • Unlimited environments and variables
  • Initialize through the pre-request script
  • Export as / import from GitHub gist
Use-cases
  • By storing a value in a variable, you can reference it throughout your request section
  • If you need to update the value, you only have to change it in one place
  • Using variables increases your ability to work efficiently and minimizes the likelihood of error

🚚 Bulk Edit: Edit key-value pairs in bulk.

  • Entries are separated by newline
  • Keys and values are separated by :
  • Prepend # to any row you want to add but keep disabled

🎛️ Admin dashboard: Manage your team and invite members.

  • Insights
  • Manage users
  • Manage teams

📦 Add-ons: Official add-ons for hoppscotch.

  • Hoppscotch CLI - Command-line interface for Hoppscotch.
  • Proxy - A simple proxy server created for

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is Hoppscotch free to use?

Hoppscotch is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Hoppscotch do?

Sleek, intuitive API development and testing platform

What is Hoppscotch written in?

Hoppscotch is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch, and it has 80,331 GitHub stars.

What is a good open source alternative to Postman?

Hoppscotch is one of the open source options listed as an alternative to Postman. Compare licences, stars and activity side by side on the Hoppscotch profile.