Bruno

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Bruno

A curated collection of the 2 best self hosted alternatives to Bruno.

Bruno is a cloud-based API client for designing, testing, and sharing REST and GraphQL requests and collections. It provides environment management, collaboration features, request history, and tools for API testing and documentation.

Alternatives List

#1
Hoppscotch Community Edition

Hoppscotch Community Edition

Hoppscotch Community Edition is an open-source API development and testing tool for REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SSE, MQTT, and Socket.IO with collections and environments.

Hoppscotch Community Edition screenshot

Hoppscotch Community Edition is an open-source API development ecosystem for sending, testing, and organizing requests across common API styles and real-time protocols. It provides a fast, lightweight web UI and supports local/offline workflows as well as optional sync and team collaboration features.

Key Features

  • API client for REST/HTTP with headers, params, body types, auth, and response inspection
  • GraphQL client with schema fetching and documentation support
  • Real-time protocol tools: WebSocket, Server-Sent Events (SSE), MQTT, and Socket.IO
  • Collections and folders for organizing requests, plus import/export and shareable request links
  • Environments and variables, with pre-request scripts and post-request tests
  • PWA support with offline capability and low resource usage
  • Theming, keyboard shortcuts, and bulk edit for request data

Use Cases

  • Developing and debugging APIs during backend and frontend development
  • Testing real-time connections (WebSocket/SSE/MQTT/Socket.IO) during integration work
  • Maintaining reusable request collections and environment variables for teams or projects

Limitations and Considerations

  • Some advanced enterprise capabilities (such as certain SSO features) may be edition-dependent.

Hoppscotch Community Edition is a strong alternative to tools like Postman or Insomnia for developers who want a fast, modern interface and broad protocol support. It is well-suited for both quick ad-hoc requests and structured, repeatable API testing workflows.

77.6kstars
5.5kforks
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#2
Requestly

Requestly

Open-source API client and HTTP interceptor to test APIs, modify requests and responses, and create API mocks for faster development and debugging.

Requestly screenshot

Requestly is a local-first API client combined with an HTTP interceptor for capturing, inspecting, and modifying HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It helps developers test APIs, mock backend responses, and override network behavior from a browser extension or desktop app.

Key Features

  • REST API client with collections, environments/variables, and request history
  • HTTP interception and modification rules for requests and responses
  • URL redirects and rewrites (host, query params, map local/remote)
  • Modify request/response headers and bodies
  • Script injection and resource overriding for web pages
  • API mocking with static and dynamic overrides, including GraphQL targeting
  • Session recording for capturing and sharing relevant network traffic
  • Local workspaces stored on disk, with optional team sync workflows

Use Cases

  • Debug and test REST/GraphQL APIs with environment-specific variables
  • Mock backend APIs to unblock frontend development and E2E tests
  • Redirect traffic between staging/dev/prod endpoints and override scripts/resources

Limitations and Considerations

  • Some capabilities depend on where it runs (browser extension vs desktop app) and what traffic can be captured in that environment

Requestly is well-suited for developers who want a Postman-like API client combined with Charles/Fiddler-style interception. It provides practical tooling for request rewriting, API mocking, and repeatable debugging workflows without requiring heavy infrastructure.

6.1kstars
550forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running