explaingit

jtaoufik/tiger

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

37TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A free desktop app for testing APIs that saves every request as a plain text file so you can track it in Git, with a built-in server letting AI assistants run your requests.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Tiger))
    What it does
      API testing desktop app
      Saves requests as text files
      Git friendly workflow
    Tech stack
      TypeScript Electron
      REST GraphQL XML
      Built in MCP server
    Use cases
      Track API changes in Git
      Chain requests together
      Run full collections
    Audience
      Developers
      API teams
    Differentiator
      AI assistant control via MCP

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Save API requests as plain text files you can commit and review in Git

USE CASE 2

Test REST, GraphQL, and XML APIs from one desktop app

USE CASE 3

Chain requests together so one call's result feeds the next

USE CASE 4

Let an AI coding assistant list and send your saved API requests through MCP

What is it built with?

TypeScriptElectronRESTGraphQLXMLMCP

How does it compare?

jtaoufik/tigerhotakus/opencode-visual-cacheimgoodbai/mapgogogo
Stars373737
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Free to use, modify, and distribute for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Tiger is a free, open source desktop application for testing APIs. An API is a connection point that lets different pieces of software talk to each other. Developers use tools like this to send test requests to those connection points and see what comes back, before writing code that depends on those responses. What sets Tiger apart from older tools like Postman is how it saves your work. Every request you create becomes a plain text file on your own computer, using a simple format called .tiger. Because the files are plain text, you can put them into Git, the version-control system most developers already use for code. That means you can track changes, roll back mistakes, and review API changes in the same pull requests where you review code. No account is required, and nothing leaves your machine unless you choose to share it. Tiger runs as a desktop app on macOS and Windows. It supports REST, GraphQL, and XML-based APIs. You can define sets of variables for different environments (such as development versus production), chain requests together so the result of one feeds into the next call, and run an entire collection of requests in order to check they all succeed. A performance mode fires many requests simultaneously and reports timing numbers including average and worst-case response times. One thing Tiger offers that most similar tools do not is a built-in MCP server. MCP is a protocol that lets AI coding assistants such as Claude or Cursor control external tools. Once you configure Tiger's MCP server, an AI assistant can list your saved requests, inspect their contents, and actually send them on your behalf, without you leaving the chat window. This is the main feature the project emphasizes over its closest open source competitors. Tiger is MIT licensed, at version 0.3.1, and maintained by a single developer.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me set up Tiger's MCP server so Claude can send my saved API requests.
Prompt 2
Show me how to chain two Tiger requests so the first response feeds into the second.
Prompt 3
Explain how Tiger's .tiger file format works so I can review API changes in a pull request.
Prompt 4
Walk me through running a full Tiger collection to check all my API requests still succeed.

Frequently asked questions

What is tiger?

A free desktop app for testing APIs that saves every request as a plain text file so you can track it in Git, with a built-in server letting AI assistants run your requests.

What language is tiger written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Electron, REST.

What license does tiger use?

Free to use, modify, and distribute for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is tiger to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is tiger for?

Mainly developer.

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