usebruno/bruno

Bruno is an open-source desktop application for testing and exploring APIs, the interfaces that allow software systems to communicate with each other. It serves as a lightweight alternative to tools like Postman or Insomnia, which are widely used by developers to craft and send HTTP requests, inspect responses, and organize collections of API calls for testing and documentation purposes. The key differentiator of Bruno is its philosophy around data storage. Rather than saving your API collections in a proprietary cloud database or a binary format, Bruno stores everything as plain text files in a folder on your own computer using a custom markup language called Bru. This means your collections can be tracked with Git or any other version control system, just like source code. Teams can collaborate on API collections through standard pull requests and code reviews without needing a Bruno account or cloud subscription. Bruno is deliberately offline-only, the project has stated it will never add cloud sync, prioritizing data privacy. Someone would use Bruno when they are building or consuming web APIs and need to send test requests, inspect responses, write pre-request or post-response scripts, and organize those requests into reusable collections. It supports HTTP, GraphQL, and automation scripting. It is especially appealing to developers who are frustrated by Postman's shift toward requiring a cloud account and syncing data remotely, or who simply want their API collections stored and versioned alongside their codebase. Bruno runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. The tech stack is JavaScript, built with Electron to package the web-based interface into a native desktop application. Most features are free and open source under the MIT license, with some advanced features available in paid tiers.