00:00:00This is Hopscotch, a free open source API client that opens almost instantly, runs in your browser, works fully offline, and doesn't force you into a paid seat.
00:00:10Meanwhile, Postman takes around 10 seconds to launch, it uses hundreds of megabytes of RAM, and it locks collaboration behind subscriptions.
00:00:18Nowadays, a lot of developers aren't trying to tweak Postman anymore, they're just switching to better alternatives.
00:00:24Let me show you exactly why and whether it's actually worth it.
00:00:30Now, Hopscotch is a lightweight, open source API development ecosystem.
00:00:38You can build, test, document, and collaborate on APIs like REST, GraphQL, WebSocket SSE, and MQTT, all inside a browser tab without some heavy Electron app that's required.
00:00:50It's built to be fast and local first.
00:00:52You can use it with zero install for basics, it works fully offline as a PWA, and it stores
00:00:57data locally instead of forcing you into the cloud.
00:01:00You also get unlimited free workspaces and collaborators, this is the big difference between Postman.
00:01:06We can even self-host this or just run it without even logging in, if we want the lightest version.
00:01:11If you enjoy content that speeds up your dev workflow, be sure to subscribe to the Better Stack channel.
00:01:16Watch this.
00:01:17So, no login, there's no install required.
00:01:19I open Hopscotch in my browser, and I'm good to go.
00:01:22They do have a desktop app you could also download if you're going to be using it more often.
00:01:26Now, once I'm in, I create a new request, I set it to get, and I hit the echo endpoint.
00:01:33That runs as we expect.
00:01:34I can then add any query parameters here, and then a custom header, and press send.
00:01:40My response comes back almost instantly as we expected with formatted JSON.
00:01:44Now, we could save this to a collection like this.
00:01:48Then I could create an environment variable, switch the environment, and resend that request.
00:01:53Done.
00:01:54Super straightforward, which is great.
00:01:55Okay, now we have this.
00:01:57This is the basics, kind of like Postman.
00:01:59All right, now let's try WebSocket.
00:02:00This part was honestly a bit flaky, so they do need to improve this, but I'm going to be
00:02:05using this URL because it seems to run correctly.
00:02:08I paste the endpoint.
00:02:09We're going to click connect, and then I'm going to send this message, and immediately
00:02:14we see the response stream.
00:02:16Now, if you're worried about migrating, there's a one-click import for Postman collection,
00:02:21so you can bridge this over super fast.
00:02:23That's the kind of speed most of us are wanting anyways, pretty much less waiting is what
00:02:27we're after.
00:02:28Now, let's compare it directly with Postman and the areas that actually affect your daily
00:02:33workflow.
00:02:34Postman can take around 10 seconds and use about 400 megabytes of RAM, while Hopscotch
00:02:39opens in under a second, and its desktop app is around 40 megabytes.
00:02:44Then Postman requires login and is cloud dependent, while Hopscotch works fully offline as a PWA.
00:02:51For a collaboration, Postman limits you to three free members, but Hopscotch offers unlimited
00:02:56free workspaces and rules, so this is great when you're scaling, you're working with a
00:02:59bit more of a team.
00:03:01Since Postman is a cloud-first tool, it's not private or self-hosted, and Hopscotch is local-first
00:03:06with optional cloud or fully self-hosted.
00:03:08Finally, Postman is going to charge per seat for teams, and Hopscotch claims, at least they
00:03:13are right now, they're free forever.
00:03:15You can also get one-click Postman and Insomnia imports, a browser extension for cores, and
00:03:21a CLI for CI and CD workflows.
00:03:23For many developers, it feels like what Postman used to be a long time ago.
00:03:27Now, from a dev standpoint, it's incredibly lightweight.
00:03:31You can almost feel the speed immediately.
00:03:33The UI is really clean for being this open source tool, and there's not much clutter going
00:03:38on here.
00:03:39Also, real-time collaboration just works without complicated permission setups.
00:03:43You're able to work offline even with local host APIs, which is huge for back-end development.
00:03:49And finally, the updated JQ filtering and improved scripting make request manipulation much more
00:03:54powerful.
00:03:55Plus, the portable desktop apps have a tiny footprint compared to a typical Electron-based
00:04:00tool.
00:04:01Now, let's be fair here, I just rambled off a bunch of good things.
00:04:04It is really cool, but there are downsides.
00:04:06The cloud version includes light telemetry, so if that concerns you, you'll want to self-host
00:04:11or use it locally.
00:04:13Larger features are still growing, so if you need advanced workflows to work with deep
00:04:17monitoring or complex mocking setups, Postman is honestly still going to be stronger here.
00:04:23And some of the newer documentation features are still in beta as they continue to evolve.
00:04:28That said, for most day-to-day development workflow, there are a ton of pros here that
00:04:33we get with Hopscotch.
00:04:34So should you actually make the switch, or the hop, to Hopscotch?
00:04:38Well, if it's just you running tests, that's an easy yes.
00:04:41If you're a front-end or back-end engineer, you'll likely save time every day just from
00:04:46the speed alone.
00:04:47But if you are looking for a free, cheaper alternatives, that's another yes factor.
00:04:52Small to medium teams can switch without worrying about collaboration limits, but if you work
00:04:56on larger projects or larger teams, you might end up using Hopscotch for some development,
00:05:02but you're still going to rely on Postman around those heavy workflows.
00:05:05Hopscotch is open-source and free, so it's definitely worth trying.
00:05:09It could be a real alternative to Postman in a different route to working with APIs.
00:05:13I've linked Hopscotch in the description.
00:05:15Are you still using Postman, or have you already made the switch?
00:05:19If you enjoy AI coding tools and open-source alternatives, be sure to subscribe.
00:05:23We'll see you in another video.