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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Hoppscotch Has a Free API That Is the Best Open-Source Alternative to Postman

#webdev #testing #opensource #api

Hoppscotch is the open-source API development platform. Test REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SSE, and gRPC — all from your browser, for free.

REST API Testing

Hoppscotch gives you a beautiful interface for:

GET https://api.example.com/products?category=electronics&limit=20

Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer <token>
  Content-Type: application/json

Response:
  Status: 200 OK
  Time: 145ms
  Size: 2.3 KB
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Collections: Organize Your APIs

Create collections for your projects:

{
  "name": "Scraping API",
  "requests": [
    {
      "name": "List Products",
      "method": "GET",
      "url": "{{baseUrl}}/products",
      "headers": [{ "key": "Authorization", "value": "Bearer {{token}}" }]
    },
    {
      "name": "Create Product",
      "method": "POST",
      "url": "{{baseUrl}}/products",
      "body": {
        "contentType": "application/json",
        "body": "{\"title\": \"Widget\", \"price\": 29.99}"
      }
    }
  ]
}
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Environment Variables 

{
  "name": "Production",
  "variables": [
    { "key": "baseUrl", "value": "https://api.example.com" },
    { "key": "token", "value": "your-api-key" }
  ]
}
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Switch between dev/staging/prod with one click.

GraphQL Testing 

query GetProducts($category: String!) {
  products(category: $category) {
    id
    title
    price
    reviews {
      rating
      comment
    }
  }
}

variables:
{
  "category": "electronics"
}
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Auto-complete, schema explorer, and documentation — all built in.

WebSocket Testing 

URL: wss://api.example.com/ws

Send: {"type": "subscribe", "channel": "price-updates"}
Receive: {"type": "update", "product": "widget", "price": 24.99}
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CLI: hopp-cli 

# Run collection from CLI
hopp-cli run collection.json -e environment.json

# CI/CD integration
hopp-cli test collection.json --reporter junit
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Self-Host 

# Docker
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 hoppscotch/hoppscotch

# Docker Compose
git clone https://github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch
cd hoppscotch
docker compose up -d
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Why Hoppscotch Over Postman

Feature Hoppscotch Postman
Price Free forever $14/mo (team)
Open source Yes No
Browser-based Yes Desktop app
Self-hostable Yes No
Offline PWA Desktop only
GraphQL Built-in Plugin
WebSocket Built-in Basic

Test your scraping APIs? My Apify tools expose clean APIs, perfect for Hoppscotch testing.

Custom API development? Email spinov001@gmail.com

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