DEV Community: Liyas Thomas

Insomnia Alternative: Hoppscotch - Open Source, Self-Hosted API Development Ecosystem

Liyas Thomas — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:20:49 +0000

Over the past week, we've observed a growing trend of people seeking alternatives to Insomnia, as they yearn for a more suitable option.

I'm trying to cover a 1-on-1 comparison of features of Insomnia and how Hoppscotch can help you build, test, and share APIs:

At Hoppscotch, we are building an API development ecosystem with a core focus on providing the best developer experience. In this blog, we will explore the features of Hoppscotch and explain how it can enhance your API-building and testing experience.

Open Source

Hoppscotch's open-source nature has helped to keep the contributors, users, and developers in sync. The transparency and trust built over time have led to swiftly addressing the issues, conducting open discussions on feature requests, and delivering a stable and reliable platform.

Collections

As the name suggests, a collection is an organized group of API requests. With Hoppscotch, you can create any number of collections and organize the saved requests inside folders for better navigation.

Multi-Protocol Support

Execute REST API requests, and GraphQL queries, and work with Real-time protocols like Web Socket, Socket.IO, SSE, and MQTT.

Environments

An environment is a reusable set of key-value pairs that can be utilized in creating requests and writing scripts. It also helps to manage the shared data among the team members in a workspace. While accessing the environment variables in the Request URL Bar, Hoppscotch offers an edit property to make changes to the variables then and there if needed.

Tests and Scripts

Create test cases and perform test runs on responses you receive after sending requests. Hoppscotch provides JavaScript APIs that can be used in writing pre-request scripts and building tests. Use snippets present at the sidebar for different fields to know more about them.

History

Keep track of your API requests and responses with Hoppscotch. As soon as you hit send to initiate a request, the call is recorded by Hoppscotch and saved under History. To check out the past requests click on the History icon and access when needed.

Team Collaboration

Use Hoppscotch Teams to create an instant API development environment with your team members or invite collaborators outside your organization to contribute to it. Manage the permissions and assign suitable roles as needed.

Hoppscotch CLI

Set up Hoppscotch CLI and configure your APIs by exporting the collections and environments. Follow a set of commands to get a test summary of the API.

Self-Host Support

To attain complete control of your API development workflow try Hoppscotch's self-host version. Configure and set up Hoppscotch on your local machine and get access to the admin dashboard where you can manage teams and users in your workspace.

And that's a wrap. Explore Hoppscotch and stay tuned with releases to track what's cooking and new on our platform.

If you want to contribute to OSS and make an impact, I believe it is a great place to start & build out amazing things. Oh, remember to Star the repo as well.

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)

Embracing Open Source: The Heart of Hoppscotch's Journey

Liyas Thomas — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 09:58:14 +0000

Introduction

In the ever-evolving world of software development, innovation is fueled by collaboration, transparency, and shared knowledge. At Hoppscotch, we believe in the power of open source to drive progress and transform the way developers interact with APIs. In this blog post, I will take you on a journey through the inception of our open source API platform, exploring the rationale behind this decision and the philosophy that guides our path.

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)

The Birth of Hoppscotch: A Humble MVP

The story of Hoppscotch began with a simple realization: developers needed a more intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly way to interact with APIs. As a developer myself, I understood the frustration of dealing with cumbersome tools that hindered productivity and slowed down the development process. The solution? A tool that would simplify API testing and documentation, streamline workflows, and enhance the developer experience.

With this vision in mind, I embarked on creating the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of Hoppscotch. The initial version was crafted to cater to the core needs of developers, providing them with a clean and intuitive interface to make API requests. As I worked on this MVP, I recognized the immense potential it held to transform the way developers work. However, the journey was just beginning, and I realized that the power of collaboration and collective intelligence could elevate Hoppscotch to new heights.

The Open Source Paradigm: Collaboration and Innovation Unleashed

In the software realm, open source has proven time and again to be a catalyst for innovation, fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing. With Hoppscotch, embracing the open source paradigm was not just a choice; it was the only way forward. Open source aligns perfectly with our core values of transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven development.

Upon completing the MVP, I faced a pivotal decision – whether to keep Hoppscotch as a proprietary tool or release it as open source. The answer became clear when I considered the vast benefits of open sourcing. By making Hoppscotch open source, we would empower developers around the world to contribute, enhance, and customize the platform according to their unique needs. This open collaboration would lead to a robust, feature-rich tool that evolves with the changing demands of the developer community.

The Philosophy Behind Hoppscotch's Open Source Approach

At the heart of Hoppscotch's open source philosophy lies the belief that technology should be accessible, adaptable, and driven by the collective wisdom of the community. We recognize that every developer's perspective is valuable and that the best solutions emerge through a diversity of viewpoints.

By opening the doors to collaboration, we encourage developers to contribute their expertise, share innovative ideas, and address challenges collectively. Through this process, Hoppscotch has the potential to evolve into a tool that not only meets the immediate needs of developers but also anticipates future trends and requirements.

The Road Ahead: Envisioning a Vibrant Open Source Ecosystem

As Hoppscotch continues to flourish as an open source project, our focus remains on nurturing a vibrant ecosystem of developers, contributors, and users. We encourage passionate individuals to join us on this journey, whether it's by submitting code, providing feedback, or sharing their success stories.

In the coming months and years, we envision Hoppscotch growing into a comprehensive platform that not only simplifies API interactions but also fosters a sense of community and collaboration. We're excited to see how Hoppscotch will be customized, extended, and integrated into diverse development workflows, making an impact on projects of all scales and complexities.

At Hoppscotch, the decision to embrace open source was not just a strategic move; it was a reflection of our values, our vision, and our unwavering commitment to empowering developers. Through open collaboration, we are not only shaping a powerful API platform but also contributing to the advancement of software development as a whole. We invite you to join us on this exciting journey as we continue to innovate, collaborate, and build a brighter future for developers worldwide.

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)

Supercharge Your API Testing with Hoppscotch!

Liyas Thomas — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 10:36:37 +0000

Trying to wrap your head around static websites and apps that heavily depend on independently managed APIs can be a real struggle when you're just poking around in your browser.

So, how can we make use of Hoppscotch to both test out our existing APIs and get a better grasp of how they actually work?

What is Hoppscotch?

Hoppscotch is an open-source API development and debugging tool that simplifies the process of working with APIs. It offers a user-friendly interface for making HTTP requests and inspecting responses. With support for various HTTP methods, authentication mechanisms, and customizable options, developers can interact with APIs efficiently.

Hoppscotch enables organizing and saving API requests into collections, allowing for easy management and reuse. It provides features like history tracking to revisit previous requests, response validation to verify correctness, and code generation for quick integration into applications.

Being an open-source project, Hoppscotch benefits from a vibrant community of contributors and users who continually enhance its features. It is available for free, making it accessible to developers of all backgrounds. The transparency of its source code, available on platforms like GitHub, enables customization and contribution. Overall, Hoppscotch is a powerful and popular tool that streamlines API development, testing, and debugging processes, empowering developers to work more efficiently.

What are we going to build and learn?

Creating a Hoppscotch request to fetch information about Squirtle: You can use Hoppscotch to send an HTTP request to an API, such as the PokéAPI, to retrieve data specifically about the Pokémon Squirtle. This would involve configuring the request method, endpoint, and any required parameters.
Building a collection of requests in Hoppscotch for the PokéAPI: You can create a collection in Hoppscotch that contains multiple requests to different endpoints of the PokéAPI. This collection can be used for easy access and testing of various API functionalities, such as fetching Pokémon details, abilities, or moves.

By working on these tasks, you will gain hands-on experience with Hoppscotch, learn about different types of API requests (GET and POST), explore API authentication mechanisms, and understand how to construct and manage collections of requests for efficient API testing and development.

Creating a Hoppscotch request to fetch information about Squirtle

Let's create a Hoppscotch request to fetch information about Squirtle from the PokéAPI, you can follow these steps:

Open Hoppscotch: Launch the Hoppscotch web application.
Set Request Details:
- Choose the HTTP method as GET.
- Enter the API endpoint URL:
```
https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/squirtle
```
Send the Request: Click the "Send" button to send the request.
View the Response: Hoppscotch will display the response received from the API. The response will be in JSON format and contain information about Squirtle, such as its abilities, moves, stats, and more.

Building a collection of requests in Hoppscotch for the PokéAPI

By following these steps, you can build a collection of requests in Hoppscotch for the PokéAPI. This allows you to organize and group related API requests together, making it easier to manage and reuse them in the future.

Create a new collection:
- Click on the "Collections" tab in the Hoppscotch interface.
- Select the option to create a "New collection".
Configure the collection:
- Provide a name for the collection, such as "PokéAPI Collection".
Add requests to the collection:
- Click "Save" or hover over the collection you just created.
- Choose destination location as the collection you just created.
Alternatively you can click on the "New Request" button within the collection.
Test the requests: Once you have added the desired requests to the collection, you can now test them individually by clicking on it.

Hoppscotch's collection feature provides a convenient way to structure your API testing and development workflow.

Learn more about Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch Releases: SemVer to CalVer

Liyas Thomas — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 10:06:19 +0000

TL;DR;

At Hoppscotch, we believe in providing our users with the best possible experience when it comes to API development. Our mission is to make API development simple, efficient, and user-friendly. With this goal in mind, we have decided to migrate from our current rolling releases to calendar version releases. This means that instead of constant, incremental updates, Hoppscotch will now be releasing one major update every quarter. Additionally, intermediate patch releases and hot fixes will be made available in between each major release.

Open Hoppscotch →

One small step for Hoppscotch, one giant leap for our release numbering

Since our initial launch, Hoppscotch has used Semantic Versioning in our release cycle guidelines. Three years, three major releases, and n-patch fixes later, we're making the switch to Calendar Versioning. This means subscribers to our release notes will see quite the jump in today's version numbering, from the latest v3.0.1 to today's v2023.4.0.

Why the switch?

Rolling releases are a continuous stream of updates that are released as soon as they become available. This approach can be convenient for some users, as they always have access to the latest features and bug fixes. However, it can also lead to some challenges, such as stability issues and compatibility problems with other systems.

^{SemVer parts break-down}

The reason for this change is to provide a more stable and predictable environment for Hoppscotch users. With constant updates, developers can find it difficult to keep up with the latest changes and ensure that their code remains compatible. By limiting the number of major updates and making the release schedule more predictable, developers can better plan and manage their development work.

To address these challenges and provide our users with a better experience, we have decided to move to calendar version releases. This approach involves releasing one major version every quarter, with intermediate patch releases and hot fixes in between. This will provide our users with a more stable and predictable release cycle, while still ensuring they have access to the latest features and bug fixes.

Notes on numbering

One of the key benefits of calendar version releases is that they allow us to focus on quality assurance and stability. We can spend more time testing our releases and fixing bugs, which will result in a more stable and reliable platform for our users. Additionally, calendar version releases allow us to plan for compatibility with other systems and ensure that our users can upgrade to the latest version with ease.

^{CalVer parts break-down}

In addition, the calendar version model will make it easier for developers to stay up-to-date with the latest features and functionality. Instead of constantly having to make small updates, developers will only have to make major updates every quarter. This will save time and make the development process more efficient.

One of the biggest advantages of the calendar version release model is that it allows for better testing and quality assurance. With each major release, Hoppscotch will be able to perform more thorough testing and address any bugs or issues that are discovered. This will lead to a more stable and reliable platform, which will be a great benefit to both developers and end-users.

Key Takeaways:

The change aims to improve app quality and stability.
Major releases will be limited to one per quarter.
The Hoppscotch team will have more time to test and refine each release.
Users can expect a reliable and consistent experience.
The app will perform smoothly and seamlessly on any device or platform.

Another benefit of calendar version releases is that they provide a clear roadmap for our users. With one major release per quarter, our users will know when to expect new features and enhancements, and can plan accordingly. This also makes it easier for our users to upgrade to the latest version, as they will have a clear understanding of what changes are coming and when they will be available.

The intermediate patch releases and hot fixes will also provide an important benefit. In between each major release, Hoppscotch will be able to address any critical bugs or issues that are discovered. This will ensure that users can continue to use the platform without interruption, while also providing the peace of mind that any important issues will be addressed in a timely manner.

In addition to improving quality, this change will also make it easier for the Hoppscotch team to address any bugs or issues that may arise. With fewer major releases, the team will be able to focus their resources on fixing any problems that are reported, ensuring that users are able to continue using the app without interruption. The intermediate patch releases and hot fixes in between the major releases will provide users with the necessary updates and improvements that they need to keep their projects running smoothly.

In conclusion, the migration to calendar version releases is an important step forward for Hoppscotch. By improving quality and stability, making it easier to address bugs and issues, and providing users with a clear timeline for new features and updates, with this change, Hoppscotch is positioning itself as a leader in the API development space, and is committed to delivering a high-quality and reliable platform to its users.

Whether you are an experienced developer or just starting out, Hoppscotch is the ideal platform for bringing your APIs to life and sharing them with the world. So why not give it a try today and see what you can create?

Open-Source vs. Proprietary API Development Tools: Why open-source development tools are Better?

Liyas Thomas — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 04:21:03 +0000

API (Application Programming Interface) development tools are software solutions designed to help developers create, manage, and integrate APIs into their applications. These tools provide a range of functionalities that make it easier for developers to work with APIs, such as creating and testing endpoints, generating documentation, and monitoring performance.

We're building Hoppscotch - an open-source API development ecosystem.

GitHub → Web app →

API development tools are essential for building and managing APIs. They provide a set of functionalities that help developers create, test, and deploy APIs quickly and efficiently. However, when it comes to choosing between open-source and proprietary API development tools, many developers are often confused. In this blog post, we will discuss why open-source development tools are better than proprietary ones.

What are Open-Source API Development Tools?

Open-source API development tools are software tools that are freely available to the public. They are developed and maintained by a community of developers who work together to improve the software. Open-source tools are often used by developers who want to customize the software to meet their specific needs.

What are Proprietary API Development Tools?

Proprietary API development tools are software tools that are owned by a company. They are developed and maintained by the company that owns them. Proprietary tools are often used by developers who want to use a tool that has been specifically designed for their needs.

Why Open-Source Development Tools are Better?

Cost

One of the main advantages of open-source development tools is that they are free to use. Developers can download, use, and modify the software without any licensing fees. This makes open-source tools an attractive option for developers who are working on a tight budget.

Flexibility

Open-source development tools are highly customizable. Developers can modify the software to meet their specific needs. This means that developers can add new features, fix bugs, and improve the software as needed. Proprietary tools, on the other hand, are often limited in terms of customization.

Community Support

Open-source development tools are developed and maintained by a community of developers. This means that developers can get help and support from other developers who are using the same software. The community can provide help with bug fixes, feature requests, and other issues.

Transparency

Open-source development tools are transparent. Developers can see the source code and understand how the software works. This means that developers can identify and fix bugs more quickly. Proprietary tools, on the other hand, are often opaque, making it difficult for developers to understand how the software works.

Innovation

Open-source development tools are often at the forefront of innovation. The community of developers who work on open-source tools are often highly motivated to create new and innovative solutions. This means that open-source tools often have features that are not available in proprietary tools.

Conclusion

Open-source development tools are a better choice for developers who want to build and manage APIs. They are free, flexible, and highly customizable. They also have a strong community of developers who provide support and help. Open-source tools are transparent, making it easier for developers to understand and fix bugs. Finally, open-source tools are often at the forefront of innovation, providing developers with new and innovative solutions.

We're building Hoppscotch - an open-source API development ecosystem.
GitHub ↗ - Web app ↗

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)

Celebrate Open Source with Hacktoberfest

Liyas Thomas — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 15:08:55 +0000

Open Source is Counting on You! Answer the Call, at Hacktoberfest 2022

Open source is changing the world – one contribution at a time

Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open-source software run by DigitalOcean. Hacktoberfest is open to everyone, from first-time contributors to seasoned open-source developers. Your open-source journey begins with a pull request. Hoppscotch is one of the projects that you can contribute to.

About Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is an open-source API development ecosystem. You can test, save, share, collaborate, document APIs in real time, and many more.

Used by more than one million developers
46,500+ GitHub stars
100,000+ monthly users

GitHub → Web app →

Contribute

Anyone around the globe who desires to help drive the growth of open source and make positive contributions to an ever-growing community. All backgrounds and skill levels are encouraged to participate. Learn How to Contribute?

There are different ways you can contribute to Hoppscotch. We've curated a list of beginner-friendly ways for you to check out.

👩‍💻 👨‍💻 Implement features

We have a curated list of Hacktoberfest issues requested by community members that are ready for you to pick up.

🧪 🧪 Bug fixes

If you'd like to break and build software, fix a current issue reported by the community and be a hero!

👩‍🔧 👨‍🔧 Write tests

If you're into maintaining the quality and stability of the software, contribute to our testing suites written in jest.

✍️ ✍️ Write documentation

Contributes to Hoppscotch Documentation. See if you can find anything missing or that can be improved.

💖 💖 Write a blog post

Used Hoppscotch in a recent project? Built something cool with Hoppscotch? Tell the community about it in an awesome blog post. Publish your article in developer forums like dev.to, hashnode, aviyel etc.

✨ ✨ Make a tutorial

Have you been a user of the project for a while? From video tutorials to written tutorials, help new community members get started with Hoppscotch!

This will help people using the project and you can also share your insights and tips while writing these. Publish your content on platforms like youtube, dev.to, hashnode, aviyel etc.

FUN FACT: Most developers prefer a well-written and up-to-date blog post over reading documentation.

🌍 🌎 Translate the software

Enjoy the application in your favorite language - help us to translate Hoppscotch. There might be users from different parts of the world who are more comfortable in a different language.

Please read TRANSLATIONS for details and the process for submitting pull requests to us.

This will open up the project to a whole new user base.

Support

The open source community needs you. Do you have what it takes to join the community and build a better future? We’re here to help you.

Hoppscotch is celebrating 35,000 GitHub Stars

Liyas Thomas — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 10:44:40 +0000

Hoppscotch now has 35,000 star gazers on GitHub. We'll use this milestone to recap Hoppscotch’s growth and other important milestones since its beginning as an experimental project in 2019. We've accomplished lot of great things together.

Hoppscotch is an open source API development ecosystem.

Since the initial commit (~2 years ago), Hoppscotch has evolved from being an open source side project to an enterprise developer tool.

GitHub → Web app →

Today, Hoppscotch is celebrating the milestone of reaching 35,000 GitHub Stars.

This will be added to the greatest moments timeline.

Read the tweet

// Detect dark theme var iframe = document.getElementById('tweet-1477619150235201539-921'); if (document.body.className.includes('dark-theme')) { iframe.src = "https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?id=1477619150235201539&theme=dark" }

This is an achievement of our whole community. Thank you for each contribution, love, and all the commitments that you made to improve Hoppscotch. We are lucky to build this open-source project with you.

Many people ask me why it got so popular. Here's my answer.

Most developers have side projects. That’s how we try out new things or make something that we miss on the market or in our dev stack. But most side projects end up unfinished and never actually see the light of day. And even if a developer builds up the courage to show his work to the public, he quickly finds out that just publishing a repository doesn’t bring the masses to his doorstep.

When I set out to create Hoppscotch, of course, I haven’t had the faintest idea if anyone else would be interested in it. But I was mainly scratching my own itch — I knew how to make a web app and I hoped I’d build something that would serve my needs much better than existing tools on the market. That should be your primary motivator — not to chase stars, likes, and other popular content, but to create something for yourself that will make your job easier. There’s a chance you will not be the only one that will find it useful.

I’d like to share with you what I did to make sure that the project doesn’t end up in the dustbin of history. I will concentrate on open source software, but the following advice may as well apply to any creative endeavor.

1. Build a solution

Look around - think about the tools and products you use every day and the underlying problems they solve.

Instead of identifying a solution first, the initial step is to identify the problem. The key here is to be very specific about the problem you are identifying.

Once you’ve identified the problem, the next step is to ideate possible solutions, and they don’t have to necessarily be technical solutions.
Then, from those proposed solutions, create prototypes and begin to test each one.
Continue testing and refining the prototypes until you have enough validation to move full-steam ahead with the one that is working.

Read more in my article: Solve your own problem, everything else will follow.

2. Build in public

Document your journey of building the project. Engage with your users in public forums like dev.to. Write blogs and articles, talk to your audience, share your milestones, ask for help, get feedback and iterate over the product.

3. Build for public

Ship early, ship often. Release the first version as soon as it’s useful. Don’t wait for it to be perfect. For inspiration, here's the initial public MVP release of Hoppscotch. You don’t have to be satisfied with it. You’ll never be. But you should be eager for some feedback.

When you add a useful feature to your project, you don’t have to wait for anything to release it or deploy it. It just has to work. The feedback loop with inputs from other people will tell you whether what you’re building makes sense or whether you should take it in other directions. It’s good to get that feedback as soon as possible.

Roadmap

Me and Andrew Bastin having been building Hoppscotch in public for the past ~2 years. Today is the starting point of many exciting moves and features that will come to Hoppscotch from the very beginning of next month.

We started to work on different features among which are the capability for teams to collaborate in real-time, workspaces, and some others you'll hear of soon. As always, we are grounding our work on the multiple insights that our users gave us and we are more grateful than ever to have such a committed community.

Conclusion

To put it in a nutshell, we'll work on our main focus and priority: making our users happy with new features and improving Hoppscotch as much as we can do.

Contact: liyas@hoppscotch.io

Join us - we're hiring!

Join our journey to build Hoppscotch for an API-first software era.

We're hiring in product, engineering, and design.

Apply now ✨

Previously, I wrote about:

How Hoppscotch is building an open source "API development ecosystem"

Liyas Thomas — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 18:09:02 +0000

At Hoppscotch, our focus has been on empowering developers to focus on their work of building and testing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). In the past year, we have come a long way and we are excited to share the latest milestones in our journey.

Today, we’re announcing that we’ve raised $3M in seed funding led by OSS Capital! Additionally, we are excited to share a slew of new product updates aimed at re-envisioning the principles and practices to continue developing the best-in-class tool for developers to create APIs.

GitHub → Web app →

Next-generation companies are built with Hoppscotch

Thousands of companies –from early teams to growth-stage –use Hoppscotch to develop and test APIs. Employees from Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, IBM, Cisco, RedHat, Verizon, Emirates, OLX are just a few examples.

Hoppscotch’s tools and API development methodologies are becoming the standard for high-performing teams, and the 500,000+ people-strong Hoppscotch community represents a welcoming and fast-growing hub of globally productive developers. Tools like Hoppscotch have become even more critical as companies operate on headless API-driven methodologies. APIs represent the future of making software and communicating data.

Partnering with OSS Capital

Following our progress, and to accelerate and to continue taking Hoppscotch to the next level, we’ve partnered with OSS Capital for our Seed. Joseph Jacks (general partner, OSS Capital) led our seed round and joins our board. We admire and resonate with OSS Capital’s and Joseph’s long-term approach to company building and respect their exceptional track record of backing next-generation, category-defining COSS companies.

“OSS Capital is honored to partner with Liyas Thomas in leading the seed round for Hoppscotch, alongside Automattic — the creators of WordPress. Since first learning about Liyas and his work through the DEV.to community, our first seed investment, we quickly developed a strong sense of the passion, authenticity, and exceptional vibrancy exhibited in the Hoppscotch community. As API-driven development continues to become a fundamental driver of digital innovation and transformation, we believe Hoppscotch will shape and further evolve the cutting edge of API tooling for developers everywhere. In a short period since launching, Hoppscotch has captured the adoption and loyalty of 500,000+ developers globally, and established itself as the fastest-growing open-source ecosystem in India, and globally in its category. Congratulations to Liyas and team on their success so far!”

— Joseph Jacks

Founder and General Partner, OSS Capital

In addition, several industry leaders are participating in this round and bringing on their insights and networks:

Austen Allred, co-founder & CEO of Bloom Institute of Technology (formerly Lambda School)
Paul Sieminski, chief legal officer of Automattic
Clint Smith, chief legal officer of Discord
Tod Sacerdoti, founder & CEO of PipeDream

This funding, along with the support from our investors, gives us the resources to really accelerate and go after defining the new standard for software development.

Looking ahead

We started Hoppscotch in August of 2019, with a simple insight: building and testing APIs has increasingly grown in complexity. The current approach is to layer on more processes and cumbersome tools. We want to see a world that unwinds all of this complexity by providing the practices and tools that fit the developers' workflow, empowering teams to focus on the act of building.

We are grateful for all the support we have received from our customers, partners, and investors. Let’s make software as a craft feel magical again.

Join us - we're hiring!

Join our journey to build Hoppscotch for an API-first software era.

We're hiring in product, engineering, and design.

Apply now ✨

Liyas Thomas

Founder & CEO, Hoppscotch

Create Teams for Collaboration in Hoppscotch

Liyas Thomas — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 15:44:10 +0000

TL;DR

Hoppscotch is an open-source API development ecosystem.

Today we're launching Teams Collaboration support [public beta] in Hoppscotch.

✅ Unlimited teams

✅ Unlimited shared collections

✅ Unlimited team members

✅ Role-based access control

✅ Cloud sync

✅ Multiple devices

GitHub → Web app →

Create Teams for Collaboration in Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is a collaborative API development tool that helps you test, save and share APIs, from any device. You can use Hoppscotch Teams to have an instant API development environment with members of your team or collaborators outside your organization. You can make shared collections, set role-based access control, test, save and share APIs in real-time.

Best practices

Create teams for shared API collections.
Create an org-wide team for communication with everyone across your organization.
Create teams for specific projects and apply the right amount of protection based on who should be included.
Create specific teams for communication with external users to keep them separate from anything sensitive for your business.

For example, a start-up, enterprise firm, or SaaS company could create the following teams:

A business-, firm-, or practice-wide team: This is for everyone to use for day-to-day communications and work across your business. You can use this team to share public APIs or share information of interest for your whole firm or practice.
Individual teams: Set up teams for smaller groups to collaborate about their day-to-day work.
An external communications team or teams: Coordinate with your vendors, partners, or clients without allowing them into anything sensitive. Set up different collections for specific groups.

Set it up

Create a team for just the development team and testers, or product manager and head of departments in just two easy steps:

Create a team

Visit Profile page (click "Login" if not logged in already) > Switch to Teams tab
Click "Create new team"
Give team a name > "Save"

Invite team members

Click "Invite" on top-right corner > Select a team
Add team members email and set permissions > Click "Invite"

That's it, you've successfully created a team and sent invites to your team members. Ask your team members to check their inbox to accept the invitation from the email received from Hoppscotch.

NOTE: Team owners can revoke pending invitations from "Invite window"

User roles

Roles are used to control access to the shared collections.

ROLE	PERMISSIONS
OWNER	Owners can add, edit, and delete requests, collections, and team members.
EDITOR	Editors can add, edit, and delete collections and requests.
VIEWER	Viewers can only view and use requests.

Follow the project on GitHub for more product updates.

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io (open-source alternative to Postman, Insomnia)

In two years, Hoppsotch has grown to:

500,000+ all-time users
22,000+ monthly users
32,500+ GitHub stars
150 contributors

Starting with Hoppscotch for Teams — we're laying the foundation to build a truly open, transparent, and flexible API development tool.

We'll be focusing on every life cycle of API development:

Design
Development
Testing
Deployment
Consumption

Our roadmap aligns with this vision.

Join our Discord server or Subscribe to our Newsletter to stay up to date with the latest happenings in the product.

Join us - we're hiring!

Join our journey to build Hoppscotch for an API-first software era.

We're hiring in product, engineering, and design.

Join our team - Apply now ✨

Celebrate Open Source with Hacktoberfest

Liyas Thomas — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 08:42:06 +0000

Open source is changing the world – one contribution at a time.

Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source software run by DigitalOcean. Hacktoberfest is open to everyone, from first-time contributors to seasoned open source developers. Your open source journey begins with a pull request. Hoppscotch is one of the projects that you can contribute to.

About Hoppscotch

Hoppscotch is an open source API development ecosystem. You can test, save, share, collaborate, document APIs in real-time, and many more.

Used by 500,000+ developers
31,000+ GitHub stars
21,000+ monthly users

GitHub → Web app →

hoppscotch / hoppscotch

👽 Open source API development ecosystem - https://hoppscotch.io

Contribute

There are different ways you can contribute to Hoppscotch. We've curated a list of beginner-friendly ways for you to check out.

👩‍💻 👨‍💻 Implement features

We have a curated list of Hacktoberfest issues requested by community members that are ready for you to pick up.

Active issues ➔

🧪 🧪 Bug fixes

If you'd like to break and build software, fix an existing issue reported by the community and be a hero!

Active issues ➔

👩‍🔧 👨‍🔧 Write tests

If you're into maintaining the quality and stability of the software, contribute to our testing suites written in jest.

Web app ➔
Repository ➔

✍️ ✍️ Write documentation

Contributes to Hoppscotch Documentation. See if you can find anything missing or that can be improved.

Web app ➔
Repository ➔

💖 💖 Write a blog post

Web app ➔
Repository ➔

✨ ✨ Make a tutorial

Have you been a user of the project for a while? From video tutorials to written tutorials, help new community members get started with Hoppscotch!

This will help people who are using the project and you can also share your own insights and tips while writing these. Publish your content on platforms like youtube, dev.to, hashnode, aviyel etc.

FUN FACT: Most developers prefer a well-written and up-to-date blog post over reading documentation most of the time.

Web app ➔
Repository ➔

🌍 🌎 Translate the software

Enjoy the application in your favorite language - help us to translate Hoppscotch. There might be users from different parts of the world who are more comfortable in a different language.

Please read TRANSLATIONS for details and the process for submitting pull requests to us.

This will open up the project to a whole new user base.

Web app ➔
Repository ➔

Support

We’re here to help you.

Chat on Discord
Chat on Telegram

Hoppscotch is celebrating 30,000 GitHub Stars 🎉

Liyas Thomas — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:30:34 +0000

Hoppscotch is an open source API development ecosystem.

Since the initial commit (~2 years ago), Hoppscotch has evolved from being an open source side project to an enterprise developer tool.

GitHub → Web app →

Hoppscotch is celebrating the milestone of reaching 30,000 GitHub Stars.

Many people ask me why it got so popular. Here's my answer.

1. Build a solution
Look around - think about the tools and products you use every day and the underlying problems they solve.

Instead of identifying a solution first, the initial step is to identify the problem. The key here is to be very specific about the problem you are identifying.

Once you’ve identified the problem, the next step is to ideate possible solutions, and they don’t have to necessarily be technical solutions.
Then, from those proposed solutions, create prototypes and begin to test each one.
Continue testing and refining the prototypes until you have enough validation to move full-steam ahead with the one that is working.

Read more in my article: Solve your own problem, everything else will follow.

2. Build in public
Document your journey of building the project. Engage with your users in public forums like dev.to. Write blogs and articles, talk to your audience, share your milestones, ask for help, get feedback and iterate over the product.

3. Build for public
Ship early, ship often. Release the first version as soon as it’s useful. Don’t wait for it to be perfect. For inspiration, here's the initial public MVP release of Hoppscotch. You don’t have to be satisfied with it. You’ll never be. But you should be eager for some feedback.

Roadmap

Conclusion

To put it in a nutshell, we'll work on our main focus and priority: making our users happy with new features and improving Hoppscotch as much as we can do.

Contact: liyas@hoppscotch.io

Read the tweet
// Detect dark theme var iframe = document.getElementById('tweet-1417870384284590084-850'); if (document.body.className.includes('dark-theme')) { iframe.src = "https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?id=1417870384284590084&theme=dark" }

GitHub Externship ❤️ Hoppscotch

Liyas Thomas — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 16:46:22 +0000

Join GitHub Externship @ Hoppscotch

India 🇮🇳 is home to one of the largest communities of student developers in the world. In 2020 we saw the number of students participating in the GitHub Campus program increase by 142 percent, over 100,000 students signed up to GitHub Student Developer Pack, and campus offering was adopted by more than 100 higher-education institutions in India.

This growth is great to see, as the student ecosystem is incredibly important to the continued growth and pace of innovation in India. However, students do not have enough opportunities to get mentorship that can make them real-world-ready and enhance their job prospects.

We are super excited to be a ‘Partner Organization’ of GitHub Externship and look forward to supporting all interested students to participate and contribute to our open-source projects.

GitHub → Web app →

To support the growing community of student developers and to address their needs, GitHub is launching GitHub Externships. This builds on GitHub Campus offering by providing students a unique opportunity to engage with companies in India, via fellowship programs, and build the right skills future developers need, to succeed in an enterprise environment. The program really connects the dots between open source, the next generation of software developers, and successful companies.

The GitHub Externship is a 90 days fellowship program about learning, preparing students to be market-ready, strengthening industry-academia relations, and giving practical experience to students. This also aims to provide innovative solutions to the partner organizations on their existing challenges, organizations could potentially identify real talent that can be employed by the organizations at later stages.

Eligibility

Third-year students that are part of higher-education institutions in India have signed up for the GitHub Campus Program.

For more details please go to the program page here.

Need Help?

If you have any questions or queries please contact us via Telegram, Discord or send an email to us at support@hoppscotch.io.

Join GitHub Externship @ Hoppscotch