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Yaak

Git-friendly API client by the creator of Insomnia

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Yaak is an API client built by the original creator of Insomnia, designed with Git-friendly file storage from the ground up. API requests, environments, and collections are stored as human-readable files that version control naturally alongside application code. Supports REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket with a clean, keyboard-driven interface focused on developer productivity.

Yaak was born from the frustration its creator experienced after Kong's acquisition of Insomnia led to product decisions that alienated power users. Built from scratch with the lessons learned from building one of the most popular API clients, Yaak prioritizes the workflows that professional developers care about most: Git-friendly storage where API collections live in the repository alongside the code they test, keyboard-driven navigation for rapid request execution, and a clean interface that stays out of the way.

The file-based storage model is Yaak's defining architectural decision. Every request, environment, and collection configuration is stored as a human-readable file that produces clean diffs in version control. Team members can review API collection changes in pull requests, resolve merge conflicts using standard Git tools, and maintain API testing configurations that evolve with the codebase rather than being trapped in a proprietary database or cloud sync system.

Yaak supports REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and WebSocket protocols with environment variable interpolation, request chaining where responses feed into subsequent requests, and authentication handling for OAuth2, API keys, and bearer tokens. The interface emphasizes keyboard shortcuts for common operations, split-pane request and response views, and a response history that tracks how API behavior changes over time. The application runs natively on macOS, Linux, and Windows with consistent behavior across platforms.

Pricing

Free for personal use; paid team features

Platforms

macOS, Linux, Windows native app

Categories

Productivity & Workflow

Tags

API ClientRustOpen Source

Use Cases

API IntegrationFull-Stack Development

Alternatives

Bruno logo

Bruno

Git-friendly offline API client

Open-source API client for testing REST, GraphQL, and gRPC APIs as a lightweight, privacy-focused alternative to Postman. Stores API collections as plain files in your Git repository for easy version control and team collaboration. Features environment variables, scripting, collection runner, and a declarative syntax called Bru. Offline-first with no cloud account required. Available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. 44K+ GitHub stars and growing rapidly among developers leaving Postman.

open-sourceOpen Source
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Scalar

Modern API documentation platform and OpenAPI reference generator

Scalar is an API documentation platform that generates beautiful, interactive API references from OpenAPI specifications. It provides a modern OpenAPI reference interface with dark mode, request examples in multiple languages, and a built-in API client. Available as open-source packages for any framework or as a hosted platform.

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Comparisons

Yaak vs Bruno — Git-Friendly API Client vs Open-Source API Testing Platform

Yaak and Bruno both challenge Postman's dominance in the API client space with Git-friendly storage models, but they serve different philosophies. Yaak, built by Insomnia's original creator, emphasizes keyboard-driven workflows and file-based collections that produce clean Git diffs. Bruno provides an open-source, offline-first API client with a custom markup language for request definitions and a growing ecosystem of community contributions.

YaakBruno