Bruno: The Open-Source Postman Alternative You Should Try

If you test APIs, you probably use Postman. But Postman has some problems. Bruno fixes them.

The Postman Problem

Postman started as a simple tool. Now it requires an account to use. Your collections sync to Postman’s cloud. The free tier has limits. And if Postman changes its pricing again, you lose access to your work.

That is a lot of trust to put in one company.

What Is Bruno?

Bruno is an open-source API client. It works like Postman. You can send HTTP requests, test REST APIs, GraphQL, and gRPC. You can organize requests into collections.

But Bruno is different in one important way: everything stays on your computer.

No account. No cloud. No sync to someone else’s server.

You can download Bruno for free at usebruno.com.

Why Bruno Is Better

The Core Is Free and Open Source

Bruno’s core is open-source under the MIT license. The desktop app, CLI, and terminal-based Git workflow are all free. Bruno also has paid Pro and Ultimate plans for teams that want advanced features like a built-in Git UI with commit, push, and merge conflict resolution.

Collections Are Plain Text Files

This is the best part. In Postman, your collections are stored in Postman’s cloud or as a big JSON file.

In Bruno, every request is a .bru file. Plain text. Human-readable.

Here is what a .bru file looks like:

meta {
  name: Get user
  type: http
}

get {
  url: {{BASE_URL}}/api/user/1
  body: none
}

headers {
  Authorization: Bearer {{TOKEN}}
}

That is it. Simple and clean.

Your Collections Live in Your Git Repo

Because .bru files are plain text, you can add them to your Git repository using your normal Git workflow — git add, git commit, git push.

Your API collection lives next to your code. Your team can review changes to requests in pull requests. You get a full history of every change.

Note: Bruno’s built-in Git UI (with buttons for commit, push, and merge) requires a paid plan. But you do not need that. The terminal Git workflow works perfectly with the free version.

No Account Needed

Open the app. Start testing. No sign-up, no email, no waiting.

How to Install Bruno

Go to usebruno.com and download the desktop app. It is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Install it and open it. That is all.

Bruno CLI for CI/CD

Bruno also has a command-line tool. You can run your collections in a CI/CD pipeline.

Install the CLI:

npm install -g @usebruno/cli

Run a collection:

bru run --env production

This is very useful for automated API testing. You can run your Bruno collection in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or any other pipeline.

Bruno vs Postman

When Should You Switch?

Bruno is a great fit if you:

• Want to store API collections in your Git repo
• Are tired of Postman’s cloud sync and account requirements
• Need CLI support for automated testing
• Want a free tool with no cloud dependency

If you are already happy with Postman, you can try Bruno on a new project. The migration is easy — Bruno can import Postman collections.

What’s Next?

Learn more developer tools and tips:

• Claude Code Tricks
• What Is Vibe Coding?