At a Glance:
Requestly API Client is a privacy-first REST and GraphQL API client supporting local Git-based workspaces, instant team sync, and self-hosting with no login required.
Overview:
Requestly API Client is a desktop API client designed for building, testing, and syncing REST and GraphQL APIs. It provides a local-first environment where API collections and environment data remain under user control through local files and Git, without requiring cloud accounts. Developers can import existing API contracts from Postman, cURL, or OpenAPI formats, and choose between purely local workspaces, Git-synced collaboration, or self-hosted infrastructure. The tool targets individual developers and teams who want an API client that keeps their request data and workflows out of third-party cloud services by default.
Key Decision Points:
Data sovereignty model: Offers three distinct approaches — local-only workspaces, Git-synced workspaces for team collaboration, or self-hosted deployment — letting users decide exactly how and where their API data is stored.
Offline-ready with no login: Works without account creation or cloud dependency, with all core testing and collection management available in local workspaces.
Collaboration tied to Git, not vendor cloud: Team synchronization relies on Git repositories rather than a proprietary sync service, making the collaboration process compatible with existing development workflows.
Closed-source client with open community: While the API Client application itself is not open source, the bug tracker, feature requests, and roadmap are publicly available in this repository.
Broader Requestly ecosystem: Part of a larger suite that includes the open-source HTTP Interceptor browser extension, desktop proxy, MCP server, and test automation integrations — useful for teams already using those tools.
Core Features:
REST API Playground: Save and organize APIs in collections for repeated testing without re-entering endpoint details.
Pre and Post Scripts: Run scripts to modify requests before they are sent and to process responses after they are received.
Git Sync: Synchronize API Collections with a Git repository, enabling collaboration through existing Git workflows rather than a cloud-only sync service.
GraphQL Support: Test GraphQL endpoints with schema introspection and query auto-completion.
Local Workspaces: Store all API collection data locally without cloud storage, keeping requests and environments on the machine.
Import and Export: Import API contracts from Postman, cURL, and OpenAPI formats, and export data for use in other tools or backup.
Use Cases:
Developers who want an offline API testing tool: Test REST and GraphQL endpoints locally without creating an account or connecting to a cloud service.
Teams using Git for API collaboration: Sync API collections through a shared Git repository instead of relying on a vendor-specific cloud sync platform.
Organizations with strict data residency requirements: Deploy via self-hosting to keep all API request data, collections, and environments within internal infrastructure.
Developers migrating from Postman: Import existing Postman collections directly and maintain local control over API data that was previously stored in a cloud account.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Requestly API Client provides an alternative to cloud-dependent API clients by prioritizing local data storage, Git-based synchronization, and self-hosted deployment. While the API Client application is closed-source, its data model avoids vendor cloud lock-in: local workspaces store everything on disk, collaboration uses standard Git, and organizations can run their own infrastructure. For users who specifically need a fully open-source API testing tool with inspectable source code, the Requestly ecosystem includes the separate open-source HTTP Interceptor extension and desktop proxy — though the API Client itself occupies a middle ground between fully open-source tools and purely cloud-locked commercial API platforms.
