API Development Tools
A list of API Development Tools. Compare major tools that improve development efficiency.
| No | Name | GitHub Stars | Description | Trend | License | Language | Official Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Postman | - | Industry-standard tool for API development. Provides comprehensive API development environment including testing, mock creation, documentation generation, and team collaboration. | Maintains overwhelming market share as the standard tool for API development. Enterprise adoption accelerated since 2021 with enhanced paid plans. | Freemium | JavaScript | Official |
| 2 | Insomnia | ⭐ 36.7k | Simple yet powerful API client developed by Kong. Features beautiful UI and GraphQL support with design focused on developer experience. | Rapid popularity growth with the arrival of the GraphQL era. Enterprise features significantly enhanced after acquisition by Kong. | Freemium | JavaScript | Official |
| 3 | Bruno | ⭐ 36.2k | Privacy-first open-source API client. Data stored locally with Git-friendly JSON format for collection management. | Rapid growth since 2023 following Postman's monetization. Growing attention due to increased developer privacy awareness. | MIT | JavaScript | Official |
| 4 | Hoppscotch | ⭐ 72.9k | Browser-based lightweight API client. No installation required with PWA support. Features simple usability and high performance. | Growing popularity with PWA adoption. Increasing enterprise adoption due to lightweight nature and cross-platform support. | MIT | Vue.js | Official |
| 5 | Thunder Client | ⭐ 3.7k | API development extension dedicated to Visual Studio Code. Complete API testing within the editor with excellent development workflow integration. | Rapid growth with increasing VS Code users. Maintains high popularity even after partial monetization in January 2025. | Freemium | TypeScript | Official |
| 6 | REST Client | ⭐ 5.7k | Lightweight HTTP client extension for VS Code. Define API requests in simple text files with easy Git management. | Persistent popularity due to simplicity and Git compatibility. Continuous adoption by development teams emphasizing version control. | MIT | TypeScript | Official |
| 7 | HTTPie | ⭐ 36.1k | Human-friendly command-line HTTP client. Modern alternative to cURL with intuitive syntax and JSON support. | Established as developer productivity tool. Expanding use in CI/CD pipelines and scripts. | BSD-3-Clause | Python | Official |
| 8 | RapidAPI for Mac | - | Native API client exclusively for macOS. Achieves refined native UI and high performance. | Growing popularity among macOS developers. Supported by users who value native experience. | Commercial | Swift | Official |
| 9 | Swagger UI | ⭐ 28.0k | Interactive API documentation automatically generated from OpenAPI specifications. Industry-standard API documentation tool. | Established as essential tool with OpenAPI adoption. Increasing importance with penetration of API-First development methodology. | Apache 2.0 | JavaScript | Official |
| 10 | cURL | ⭐ 38.3k | Most fundamental command-line HTTP client. Pre-installed on virtually all systems and widely used for automation and scripting. | Maintains unwavering position as fundamental tool. Remains important as reference implementation even with new API tools emerging. | curl License | C | Official |