Development Tool

Bruno

Overview

Bruno is a privacy-first open-source API client. Data is stored completely locally with Git-friendly JSON format for collection management. Following developer backlash against Postman's monetization, it has experienced rapid growth since 2023, particularly gaining support from developers who prioritize offline usage and privacy protection.

Details

Bruno was developed as an open-source IDE for API exploration and testing. Its greatest feature is the "privacy-first" design that operates completely offline and intentionally does not provide cloud sync functionality. While traditional API clients adopt cloud-based data storage, Bruno prioritizes keeping user data on local devices. For collection management, it uses a proprietary Bru format plain-text markup language, storing request information directly in filesystem folders. This design enables seamless integration with version control systems like Git, making diff viewing and merge operations easy in team development. The API request execution flow adopts a sophisticated architecture where UI, Redux store, IPC bridge, and main process work together, providing a comprehensive lifecycle that includes pre-request script and post-response test execution. It supports GraphQL, REST APIs, various authentication methods (Basic, Bearer, OAuth), and offers rich import functionality from Postman, OpenAPI, and Insomnia.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages

• Complete Privacy Protection: Data never sent to cloud, stored locally only
• Full Git Support: Plain text format enables easy version control and diff viewing
• Open Source: Completely free with MIT license, customizable
• Lightweight & Fast: Electron-based but performance-focused design
• Migration Friendly: Easy import from Postman, Insomnia, OpenAPI
• Team Collaboration: Natural collaboration through Git
• Rich Features: GraphQL support, script execution, code generation, etc.
• Cross-platform: Available on Windows, macOS, Linux

Disadvantages

• No Cloud Sync: Intentional design choice not to provide cloud features
• Learning Curve: Requires understanding of Git integration and Bru format
• Small Ecosystem: Limited plugins and extensions compared to established tools
• Limited Enterprise Features: Team management and enterprise capabilities are limited
• Emerging Tool: Shorter history compared to Postman, may lack stability

Reference Links

• Bruno Official Site
• GitHub - usebruno/bruno
• Bruno Documentation
• Bruno vs Postman Comparison
• Bruno Downloads

Usage Examples

Basic REST Request (Bru Format)

meta {
  name: Get User
  type: http
  seq: 1
}

get {
  url: {{baseUrl}}/users/{{userId}}
}

headers {
  Authorization: Bearer {{accessToken}}
  Content-Type: application/json
}

vars {
  userId: 12345
}

tests {
  test("Status is 200", function() {
    expect(res.status).to.equal(200);
  });
  
  test("User has email", function() {
    expect(res.body.email).to.be.a('string');
  });
}

POST Request with JSON Body

meta {
  name: Create User
  type: http
  seq: 2
}

post {
  url: {{baseUrl}}/users
}

headers {
  Authorization: Bearer {{accessToken}}
  Content-Type: application/json
}

body:json {
  {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "age": 30,
    "department": "engineering"
  }
}

script:pre-request {
  // Pre-request script
  bru.setVar("timestamp", Date.now());
  bru.setVar("requestId", Math.random().toString(36));
}

script:post-response {
  // Post-response script
  if (res.body.id) {
    bru.setEnvVar("lastCreatedUserId", res.body.id);
  }
}

tests {
  test("User created successfully", function() {
    expect(res.status).to.equal(201);
    expect(res.body.id).to.exist;
  });
}

GraphQL Query

meta {
  name: GraphQL User Query
  type: graphql
  seq: 3
}

post {
  url: {{baseUrl}}/graphql
}

headers {
  Authorization: Bearer {{graphqlToken}}
  Content-Type: application/json
}

body:graphql {
  query GetUserProfile($userId: ID!) {
    user(id: $userId) {
      id
      name
      email
      posts {
        id
        title
        content
        createdAt
      }
    }
  }
}

body:graphql:vars {
  {
    "userId": "{{userId}}"
  }
}

tests {
  test("GraphQL query successful", function() {
    expect(res.body.data.user).to.exist;
    expect(res.body.data.user.email).to.include("@");
  });
}

Environment Variables Setup (environments/)

// environments/development.bru
vars {
  baseUrl: https://api-dev.example.com
  accessToken: dev-jwt-token-here
  apiVersion: v1
}

// environments/production.bru
vars {
  baseUrl: https://api.example.com
  accessToken: prod-jwt-token-here
  apiVersion: v2
}

// environments/local.bru
vars {
  baseUrl: http://localhost:3000
  accessToken: local-test-token
  apiVersion: v1
}

Authentication Flow and Scripts

meta {
  name: OAuth Login
  type: http
  seq: 1
}

post {
  url: {{authUrl}}/oauth/token
}

headers {
  Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
}

body:form-urlencoded {
  grant_type: client_credentials
  client_id: {{clientId}}
  client_secret: {{clientSecret}}
  scope: read write
}

script:post-response {
  // Save token to environment variables
  if (res.body.access_token) {
    bru.setEnvVar("accessToken", res.body.access_token);
    bru.setEnvVar("tokenType", res.body.token_type);
    bru.setEnvVar("expiresIn", res.body.expires_in);
    
    console.log("Access token updated successfully");
  }
}

tests {
  test("OAuth token received", function() {
    expect(res.status).to.equal(200);
    expect(res.body.access_token).to.be.a('string');
    expect(res.body.token_type).to.equal('Bearer');
  });
}

Git Integration Usage

# Version control for Bruno collections
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial API collection setup"

# Feature development with branches
git checkout -b feature/new-endpoints
# Add new API endpoints in Bruno
git add api-collection/
git commit -m "Add new user management endpoints"

# Team sharing
git push origin feature/new-endpoints
# Merge after Pull Request review

# Exclude environment-specific files
echo "environments/local.bru" >> .gitignore
echo "environments/secrets.bru" >> .gitignore