Bruno

Bruno is an open-source API client. It provides a desktop application for exploring and testing APIs, allowing developers to organize requests into collections. The software is available as a binary download for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and can be installed via various package managers including Homebrew, Snap, Flatpak, Chocolatey, and Scoop.

Unlike many API clients, Bruno stores collections directly on the local filesystem using a plain text markup language called Bru. This architecture removes the need for a proprietary cloud sync service, as data remains on the user device. This approach allows teams to use Git or other version control systems to collaborate on API collections, ensuring that request definitions are treated as code and stored alongside the project source.

Key features

• Local filesystem storage for API collections
• Plain text Bru markup language for request data
• Git integration for collection collaboration
• Offline-only operation without cloud synchronization
• Dedicated CLI for automated testing and CI/CD pipelines
• Official Docker images for CLI execution
• Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Support for multiple environments

The Bruno CLI extends the functionality of the desktop app by enabling the execution of requests from the command line. This makes the tool suitable for integration into GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins pipelines. Users can run entire collections or individual requests against specific environments. To simplify deployment, official Docker images are provided in alpine and debian variants for both x86 and ARM architectures, allowing the CLI to run without requiring a Node.js or npm installation on the host machine.

Bruno is designed for developers and QA engineers who require a local-first workflow for API development. By avoiding cloud-based storage, it caters to teams with strict data privacy requirements or those who prefer the transparency of plain text files over proprietary database formats.

Bruno is a privacy-focused tool for developers who prefer local data ownership and standard version control over cloud-based API management.