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Alternative

Insomnia alternative for offline, account-free API debugging

Insomnia is a dedicated desktop API client from Kong with cloud and Git sync, a plugin ecosystem and a CLI. MyDevTools is a free, open-source desktop API client that runs fully offline and needs no account: REST, GraphQL, WebSocket and gRPC, collections, environments, scripting, a collection runner and a local mock server — next to 80+ other developer tools.

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Choose Insomnia when

Insomnia is the better fit when you need its team and automation surface.

  • Your team shares collections through Kong cloud sync or Git sync.
  • You run collections in CI with the Insomnia CLI, or depend on its plugin ecosystem.
  • You need Windows or Linux builds — MyDevTools ships macOS builds today.

Choose MyDevTools when

MyDevTools gives you the full client feature set locally, with nothing to sign in to and nothing uploaded.

  • REST, GraphQL with schema introspection, WebSocket, and native gRPC with server reflection, unary and streaming calls.
  • Collections with saved examples, environments and response chaining, pre-request/test scripts, a runner with CSV/JSON data files and JUnit export, and a mock server built from saved examples.
  • Secrets from the encrypted local vault, everything stored in an encrypted database, 27 UI languages, and Insomnia v4 export if you ever want to move back.

Verdict

Insomnia is stronger for cloud and Git sync, plugins and CI. MyDevTools is the stronger free, offline client that also carries the rest of your toolkit.

  • Best team sync, plugins and CLI: Insomnia.
  • Best free, offline, account-free API client: MyDevTools.
  • Best API client plus 80+ developer tools: MyDevTools.

Common comparison questions

Is MyDevTools a full Insomnia replacement?

For local API work, yes: REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, gRPC, collections, environments, scripting, a runner and a mock server are all included and free. It does not offer cloud or Git sync, plugins, or a CLI runner.

Can I move my Insomnia collections to MyDevTools?

Export your Insomnia collection as HAR, or as an OpenAPI spec from a design document, and import it into MyDevTools; cURL commands import too. MyDevTools exports to Insomnia v4, so the move works in both directions.