Hoppscotch - API testing at the speed of light⚡
Tags: showdev, opensource, api, softwaredevelopment
Published: 2023-11-09 14:27:10

At Hoppscotch, we're building a one-of-a-kind API testing client and an ecosystem of products to enable teams in effortlessly working with APIs throughout their API development lifecycle.

We began as a web-based API client at [hoppscotch.io](https://hoppscotch.io/), where anyone can easily initiate API testing. Ever since then the Hoppscotch Desktop app has been a [highly requested product](https://github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch/issues/3101) by our community. We've been listening and are excited to announce that the day has finally arrived - today marks the launch of the public alpha version of the Hoppscotch Desktop App for macOS, Windows, and Linux!

You can get started with the Hoppscotch Desktop App right away by [downloading it from our website](https://hoppscotch.com/download)

![Hoppscotch Desktop App Announcement](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/mez74qmd7hymx70b9ohr.png)

Hoppscotch has become one of the most loved API testing clients. Hoppscotch enables developers and testers to quickly get started with API testing using our web-based API client and PWA.

Our team spent months working on the desktop app because we wanted to create the best-performing API testing client out there - a desktop app that can run on any machine, with no compromise to our values!

Hoppscotch Desktop is a major step forward in our mission to build an API development ecosystem. With its ridiculously fast performance and easy-to-use interface, Hoppscotch Desktop is the app you need for your API development.

## Game-Changer for API Testing

The Hoppscotch Desktop app is built on the robust Tauri framework using Rust, which redefines the API client experience. With its lightning-fast load times and minimal memory footprint, the app ensures seamless API interactions without compromising your system's resources.

To test how fast Hoppscotch really is, we ran a performance benchmark on a Windows 11 machine with an ARM64 VM, comparing Postman, Insomnia, and Hoppscotch.


![Hoppscotch performance metrics](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/isxfb4kbk8yt6yctoq7h.png)

> *Benchmark is done using AppTimer on Windows 11 on an arm64 VM, for 30 iterations with 2 second cooldown in between iterations. The value provided is the mean time measured over the iterations. One run is counted as the time from when the execution starts till the window becomes responsive after all the loading.

Hoppscotch is 10x faster than Postman and 6x faster than Insomnia in terms of startup time. There's a lot more optimizing to be done and we believe Hoppscotch will only get faster with time.

The Hoppscotch app is also lightweight when it comes to file size. This aligns with our founding philosophy that anyone should be able to get started with API testing on any machine. The Hoppscotch Desktop app is 20x lighter than Insomnia and 15x lighter than Postman when it comes to file size!


![Hoppscotch file size comparison](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ea2e6pgdohaw8t931om0.png)

The Hoppscotch Desktop app doesn't just meet expectations, it sets new standards in performance, optimization, and security.

The Hoppscotch Desktop App is currently in alpha. This means that it is not yet feature-complete and may contain bugs. We are actively working on improving the app and adding new features. You may encounter bugs and issues while using the app. If you do, please report them on our [GitHub repository](https://github.com/hoppscotch/hoppscotch).

Once you've installed the desktop app, you can use Hoppscotch with or without an account. If you don't want to create an account, all your data will be stored locally.

With an account, you can interact with our Hoppscotch Cloud instance to collaborate with your team in testing and developing APIs. In your personal workspace, you have the option to choose what you sync with our cloud server. If cloud sync is disabled, then all the data is cached on the desktop app.

Hoppscotch Desktop App is set to redefine how you work with APIs. We invite you to explore and experience the speed and efficiency it offers. Let's embark on this new chapter together and revolutionize the way you interact with APIs.