Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Catena – Simplify Express handlers with tRPC-like syntax

Build type-safe APIs with ease. Contribute to sonic-technology/catena development by creating an account on GitHub.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Catena – Simplify Express handlers with tRPC-like syntax launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   deco.cx 2.0▲1,078

   Build web apps 10x faster with Deno, JSX, TS & Tailwind

   2024 · decocms.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Fern▲260

   We built the world’s first generated, idiomatic gRPC and REST SDK. If you have public gRPC and REST endpoints, Fern is the SDK provider for you.

   2025 · buildwithfern.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Developerhub.io▲149

   Create beautiful powerful documentation, hassle-free.

   2018 · developerhub.io · its alternatives →

4. 4
   RecipeUI▲143

   Open source type-safe Postman alternative

   2023 · recipeui.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Transposit▲130

   Build API-dependent applications effortlessly

   2019 · transposit.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Instant API – Build type-safe web APIs with JavaScript▲102

   Hey there HN! I just wrapped up an all-day documentation spree for Instant API, a JavaScript framework for easily building web APIs that implements type safety at the HTTP interface. It uses a function-as-a-service approach combined with a slightly modified JSDoc spec to automatically enforce parameter and schema validation before HTTP requests make it through to your code. You just write comments above your endpoint functions and voila, enforced type safety contracts between your API endpoints and your developers. OpenAPI specifications are generated automatically as a byproduct of simply…

   2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Simple refined types implementation that can prevent Heartbleed▲56

   Implementations of various type systems in OCaml. Contribute to tomprimozic/type-systems development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8KA
   Kysely, a type-safe SQL query builder for TypeScript▲90

   The most powerful type-safe SQL query builder for TypeScript

   2023 · kysely.dev · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Typescript with TailwindCSS and tRPC▲4

   Monorepos, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, tRPC &PostgreSQL course

   2024 · newline.co · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Write native binary web apps with TypeScript and Express▲14

    The NativeAOT port of ExpressJS API. Contribute to tsoniclang/express development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Promises – Type safe promise library for go▲7

    Type safe promises in go. Contribute to garlicnation/promises development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Expressa – build REST apis without code▲8

    API creation middleware with an admin interface. Contribute to thomas4019/expressa development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Fern, a language for defining REST APIs that compiles into OpenAPI▲18

    Hi HN, this is Danny, Deep, and Zach. We built Fern after our previous ed tech startup failed. We were frustrated with how much time we spent writing “API code” instead of working on the actual product. We tried to use OpenAPI but we were underwhelmed - the generated code wasn’t idiomatic and it still required manual work (custom templates, scripts, manually publishing SDKs to registries). The Fern compiler takes your API as input and invokes generators that output things like: SDKs, server code, a Postman collection, and an OpenAPI spec. Some technical highlights about the compiler +…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    TypeScript types that conform to JSON schemas without code generation▲17

    Let JSON play nicely with Typescript. Contribute to ostrowr/ts-json-validator development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    GitHub▲2

    Type-safe collaborative documents with fast, ID-based OT.

    Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Curry functions with a type-safe fluent API▲5

    Curry functions using a type-safe fluent API. Contribute to willmartian/fluent-curry development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Express TypeScript Starter-kit▲2

    Production-ready starter template for building RESTful APIs

    Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    ShepVerify - Alpha ▲7

    AI writes apps, we prove they're bug-free!

    Dec 2025 · shepverify.lovable.app · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Trotsky▲10

    Effortless Bluesky automations for developers

    2025 · trotsky.pirhoo.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Footing - A Foundation for Developing REST APIs with Express and Nodejs▲5

    A foundation for developing APIs with Node.js and Express. - GitHub - arviteri/Footing: A foundation for developing APIs with Node.js and Express.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    I have open-sourced my ReactJs UI kit▲10

    Hello everyone, For the past several months, I have been building multiple React/TailwindCSS components for my projects. I have decided to bundle and document them so that I can share them with the community. The entire UI kit is written in Typescript on top of the class-variance-authority library. Although I am already using these components in production, the project is still in beta since it lacks a full test suite and dark mode. Please feel free to take a look and provide feedback if you have a moment to spare. Thank you!

    2023 · rewind-ui.dev · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Open-Source Notion MCP Server (TypeScript, SSE, Apify)▲9

    Hello HN, I built this because I wanted to give Claude Desktop access to my Notion workspace without running a flaky local Python script via stdio. This is a Node.js/Express implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that uses SSE (Server-Sent Events) for transport. It’s designed to be stateless and deployable as a container (I'm hosting it on Apify, but it works anywhere with Node). The Stack: TypeScript + Express @modelcontextprotocol/sdk Zod for input validation Bearer Auth for security (since it exposes an HTTP endpoint) Capabilities: It allows the LLM to search pages,…

    Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Typical is TypeScript with type-safety at runtime▲8

    Spent a week in the break building a pre-compiler that brings type safety to runtime. Still pretty early, but generally does what it says. Looking for feedback, code that breaks it (check out the playground), ideas etc.

    Jan 2026 · typical.elliots.dev · its alternatives →

24. 24
    I built an open-source alternative to TypeForm [MIT]▲7

    An open-source, headless, API-first platform that empowers developers and product teams to create and optimize custom in-app user flows, such as new user onboarding wizards. Tutim library supports multi-step forms, conditional branching, custom validation, l10n, and more – all through a JSON schema and unlimited flexibility through code. Beta release on GitHub (star us!): https://github.com/tutim-io/tutim. Why it's better than other form builders or open-source libraries? - Flexible: Seamlessly integrate Tutim with your design system components, APIs, and your backend. -…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →