Yaak – An open source, Git-friendly desktop API client

In plain words

Yaak is an open-source desktop API client designed for developers who need a streamlined tool for testing REST, GraphQL, and WebSocket APIs without extra features like mocking or testing frameworks. Built by the creator of Insomnia, it prioritizes simplicity and clean design. Its standout features include syncing API data to local plain-text files for Git version control and support for custom plugins to extend authentication, templating, and actions.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Send HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and SSE requests. Works offline with no account, plain-file Git sync, and a CLI built for agents

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi HN! I'm Greg and I've been working on Yaak for just over a year. I usually describe it as a Postman alternative since most developers are familiar with that, but it's targeted more toward users that just want an API client (no mocking, testing, spec design, etc). Having also created Insomnia for a similar purpose…

• 
  Insomnia REST Client now open-source2017 · insomnia.rest · ▲218

  Leading Open Source API Development Platform for HTTP, REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSockets

• 
  Yaak2024 · yaak.app · ▲10

  The API client for modern developers

• 
  Insomnia Designer – Open-source collaborative editor for API design2020 · insomnia.rest · ▲317

  Leading Open Source API Development Platform for HTTP, REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSockets

• 
  Voiden API Client2025 · voiden.md · ▲143

  Hey HN! Aldin here, a helping hand to Voiden (https://voiden.md) Voiden is a free, offline, Git-native API client. Your API definitions, docs, and tests all live together. It came out of years of frustration: cloud sync lock-in, paywalled basics, bloated UIs, and lag on even simple requests. So the team built the opposite: an offline tool with no login, no telemetry, no lock-in. Just markdown and hotkeys. It behaves like code: local files, git branches, no cloud nonsense. Terminal is built-in, so you can commit, diff, and push changes right from the app. Docs stay close to your…

• 
  A chat client built on git2016 · github.com · ▲81

  Contribute to staab/git-chat development by creating an account on GitHub.

• GC
  Gitter – Chat for GitHub2013 · gitter.im · ▲243

• 
  /dev/null▲468

  a social network for devs

  Dev tools · 2d ago · dev-null.sh

• 
  Whiteboard (YC W26) – an open-source IDE for thoughtful software design▲423

  open-source IDE for thoughtful software design. Contribute to devdotfast/whiteboard development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 27d ago · github.com

• 
  Reladraw – A diagram language where you decide where to place things▲411

  Contribute to reladraw/reladraw development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 25d ago · github.com

• 
  OpenBot▲362

  Grok Bot alternative: free, local, open-source, multiplayer

  Dev tools · 22d ago · openbot.run

• 
  Talanoa▲340

  Hi HN, I’m a fullstack developer, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many side projects I’ve worked on over the years. But one idea kept coming back to me: a different kind of email client. It first came to me in 2014: “What if we could handle emails more like conversations?” Every year, I’d revisit this concept in my “Build Notes.” Ten years later, no one had built exactly what I had in mind — so I finally decided to do it myself. That’s how Talanoa was born. I wanted something focused on people, not timelines. I was tired of marking messages as unread just to remember to reply later, or…

  Dev tools · 20d ago · talanoa.email

• 
  CoreSpeed▲332

  One MCP for everything your agents need: apps, memory, tools

  Dev tools · 27d ago · corespeed.io

• 
  Screen Studio 3.0▲1,832

  Beautiful screen recordings with instant shareable links

  Growth · 2025 · screen.studio

• 
  Tana▲1,665

  Put your notes to work with voice and AI

  AI · 2025 · tana.inc

• IG
  I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam▲1,581

  I was at FB/Meta from late 2013 to early 2023, mostly working in the compiler/runtime spaces. I got hit in the spring 2023 layoff wave. I immediately started making games in my newfound free time (a lifelong interest, and I even worked in AA(A?) back ca. ~2000), and in October 2023 I stumbled upon the idea of a roguelike pachinko/plinko game inspired by Luck Be A Landlord. Things snowballed quickly, I started talking to publishers, then worked like crazy through all of 2024, almost the hardest I've ever worked in my career, and launched the game in December 2024. It's sold…

  Work · 2025

• 
  Tanka▲1,410

  AI Messenger with smart reply & long term memory for teams

  AI · 2025 · tanka.ai

• 
  Tool Finder▲1,327

  Your shortcut to better software

  AI · 2025 · toolfinder.com

• 
  I built an app to stop me doomscrolling by touching grass▲1,203

  i wanted to change the habit of reaching for my phone in the morning and doomscrolling away an hour so i built an app to help me. now i have to literally touch grass before accessing my most distracting apps the app is built in swiftui, uses the screen time apis provided by apple and google vision to recognise grass or not i'd love to get your thoughts on the concept.

  Life & fun · 2025 · touchgrass.now