A powerful, open-source API testing and development tool built with Electron.
PostBee is a full-featured alternative to Postman — a desktop-native API client with offline-first architecture, real-time protocol support, visual workflow builder, and optional cloud sync. Built with Electron, React, TypeScript, and SQLite.
- Full HTTP support — GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
- Request builder — Params, headers, body (form-data, urlencoded, raw JSON/XML/Text/HTML, binary, GraphQL), auth, scripts, settings
- 13 authentication types — Basic, Bearer, API Key, Digest, OAuth 1.0, OAuth 2.0, Hawk, AWS Signature, NTLM, JWT, Akamai EdgeGrid, ASAP, and more
- Response viewer — Pretty JSON, raw, preview, headers, timing breakdown, copy/download
- Variable system — Scoped variables (Global → Collection → Environment → Local), dynamic variables (
$guid,$timestamp,$randomInt) - Cookie jar — Automatic send/receive, per-domain management, import/export
- Unlimited nesting — Collections, folders, and requests with drag-and-drop reordering
- Collection runner — Iterations, delays, CSV/JSON data files, live test results,
setNextRequest()flow control - Request history — Grouped by time, searchable, with full response persistence
- Environments — Multiple environments, quick-switch (Ctrl+E), initial/current values, sensitive value masking, bulk edit
- Pre-request & post-response scripts — Full
pm.*API compatible with Postman - Sandboxed execution — Worker thread isolation with timeout and memory limits
- Test assertions —
pm.test(),pm.expect()with Chai-like matchers - Script console —
console.log/info/warn/errorcapture and display - pm.sendRequest() — Make additional requests from within scripts
- WebSocket — Connect/disconnect, send/receive messages, message history, auto-reconnect
- GraphQL — Schema introspection, autocompletion, query validation, schema explorer
- gRPC — Proto file loading, unary and streaming calls
- MQTT — Publish/subscribe, topic management
- Socket.IO — Event-based real-time communication
- SSE — Server-Sent Events streaming
- Unix Domain Sockets — Local process communication
- Drag-and-drop canvas — Built with React Flow
- Node types — Request, Condition (if/else), Loop, Script, Delay, Output
- Data flow — Variable passing between nodes with step-by-step execution visualization
- Local mock servers — Create from collection or define custom responses
- Match rules — Method, path, query params, headers
- Dynamic responses — Random/sequential selection, configurable delay
- Hot-reload — Edit mocks while server is running
- Code generation — Export requests to 22 languages/frameworks
- cURL import/export — Paste detection, multi-line support, Windows CMD format
- Import/Export — Postman v2.1, OpenAPI 3.0, Swagger 2.0, HAR files
- Command palette — Ctrl+Shift+P for quick actions
- Global search — Fuzzy search across collections, requests, URLs (Ctrl+K)
- Keyboard shortcuts — Fully customizable, Postman-compatible defaults
- Console/Network logger — Real-time request logging with variable resolution display
- Response streaming — Large responses (>10MB) handled efficiently
- Virtual scrolling — History and console lists rendered with react-window
- Lazy loading — Collection tree loads children on expand
- Web Workers — JSON formatting offloaded for large payloads
- Memory management — Monaco editor instances disposed on tab close
- Local-first — Works 100% offline, sync is opt-in
- Real-time collaboration — WebSocket-based sync with presence indicators
- Conflict resolution — Last-write-wins with offline queue
- Team workspaces — Invite by email, permission model
- Backend — Fastify + PostgreSQL + Redis (self-hostable via Docker)
- CI/CD integration — Run collections from the command line
- Multiple reporters — Console, JSON output
- Data file support — CSV/JSON variable injection
- OpenAPI linting — Validate specs from terminal
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop Shell | Electron 28 |
| Frontend | React 18, Ant Design 5, Zustand |
| Editor | Monaco Editor |
| Database | SQLite (better-sqlite3, WAL mode) |
| HTTP Engine | Undici |
| Build | Vite 5, vite-plugin-electron |
| Testing | Vitest |
| Installer | electron-builder (NSIS) |
| Backend (optional) | Fastify, PostgreSQL, Redis |
| Containerization | Docker Compose |
- Node.js 20 LTS (via fnm recommended)
- Windows 10/11 (x64)
- npm (bundled with Node.js)
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/postbee/postbee.git
cd postbee
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Start development (uses fnm to ensure Node 20)
.\dev.ps1Or manually:
fnm use 20
npm run dev# Build the Windows installer (.exe)
npm run electron:buildThe installer will be output to the release/ directory.
cd server
npm install
docker-compose up -d # PostgreSQL + Redis
npm run db:migrate
npm run devpostbee/
├── electron/ # Main process (Electron)
│ ├── main.ts # App entry, window management
│ ├── preload.ts # Context bridge (IPC)
│ ├── db/ # SQLite schema & initialization
│ ├── ipc/ # IPC handlers (request, script, file, etc.)
│ └── services/ # Core services (HTTP engine, gRPC, WebSocket, etc.)
├── src/ # Renderer process (React)
│ ├── components/ # UI components by feature
│ ├── layouts/ # App shell, sidebar
│ ├── stores/ # Zustand state management
│ ├── services/ # Data access & sync layer
│ ├── types/ # TypeScript type definitions
│ └── utils/ # Utilities (shortcuts, performance)
├── server/ # Cloud sync backend (Fastify)
│ └── src/
│ ├── routes/ # REST API endpoints
│ ├── ws/ # WebSocket handlers
│ └── db/ # PostgreSQL pool & migrations
├── cli/ # CLI runner for CI/CD
├── tests/ # Unit, integration, E2E tests
├── dist-electron/ # Compiled Electron output
├── electron-builder.yml # Installer configuration
├── vite.config.ts # Vite + Electron plugin config
└── dev.ps1 # Development startup script
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
npm run dev |
Start Vite dev server (renderer only) |
npm run electron:dev |
Start full Electron app with hot-reload |
npm run electron:build |
Build Windows installer |
npm run build |
TypeScript compile + Vite build + electron-builder |
npm run test |
Run tests in watch mode |
npm run test:run |
Run tests once |
npm run test:coverage |
Run tests with coverage report |
npm run lint |
ESLint check |
npm run typecheck |
TypeScript type checking |
# Run a collection
postbee run collection.json --iterations 5 --delay 200
# Run with environment variables
postbee run collection.json --environment staging.json
# Lint an OpenAPI spec
postbee lint openapi.yaml
# Export collection to OpenAPI format
postbee export collection.json --format openapi| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Enter / F5 |
Send request |
Ctrl+N / Ctrl+T |
New request tab |
Ctrl+W |
Close tab |
Ctrl+S |
Save request |
Ctrl+E |
Switch environment |
Ctrl+K |
Global search |
Ctrl+Shift+P |
Command palette |
Ctrl+L |
Focus URL bar |
Ctrl+/ |
Toggle console |
Ctrl+, |
Open settings |
Ctrl+Tab |
Next tab |
Esc |
Cancel request / close modal |
PostBee stores all data locally in SQLite. Configuration includes:
- Theme — Light, Dark, or System
- Request defaults — Redirects, SSL verification, timeout, max response size
- Editor — Font family, tab size, word wrap, minimap
- Proxy — HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5, per-request override, no-proxy list
- Certificates — CA certs, client certs with domain matching
- Shortcuts — Fully customizable key bindings
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
- Electron — Cross-platform desktop apps
- React — UI framework
- Ant Design — Component library
- Monaco Editor — Code editing
- Undici — HTTP/1.1 & HTTP/2 client
- React Flow — Visual workflow canvas
- Zustand — Lightweight state management
- better-sqlite3 — Synchronous SQLite
- Fastify — Backend framework