The default API tooling that comes to your mind is Postman.

Postman is cloud based - the other offline alternatives are on their way to enshittification.

Is there any solution to the problem or we should all default to curl.

Developers are so opinionated that its difficult to pin down one favourite tool !

Hey there,

A few months ago we open sourced Voiden, an offline API client we originally built to replace Postman internally.

Voiden now has around 11k installs and growing every day. ❤️

Core principles we built it on:

free and local-first file-based, all plain executable markdown composable through blocks collaboration in Git, where devs are working already The main thing is that in Voiden, API requests are not (static) forms. They are built from blocks (endpoint, auth, params, body) that can be used, reused, replaced and version in Git, just like code. And all that in plain executable text.

Our inspiration:

Our inspiration was curl, and how simple it is, and obsidian, because of how powerful it can be.

Who this is for:

Developers, QA, Technical Writers working and collaborating on APIs.

Progress:

Since open sourcing, almost everything that we shipped came from actual users, feedback and contributions that pushed the tool in a few interesting directions. You can check our change-log here: https://voiden.md/changelog

A few highlights:

• Composable API workflows: Voiden lets you build reusable .void files that can be combined into flows, run multiple requests in sequence, and use real scripting (JS/Python/Shell) before and after requests.
• Added a “skills” layer so tools like Claude/Codex can operate directly on .void files and request blocks.
• We added an SDK for community plugins. & more…

We also shipped a CLI runner sometime back - Take a look here : https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden/tree/beta/packages/voiden-runner

Feedback:

This project is now mostly shaped and driven by community ideas and contributions. Welcome to join and help us make this even more awesome.

There is no account setup, its free and totally offline.

GitHub: https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Download: https://voiden.md/download

Voiden is an offline-first, git-native API tool built on Markdown.

Instead of keeping API requests inside a cloud workspace, Voiden stores them as .void files that can live with your codebase, be versioned in Git, reviewed in PRs, and reused across a team.

We have now released the beta of @voiden/runner, a headless CLI for running those .void files outside the desktop app.

The runner executes the request, prints the result, and exits with a standard exit code that CI systems can use.

Important bits:

• runs on Node.js 18+
• works in terminal, CI/CD, Docker, and cron jobs
• supports REST, WebSocket, gRPC, and GraphQL
• supports JSON and CSV output
• supports request chaining through runtime variables
• works with core Voiden plugins like scripting, assertions, faker, - - advanced auth, and GraphQL

This is still beta, so APIs and flags may change.

The goal is to make .void files executable API workflows, not just files used inside the desktop app.

Github: https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Voiden CLI Runner : https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden/tree/beta/packages/voiden-runner

Visit Voiden here : https://voiden.md/

Voiden is an offline-first, git-native API tool built on Markdown.

Instead of keeping API requests inside a cloud workspace, Voiden stores them as .void files that can live with your codebase, be versioned in Git, reviewed in PRs, and reused across a team.

We have now released the beta of @voiden/runner, a headless CLI for running those .void files outside the desktop app.

The runner executes the request, prints the result, and exits with a standard exit code that CI systems can use.

Important bits:

• runs on Node.js 18+
• works in terminal, CI/CD, Docker, and cron jobs
• supports REST, WebSocket, gRPC, and GraphQL
• supports JSON and CSV output
• supports request chaining through runtime variables
• works with core Voiden plugins like scripting, assertions, faker, advanced auth, and GraphQL

This is still beta, so APIs and flags may change.

The goal is to make .void files executable API workflows, not just files used inside the desktop app.

Github: https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Voiden CLI Runner : https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden/tree/beta/packages/voiden-runner

Visit Voiden here : https://voiden.md/

Hey there,

A few months ago we open sourced Voiden, an offline API client we originally built to replace Postman internally.

Voiden now has around 11k installs and growing every day. ❤️

Core principles we built it on:

• free and local-first
• file-based, all plain executable markdown
• composable through blocks
• collaboration in Git, where devs are working already

The main thing is that in Voiden, API requests are not (static) forms. They are built from blocks (endpoint, auth, params, body) that can be used, reused, replaced and version in Git, just like code. And all that in plain executable text.

Our inspiration:

Our inspiration was curl, and how simple it is, and obsidian, because of how powerful it can be.

Who this is for:

Developers, QA, Technical Writers working and collaborating on APIs.

Progress:

Since open sourcing, almost everything that we shipped came from actual users, feedback and contributions that pushed the tool in a few interesting directions. You can check our change-log here: https://voiden.md/changelog

A few highlights:

• Composable API workflows: Voiden lets you build reusable .void files that can be combined into flows, run multiple requests in sequence, and use real scripting (JS/Python/Shell) before and after requests.
• Added a “skills” layer so tools like Claude/Codex can operate directly on .void files and request blocks.
• We added an SDK for community plugins.
• & more...

Feedback:

This project is now mostly shaped and driven by community ideas and contributions. Welcome to join and help us make this even more awesome.

There is no account setup, its free and totally offline.

GitHub: https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Download: https://voiden.md/download

We open sourced Voiden a few months ago: an offline API tool where API requests live as executable Markdown and are versioned in Git. We wanted to build something that combines the power and flexibility of Obsidian-style files with the simplicity of curl.

The basic idea of Voiden is that instead of being static forms, API requests are composed by using blocks (endpoint, auth, params, body). Blocks that you can add, reuse, override, and stitch together across files (more like functions than requests).

Most of the feedback, requests and contributions that we have gotten since Open Sourcing, have been around defining workflows, chaining requests, scripting them, and structuring everything in reusable .void files.

These are some of the key highlights that I wanted to share:

– Real scripting, (instead of sandboxes): In most API tools scripting lives in a constrained JS sandbox, an environment that doesn’t take advantage of powerful runtimes that might be available locally for a developer. The biggest limitation here is the assumption that the tool should define the runtime. Voiden runs fully locally, so this allows you to just run your scripts with actual runtimes (JS, Python, shell, with support for others being added).

– Multiple requests per file (mini workflows): Allowing multiple requests in a single .void file turned out to be surprisingly useful. Instead of scattering related requests, you can group them naturally: an order flow (create - pay - confirm), or a full CRUD cycle in one place. The file effectively becomes an executable flow: run one request, or the entire sequence end-to-end. And since Voiden is executable Markdown, docs and tests are in the same .void file that can be organised better, preventing duplication and drift.

– Stitch (composable workflows across files): Instead of a single large collection, workflows (“Stitch”) are built from .void files that you can combine across scenarios. You define small flows (auth, setup, CRUD, etc.) and stitch them together into larger workflows, without duplication. This is just the first version of this capability, we still have a lot to do here.

– Agents :The file-based, local-first model also works well with agents. Since Voiden has a built-in terminal and uses Markdown, we added “skills” so that Claude and Codex agents can work directly with .void files (using your own subscriptions).

We also published an SDK for community plugins, and made improvements to performance, reliability, and DX (keyboard-first), with careful attention to performance given the Electron base

Looking for feedback and suggestions.

Github : https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Download : https://voiden.md/download

Latest Lemmy discussion : https://lemmy.world/post/43922166

We open sourced Voiden a few months ago: an offline API tool where API requests live as executable Markdown and are versioned in Git. We wanted to build something that combines the power and flexibility of Obsidian-style files with the simplicity of curl.

The basic idea of Voiden is that instead of being static forms, API requests are composed by using blocks (endpoint, auth, params, body). Blocks that you can add, reuse, override, and stitch together across files (more like functions than requests).

Most of the feedback, requests and contributions that we have gotten since Open Sourcing, have been around defining workflows, chaining requests, scripting them, and structuring everything in reusable .void files.

These are some of the key highlights that I wanted to share:

-- Real scripting, (instead of sandboxes): In most API tools scripting lives in a constrained JS sandbox, an environment that doesn't take advantage of powerful runtimes that might be available locally for a developer. The biggest limitation here is the assumption that the tool should define the runtime. Voiden runs fully locally, so this allows you to just run your scripts with actual runtimes (JS, Python, shell, with support for others being added).

-- Multiple requests per file (mini workflows): Allowing multiple requests in a single .void file turned out to be surprisingly useful. Instead of scattering related requests, you can group them naturally: an order flow (create - pay - confirm), or a full CRUD cycle in one place. The file effectively becomes an executable flow: run one request, or the entire sequence end-to-end. And since Voiden is executable Markdown, docs and tests are in the same .void file that can be organised better, preventing duplication and drift.

-- Stitch (composable workflows across files): Instead of a single large collection, workflows (“Stitch”) are built from .void files that you can combine across scenarios. You define small flows (auth, setup, CRUD, etc.) and stitch them together into larger workflows, without duplication. This is just the first version of this capability, we still have a lot to do here.

-- Agents :The file-based, local-first model also works well with agents. Since Voiden has a built-in terminal and uses Markdown, we added “skills” so that Claude and Codex agents can work directly with .void files (using your own subscriptions).

We also published an SDK for community plugins, and made improvements to performance, reliability, and DX (keyboard-first), with careful attention to performance given the Electron base

Looking for feedback and suggestions.

Github : https://github.com/VoidenHQ/voiden

Download : https://voiden.md/download

Latest Lemmy discussion : https://lemmy.world/post/43922166

I need to scan very large JSONL files efficiently and am considering a parallel grep-style approach over line-delimited text.

Would love to hear how you would design it.