What is Hurl used for?

Hurl is a command line tool that runs HTTP requests defined in a plain text format, used for fetching data and testing HTTP sessions. It is a good fit for fetching data from HTTP endpoints, and testing HTTP sessions and APIs.

Yes. Hurl is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Orange-OpenSource/hurl and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. Hurl is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Hurl?

Yes. Hurl can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Hurl an alternative to?

Hurl is an open-source alternative to ReadyAPI. Other open-source alternatives to ReadyAPI include Mockoon, Newman and Insomnia.

Is Hurl actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Hurl was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is 8.0.1, published on 29 April 2026. The project has 19k stars on GitHub.

Hurl: open-source alternative to ReadyAPI

About Hurl

Hurl is a command line tool that runs HTTP requests defined in a simple plain text format. It can chain requests, capture values and evaluate queries on headers and body response.

Hurl can be used for both fetching data and testing HTTP sessions. It works with HTML content, REST/SOAP/GraphQL APIs, or any other XML/JSON based APIs.

Key features

Runs HTTP requests defined in plain text format
Chains multiple requests
Captures values from responses
Evaluates queries on headers and body response
Supports HTML, REST, SOAP, GraphQL, XML, and JSON based APIs

Good fit for

Fetching data from HTTP endpoints
Testing HTTP sessions and APIs

Built with: Rust tools
Tags: http; testing; cli; api; integration-testing

Hurl: questions and answers

What is Hurl used for?: Hurl is a command line tool that runs HTTP requests defined in a plain text format, used for fetching data and testing HTTP sessions. It is a good fit for fetching data from HTTP endpoints, and testing HTTP sessions and APIs.
Is Hurl open source?: Yes. Hurl is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Orange-OpenSource/hurl and is written mainly in Rust.
Is Hurl free?: Yes. Hurl is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Hurl?: Yes. Hurl can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Hurl an alternative to?: Hurl is an open-source alternative to ReadyAPI. Other open-source alternatives to ReadyAPI include Mockoon, Newman and Insomnia.
Is Hurl actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Hurl was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is 8.0.1, published on 29 April 2026. The project has 19k stars on GitHub.