What is Restfox used for?

Restfox is a minimalist offline-first HTTP and WebSocket testing client available as a web app, PWA, and desktop application, with plugins and environment variables. It is a good fit for quickly testing REST APIs without an account and replacing Postman for lightweight workflows.

Is Restfox open source?

Yes. Restfox is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at flawiddsouza/Restfox and is written mainly in Vue.

Yes. Restfox is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

What is Restfox an alternative to?

Restfox is an open-source alternative to Postman and Thunder Client. Other open-source alternatives to Postman include Hoppscotch, Firecamp and Bruno.

Is Restfox actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Restfox was on 24 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.40.0, published on 27 July 2025. The project has 2.8k stars on GitHub.

Restfox: open-source alternative to Postman, Thunder Client

About Restfox

Restfox is a lightweight API testing client for HTTP and socket connections that works offline-first. It is offered as a web app and as desktop builds, and it aims to be a simpler alternative to larger tools such as Postman. It is written in Vue and released under the MIT license.

You send REST requests, work with GraphQL and WebSocket connections, keep a history of responses, define environment variables, and extend the client with plugins. Because it is offline-first, collections are stored locally, and the app can be installed as a PWA from the browser.

Installation options include Homebrew on macOS, Snap on Ubuntu and other distributions, RPM and DEB packages, precompiled binaries for Windows, and Docker Compose for hosting the web app yourself, with an option to change the port. It suits developers who want a quick, privacy-friendly client without accounts or cloud syncing.

Key features

HTTP request testing
WebSocket and GraphQL support
Offline-first with local storage
Plugin system
Environment variables
Response history
Docker Compose for hosting the web app

Good fit for

→Quickly testing REST APIs without an account
→Replacing Postman for lightweight workflows

Built with: Vue
Tags: api-client; http-client; rest; websocket; graphql; offline-first; pwa; api-testing

Restfox: questions and answers

What is Restfox used for?: Restfox is a minimalist offline-first HTTP and WebSocket testing client available as a web app, PWA, and desktop application, with plugins and environment variables. It is a good fit for quickly testing REST APIs without an account and replacing Postman for lightweight workflows.
Is Restfox open source?: Yes. Restfox is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at flawiddsouza/Restfox and is written mainly in Vue.
Is Restfox free?: Yes. Restfox is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
What is Restfox an alternative to?: Restfox is an open-source alternative to Postman and Thunder Client. Other open-source alternatives to Postman include Hoppscotch, Firecamp and Bruno.
Is Restfox actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Restfox was on 24 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.40.0, published on 27 July 2025. The project has 2.8k stars on GitHub.