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I switched from Postman to Bruno for API testing

I recently switched from Postman to [Bruno](https://www.usebruno.com/) for API testing and development. After using Postman for years, this change has been surprisingly refreshing. Here's why I made the switch and what I like about Bruno.## Why I left PostmanPostman is a powerful tool, but over time, a few things started bothering me:- **Cloud-first mentality**: Everything pushes you toward cloud storage and syncing. While you can work locally, it feels like a second-class citizen. - **Performance**: Postman can feel sluggish, especially when dealing with large collections or complex environments. - **Pricing**: The free tier is decent, but paid features can add up if you want team features and advanced functionality. - **Bloat**: There's a lot of UI and features I rarely use, which adds unnecessary complexity.## Why Bruno clicked for meBruno felt like a breath of fresh air because it's built differently:### Local-first, file-based collectionsBruno stores your API collections as plain text files (JSON or TOML format). This means: - Collections live in your project directory, not in the cloud - You can version control them with Git - No vendor lock-in or syncing confusion - It's simple and transparent### Lightweight and fastBruno is lightweight and snappy. The UI is clean and focused on what matters: building and testing API requests.### Open source and transparentBruno is [open source on GitHub](https://github.com/usebruno/bruno), which gives me confidence in the tool's longevity and the ability to contribute or fork if needed.### Works offlineSince everything is local-first, Bruno works perfectly offline without any cloud dependency or sync issues.### Environment variables and scriptingBruno has solid support for environment variables and pre-request/post-response scripting, similar to Postman but with a simpler interface.## The drawbacksTo be fair, Bruno isn't perfect:- **Smaller ecosystem**: Being newer and more niche, there are fewer integrations and plugins compared to Postman - **Team collaboration**: If you need real-time team collaboration, Postman's cloud features have an advantage - **Learning curve**: If you're used to Postman's specific workflow, there's a bit of adjustment## My workflow nowMy typical workflow with Bruno:1. Create a new collection in my project directory 2. Add requests organized by feature or endpoint 3. Define environment variables for different scenarios (dev, staging, production) 4. Write pre-request scripts to generate dynamic data or tokens when needed 5. Commit the collection to Git alongside my codeThis feels more aligned with how I work. Collections are part of my project, not separate artifacts floating in the cloud.## VerdictIf you value simplicity, local-first workflows, version control integration, and don't need heavy team collaboration features, Bruno is worth trying. It's especially great if you're already comfortable with tools that store config as files (like Docker Compose, Terraform, etc.).Give Bruno a shot—you might find it's the API testing tool you didn't know you were missing.

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