Both tools are local-first; they differ in where a collection lives — in your repository or in your browser.
Bruno bet on Git: a collection is a set of plain-text .bru files next to your code, and there is no cloud sync by design. That buys you branches, reviews and an honest diff on requests.
PolyApiIDE also keeps your data out of any cloud, but stores it in the browser and adds QA checks, scenarios, load profiles and reports on top. Choosing between them is really choosing between a repository and a working browser window.
| Topic | PolyApiIDE | Bruno |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Browser extension for Chrome / Edge / Chromium and Firefox, MV3 | Desktop application |
| Where collections live | Locally in the browser; they leave through export or patches | Plain-text .bru files in the project folder |
| Collaboration model | Export, collection and folder patches, snapshots — manual steps | Git: branches, diffs, reviews and merges on collections |
| Cloud sync | None by default; the cloud is used only on your command | None, and that is a deliberate product stance |
| License | Proprietary extension | Open source |
| Vendor account | Not required for the free tier or for sending requests | Not required |
| Protocols | REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, SOAP, SSE, gRPC via JSON transcoding | REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket |
| Imports on the free tier | OpenAPI JSON and YAML, WSDL, GraphQL SDL and introspection, .proto, AsyncAPI, Postman collections and environments, curl, Insomnia, Hoppscotch, Thunder Client | Collections are files, so exchange goes through the repository |
| Variables | Request → collection → space → environment, and empty values are never applied | Environments described as files in the same project |
| Automation | Pre and after scripts, QA checks on requests, scenarios, Functional runner | Scripts and tests written into the collection files |
| Load and reports | Load profiles and PDF reports in the same window | Load runs are usually assembled with external tooling around the collection |
| Interface language | English and Russian | English only |
| Licensing model | Free, monthly, yearly and a one-time Lifetime license | Open core, available for free |
Bruno details verified on 2026-10-20.
There is no direct .bru import. If the service has OpenAPI, WSDL, GraphQL SDL, .proto or AsyncAPI, import the specification instead — the result is more complete than any conversion.
For individual requests, copy the curl command and paste it into the curl import. Handy when you need a couple of flows rather than a whole project.
What Bruno keeps in environment files becomes an environment and a space here. Verify the result in "Applied variables": empty collection-level values will not overwrite the environment.
A healthy setup is the Bruno repository as the team contract and PolyApiIDE as the working window for debugging, QA checks and load runs.
No, the .bru format is not in the import list. The practical routes are an API specification or a curl command.
Inside the extension collections live in browser storage. A file appears when you export or take a snapshot, so keeping a collection in Git is possible but it is a manual step, not the default workflow.
Neither needs a vendor cloud. Bruno keeps data in your repository, PolyApiIDE keeps it in the browser, and it leaves only when you act.
Yes, and many people do. Bruno works as the versioned team contract; PolyApiIDE covers quick browser debugging, QA runs and load profiles.