Mándalo

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Mándalo documentation

Mándalo is an API client that keeps your collections as plain .http files in your own git repo. These pages cover what it does today, in the order you will need it.

Start here

Getting started

Install, choose a workspace directory, create a collection, send a request, read the response.

Collections & git

The on-disk layout, what a .http request file holds, what a diff looks like, and how to keep secrets out of the repo.

Environments & variables

Where {{var}} interpolation applies, resolution order, fail-loud behaviour, and captures.

Scripts & tests

The exact pm.* surface in the sandbox, the declarative assertion kinds, and what is deliberately missing.

gRPC

Compiling .proto files, listing methods, unary calls, metadata, and the streaming limitation.

CLI & CI

Install the command line runner in one line, and run your collections from GitHub Actions.

Importing from Postman

What converts cleanly, what is skipped, and how to read the import report.

What ships today

Everything in this list is in the current desktop build:

  • HTTP, GraphQL and gRPC requests from one workbench.
  • Auth: bearer token, basic, and API key placed in a header or a query parameter.
  • Environments with {{var}} interpolation across URL, headers, body, GraphQL query and variables, gRPC message and metadata, and every auth field.
  • Collections and folders on disk as .http and .grpc files, in as many workspaces as you like.
  • Pre-request and post-response scripts running a pm.* subset inside a sandboxed QuickJS engine embedded in the Rust core.
  • Declarative assertions and captures that need no script at all.
  • Postman collection import and single-file bundle export.
  • macOS, Windows and Linux desktop builds, and the same client running in the browser from the same code. Free and open source. Offline, no account, no telemetry.

In development

These exist in the repository but are not part of a release yet. Do not plan around them:

  • The mandalo command line runner — see CLI & CI.
  • A VS Code extension.

Not built

We would rather say so than let you find out later. Mándalo has no cloud sync, no team workspace UI, no mock servers, no API monitoring or uptime checks, no WebSocket or SSE support, no synced request history, and no code generation. If you need those, read the honest Mándalo vs Postman comparison before you switch.