How to Migrate from Postman to Hoppscotch

Postman's free plan limits collaboration to 3 users, and paid plans start at $14/user/month. Hoppscotch is the open source alternative — fast, web-based, and free for teams. Here's how to switch.

Step 1: Export from Postman

1. Open Postman → select your collection
2. Click ⋯ → Export
3. Choose Collection v2.1 format
4. Save the JSON file
5. Repeat for environments: ⚙️ → Manage Environments → Export

Step 2: Access Hoppscotch

Option A: Use hoppscotch.io (free, web-based)

Option B: Self-host

docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -p 3100:3100 \
  -p 3170:3170 \
  --name hoppscotch \
  hoppscotch/hoppscotch

Step 3: Import Collections

1. Open Hoppscotch → Collections sidebar
2. Click Import/Export → Import from Postman
3. Upload your exported JSON file
4. Collections import with requests, folders, and headers

Step 4: Set Up Environments

1. Click Environments (bottom panel)
2. Create environments matching your Postman setup:
   • Development: baseUrl = http://localhost:3000
   • Staging: baseUrl = https://staging-api.example.com
   • Production: baseUrl = https://api.example.com
3. Use <<baseUrl>> in request URLs (Hoppscotch syntax)

Note: Hoppscotch uses <<variable>> syntax instead of Postman's {{variable}}.

Step 5: Key Differences

Postman	Hoppscotch
Desktop app + web	Web-first (PWA)
{{variable}}	<<variable>>
Pre-request scripts	Limited scripting
Newman CLI runner	CLI available
Mock servers	Not available
API monitoring	Not available
GraphQL	✅ Built-in
WebSocket	✅ Built-in
SSE	✅ Built-in
MQTT	✅ Built-in
gRPC	✅ Built-in

What You'll Gain

• No account required — use immediately (web version)
• Real-time protocol support — WebSocket, SSE, MQTT, gRPC built-in
• Faster UI — lighter than Postman's Electron app
• No team limits — self-hosted = unlimited users
• Open source — MIT license

What You'll Lose

• Pre-request and test scripts
• Mock servers
• API monitoring
• Newman CI/CD integration (Hoppscotch has its own CLI)

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Compare API testing tools on OSSAlt — protocol support, collaboration features, and self-hosting side by side.