Insomnia
Kong/insomniaReviewed by AI
What it does
Insomnia is a desktop app for people who build or use web APIs, the connections programs use to talk to each other. You can send requests (REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets and more), read the responses, write tests, design API specs and share collections with a team. Projects can stay fully on your computer, in a Git repository, or in the maker's cloud. There are installers for Windows, Mac and Linux. Without an account you only get a local Scratch Pad; most features need a free account, and some need a paid plan.
How easy it is to install
A · download and open · Windows
- Windows A
- macOS A
- Linux A
All three platforms have ready downloads you just open: Windows installers (Insomnia.Core-13.4.0.exe and an NSIS .exe), a Mac .dmg, and .deb, .rpm, .snap and AppImage files for Linux. You can start with the local Scratch Pad, though most features ask you to create a free account.
Numbers on GitHub
- Stars
- 40,105on Oct 31, 2026
- Downloads
- 142,292,072405,902 this week
- Growth
- +26stars in 5 days
Stars over time
Facts
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- You need to install
- Nothing extra
- To build from source
- Node.js
- Disk space
- 620 MB–1.8 GB · from the installer
- Accounts or keys
- None
- Cost
- Freemium · Free plan; paid subscription plans add things like unlimited collaboration, Git Sync, organizations and SAML/OIDC logins.
- License
- Apache-2.0 (Permissive)
- Can replace
- Postman
- Last update
- Oct 29, 2026
Risk signals (4)
- Infoaccount required for most features
README.md: "Insomnia does not require an account if you decide to use the local Scratch Pad, but to access most capabilities of the product we require an account."
AI review
- Infoanalytics component
package.json workspaces include "packages/insomnia-analytics", and allowScripts includes "@scarf/[email protected]": true (Scarf is a package-usage analytics library).
AI review
- Infobundles local ai model runner
package.json allowScripts lists "[email protected]": true, a library for running AI language models on your own machine. It is one reason a request tool ships such large files.
AI review
- Infolarge download
Release files are big for a request tool: Insomnia.Core-13.4.0.exe is 620 MB and the Linux AppImage 622 MB; the deterministic checks put disk use between 620 MB and 1859 MB.
AI review
Evidence is shown in its original language.
What Radar could not check
- What usage data the app sends and whether you can turn it off.
- Exactly which features stay free and which need a paid plan today.
- Whether the app works fully offline with Local Vault and no account.
- Real disk use after install; the Windows installers are about 530 to 620 MB.
- Whether the bundled local AI model runner is used by default and what it downloads.