About Yaak
Yaak is a desktop API client that helps developers and teams send requests, debug APIs, and collaborate through Git while keeping their work on their own machines.
Built by the original creator of Insomnia, Yaak brings a decade of API client experience to a focused desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The goal is simple: make everyday API work feel good, and give you control over your tools and data.
Yaak launched publicly in January 2024 and has continued shipping releases since then. Git collaboration, encrypted secrets, WebSocket support, plugins, and the CLI are available today; the changelog documents when features and improvements shipped.
What Yaak does
Send requests and debug APIs
Work with HTTP and REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and server-sent events in one app. Inspect responses, headers, and request timelines to understand what your API is doing and find problems faster.
Organize and reuse your work
Group requests into workspaces and folders, switch between environments, and reuse authentication and variables. Template functions let you chain requests and generate dynamic values without maintaining setup scripts.
Collaborate through Git
Directory sync saves requests, folders, and environments as individual YAML files. Commit them alongside your code, review changes in pull requests, and share work through the Git provider your team already uses.
Extend your workflow
Plugins add authentication methods, importers, and template functions. The CLI and MCP server plugin let scripts and AI agents work with the same requests you use in the desktop app.
What makes Yaak different
Local work, without an account
Create workspaces, save requests, and manage environments without signing in. Your work stays on your machine, and you can use Yaak with local APIs while offline.
Zero telemetry from the desktop app
The desktop app does not collect usage analytics, and API requests go directly to the servers you choose. Security and privacy documentation explains local storage, secrets, and the network connections used for updates and licensing.
Git sharing with encrypted secrets
Yaak’s built-in Git interface lets you branch, commit, and inspect changes without leaving the app. Optional secrets encryption lets your team share encrypted values in the same repository as its requests, with workspace keys protected by a master key in the operating system’s keychain.
MIT-licensed source code
You can inspect, modify, and build Yaak’s source code yourself under the MIT license. Commercial licensing applies to the official prebuilt app, so the source remains available independently of your subscription.
A license that outlasts your subscription
Annual commercial licenses include a lifetime fallback license: keep using the last version released during your paid term for commercial work. An Individual lifetime license is also available as a one-time purchase that includes future updates.
Choosing between tools? Read the detailed comparisons with Postman, Insomnia, and Bruno to see where Yaak fits your workflow.
Who uses Yaak
Yaak is built for people who work directly with APIs:
- Backend and full-stack developers building and debugging HTTP, GraphQL, and gRPC services.
- Frontend and mobile developers checking API responses and authentication while building integrations.
- Development teams using Git to review, version, and share requests alongside their application code.
- Developers working with private or local APIs who need control over where requests and credentials are stored.
- Students, hobbyists, and independent makers learning APIs or building personal projects.
Teams evaluating a rollout can start with Yaak at work and explore the questions and suggestions on the feedback board.
The team behind Yaak
Gregory Schier, creator
Greg created Insomnia in 2014 and sold it in 2019. After returning to building software as an early engineer at Railway, he found himself wanting a simpler API client again and began building Yaak with Rust and Tauri.
Yaak launched publicly in January 2024, and Greg left his job that May to work on it full-time. It is developed and owned by Mountain Loop Labs Inc., with community feedback, bug fixes, and plugins helping shape the product.
Read why Greg built Yaak and his first year of working on it full-time. You can also find him on his personal website, GitHub, Bluesky, and X.
How Yaak works
Download and bring your requests
Download Yaak for macOS, Windows, or Linux, then create a request or import your existing work from Postman, Insomnia, Bruno, OpenAPI, or curl. No account or credit card is needed to get started, and you can evaluate the official app for commercial use for 30 days.
Set up your team
Choose a local directory for your workspace and share it through your existing Git repository. Business licenses add company-managed seats, reassignment, SSO, and user provisioning; the team license guide walks through setup.
Get help and follow development
Start with the documentation, or use the feedback board for questions, bug reports, and feature requests. Paid licenses include email support at support@yaak.app, with priority support and migration help on Business; sales@yaak.app handles purchasing questions.
Follow the roadmap to see planned work and the changelog for what has shipped.
Key facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Product | Yaak |
| Company | Mountain Loop Labs Inc. |
| Type | Desktop API client |
| Public launch | January 2024 |
| Creator | Gregory Schier, original creator of Insomnia |
| Website | yaak.app |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Core offering | Send, inspect, organize, and share API requests |
| Protocols | HTTP / REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, SSE |
| Pricing | Free for personal use; paid Individual and Business licenses for commercial use of the official app. Current prices. |
| License terms | Annual subscriptions with a lifetime fallback; one-time Individual lifetime option. Terms. |
| Source license | MIT |
| Sharing | Local YAML files, Git sync, optional secrets encryption |
| Contact | Feedback board, support email, sales email, Discord |
| Alternatives | Postman, Insomnia, Bruno |
| Social | GitHub, Bluesky, X, YouTube |
Frequently asked questions
Does Yaak support team collaboration?
Yes. Teams share requests, folders, and environments through Git sync, with commits, reviews, and merges handled through their existing Git workflow and optional encryption for shared secrets. Business licenses also provide company-managed seats, reassignment, SSO, and user provisioning.
How does Yaak handle large workspaces?
Yaak 2026.6.0, released August 14, 2026, improved typing, sidebar scrolling, and request switching in large workspaces. The release notes demonstrate those improvements with an imported Cloudflare OpenAPI schema containing 3,286 requests and 1,255 folders, and explain the changes behind them.
How long has Yaak been available?
Yaak launched publicly in January 2024 and has continued releasing features and fixes since then. Its release history and current documentation cover shipped capabilities, including Git collaboration, secrets encryption, plugins, and support for HTTP / REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, and SSE requests.
Is Yaak made by the creator of Insomnia?
Yes. Gregory Schier created Insomnia and later built Yaak as a separate API client, drawing on what he learned from the original project.
Is Yaak free and open source?
The official app is free for personal use and requires a paid license for commercial use after the 30-day evaluation. The source code is MIT licensed and can be built and used for personal or commercial work under that license.
Does Yaak need an account or cloud connection?
You do not need an account to create and use local workspaces, and requests go directly to your API servers. Optional services such as Git remotes, updates, plugins, and commercial licensing can require network access; see the security and privacy guide.
Can I move from Postman, Insomnia, or Bruno?
Yes, Yaak imports requests from all three, as well as OpenAPI and curl. Follow the migration guides, then check authentication and dynamic values in your imported requests before using them.
