API client that knows your framework.
Spectra reads your routes, your Form Requests, and your validation rules, then lets you hit endpoints the way your framework expects. No more guessing payloads.
Built for developers who live in the terminal
Features
Built around how you actually ship.
Postman is generic. Insomnia is generic. Spectra is opinionated, because it understands your stack and turns that into leverage.
Route auto-discovery
Spectra parses artisan route:list and friends to build an endpoint tree. Grouped, filterable, pinnable. No manual collections to maintain.
Form Request introspection
Reads your validation rules straight from FormRequest classes. Required fields, types, and enums show up before you send the request.
Response snapshots
Pin a response as the source of truth. Spectra diffs every future call against it, so you catch regressions the moment they ship.
Environments and secrets
Per-project base URLs, tokens, and headers. Secrets stay in your OS keychain, never plaintext on disk.
Capture mode
Reverse-proxy real traffic from your app, then replay or save calls as endpoints. Zero-config bootstrap for legacy APIs.
Offline-first, local-first
Everything runs on your machine. No accounts, no telemetry, no cloud sync you didn't ask for. Native binary.
Workflow
From artisan to executed request in seconds.
Point at your project
Pick a Laravel folder. Spectra runs route:list, detects FormRequests, and builds the endpoint tree automatically.
Pin what you use
Star the routes you hit daily. They float to the top across sessions, projects, and machines.
Execute with confidence
Body, params, headers, cookies. Validation tells you what's required before the request leaves your machine.
Snapshot and diff
Save the response as the source of truth. The next run compares automatically, and regressions show up instantly.
Analytics
Know your API's health at a glance.
Every request you fire feeds a per-project dashboard. Latency percentiles, slowest endpoints, response status mix, hour-of-day patterns, flaky routes. Local, instant, no integrations.
Response mix
2xx / 4xx / 5xx ratios with error rate alert.
Latency P50/P95/P99
Percentiles, typical vs worst case, calculated locally.
Slowest endpoints
Top offenders ranked, sparkline trend per route.
Flaky detector
Surfaces routes whose status fluctuates run to run.
Mock server
Replay your API offline.
Spin up a local mock that serves your real responses from history first, then synthesizes from schema. Frontend keeps building when the backend is on fire, or when you are on a plane.
- · From history, exact responses your backend already returned, replayed.
- · From schema, generated payloads when history is empty.
- · Per-endpoint overrides to force status, latency, or body.
- · Live log shows hits as they happen, with method, path, status, latency.
Drivers
One client. Every framework.
Each driver is a thin adapter over Spectra's core. Add yours and the architecture stays clean, because no framework code leaks past the driver boundary.
Laravel
Availableroute:list, FormRequest, policies, Sanctum
Symfony
Coming soondebug:router, validators, API Platform
Rails
Plannedrails routes, strong_params, ActionPolicy
NestJS
Planneddecorators, DTOs, class-validator
Django
Researchingurlpatterns, DRF serializers
AdonisJS
Researchingroute:list, validator, ace
Inside the app
A dev tool that respects your eyes.
Dense when you need it. Quiet when you don't. Native dark mode, monospace where it counts, no clutter.
Comparison
Why not just Postman?
Generic clients treat your API like a black box. Spectra treats it like code, because that's what it is.
| Capability | Spectra | Postman | Insomnia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-discovers routes from your codebase | ● | ○ | ○ |
| Reads framework validation rules | ● | ○ | ○ |
| Response snapshot and diff built-in | ● | ○ | ○ |
| Works offline, no account | ● | ○ | ○ |
| Secrets in OS keychain | ● | ○ | ● |
| Manual collections | ● | ● | ● |
| Cloud sync optional | ● | ● | ● |
Stop guessing payloads.
Spectra is free during beta. One binary, no account. Bring your codebase, leave with a working endpoint tree in under a minute.
v0.1.0-beta.2. macOS 12 or later.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is Spectra free? +
Yes, free during beta. Local-first means there's nothing to monetize via accounts. Pricing for teams comes later, and local single-user stays free.
How does the Laravel driver work? +
Spectra spawns artisan in your project to read routes and reflect FormRequest classes. Nothing runs on a server you don't control.
Can I use it without a supported framework? +
Yes. There's a generic HTTP mode. You lose route discovery and validation introspection, but everything else works.
Where are my secrets stored? +
macOS Keychain. Never on disk in plaintext.
Does Spectra phone home? +
No telemetry. No analytics. The binary makes HTTP requests only to the endpoints you tell it to.
What about teams? +
Project files are plain JSON, designed to be committed. Share via git. Cloud sync is opt-in and on the roadmap.
Still stuck? Email [email protected].