Comparison
Different tools, different philosophies
Glubean, Postman, and REST Client are all ways to send HTTP requests and inspect responses — but they come from fundamentally different starting points.
Postman is a standalone application built around a visual GUI. You fill in fields, click buttons, organise requests into collections, and share them via cloud sync. No code required.
REST Client (the VS Code extension) lets you write .http files with raw HTTP syntax directly in your editor. Simple and lightweight — great for one-off requests.
Glubean is built around TypeScript. Your tests are .ts files, versioned in git, run from the gutter, and executed by the same CLI that runs in CI. The focus is on repeatable, assertable, multi-step tests — not just sending a request.
None of these is objectively better. The right choice depends on how your team works.
Who each tool is best for
Glubean fits naturally if you:
- Live in VS Code and want tests alongside your application code
- Want collections versioned in git and reviewed in PRs
- Need real assertions — status codes, response body shape, schema validation
- Work with multi-step flows (create → fetch → verify → cleanup)
- Use AI assistants to generate tests from specs
- Need the same test suite to run locally and in CI without any changes
Postman fits naturally if you:
- Prefer a visual interface over writing code
- Work with non-developer teammates (QA, support, product) who need to send requests without a coding setup
- Want a standalone tool independent of your editor
REST Client fits naturally if you:
- Want the simplest possible thing — just type a request and send it
- Don’t need assertions or scripting, just raw request/response visibility
- Already have
.httpfiles checked into your repository
Feature comparison
| Glubean | Postman | REST Client | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | VS Code / Cursor | Standalone app | VS Code |
| Request authoring | TypeScript | GUI form | .http file syntax |
| Version control | Native — .ts files in git | Export/import JSON | Native — .http files in git |
| Assertions | Rich: fluent expect, schema validation, custom metrics | Test scripts (JS) | None |
| Multi-step flows | Built-in .step() builder | Collections + variables | Not supported |
| Trace history & diff | Built-in, per-test | Not built-in | Not built-in |
| AI-friendly | Designed for it — rich JSDoc, generate from OpenAPI | Limited | Limited |
| CI integration | glubean run in any pipeline | Newman CLI | Not supported |
| Environment switching | Status bar picker, .env files | Environments UI | Variables in .env file |
| No-code usage | No — requires TypeScript | Yes | Minimal — plain text syntax |
| Pricing | Free, open source | Free + paid tiers | Free, open source |
Summary
REST Client is the right tool when you want a quick, no-setup way to fire off requests from inside VS Code. It’s a great scratchpad.
Postman is the right tool when your team needs a shared, visual workspace — especially if non-developers are involved.
Glubean is the right tool when your API tests are a first-class part of your codebase: committed, reviewed, and run automatically in CI.
Many teams use all three: REST Client for quick exploration, Postman for sharing with stakeholders, and Glubean for the regression suite.