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Ghostman 👻

A fast, keyboard-driven terminal API client and webhook inspector.
No mandatory cloud accounts. No 1GB Electron bloat. 100% local-first.

License: MIT Python: 3.10+ UI: Textual Tests

Ghostman Terminal Studio


💡 Why Ghostman?

Modern API clients (Postman, Insomnia) started as simple developer utilities, but evolved into heavy enterprise platforms:

  • ❌ Bloated Memory: Postman idles at 800MB – 1.5GB of RAM just sitting in the background.
    👉 Ghostman runs on ~30MB of RAM.
  • ❌ Mandatory Cloud Lock-in: Forced account sign-ins, team workspaces, and cloud syncing for private test requests.
    👉 Ghostman is 100% local-first. Your requests and collections stay as plain JSON/YAML on your disk (~/.ghostman/).
  • ❌ Sluggish Startup: 5 to 10 seconds of splash screens and loading spinners.
    👉 Ghostman cold boots in ~150ms directly inside your terminal.
  • ❌ External Webhook Tunnels: Needing ngrok, webhook.site, or third-party accounts just to inspect a local webhook payload.
    👉 Ghostman has a built-in webhook listener on port 9090 (Ctrl + W).
  • ❌ Mouse-Heavy Navigation: Constant clicking between dropdowns, sidebars, and nested dialogs.
    👉 Keyboard-driven workflows. Send with Ctrl + S, save with Ctrl + K, new request with Ctrl + N.

📸 Interface Tour

1. High-Speed Telemetry & Formatted Responses

Instant latency tracking in milliseconds, HTTP status badges, payload size metrics, and syntax-highlighted JSON rendering:

Response Telemetry

2. Live Webhook Stream

Catch incoming HTTP callbacks from Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, or local microservices in real-time without leaving your terminal:

Live Webhooks


⚡ Core Features

  • Full HTTP Method Suite: Seamlessly compose GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and PATCH requests.
  • Performance Telemetry: DNS + TTFB latency in real-time to monitor endpoint bottlenecks.
  • Embedded Webhook Server: Spin up a local server on port 9090 with one shortcut to catch incoming hooks.
  • Zero Cloud Dependency: Save collections as plain files in .ghostman/ and commit them to Git.
  • Auto-Formatting: Automatically indents and formats JSON payloads with Rich syntax coloring.
  • Cyberpunk Dark Theme: Designed for readability in terminal environments with solid borders.

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or newer

Installation

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/4yk5/ghostman.git
cd ghostman

# 2. Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 3. Launch Ghostman
python main.py

Windows tip: You can also run Ghostman by double-clicking run.bat in the project root!


⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Keybinding Action
Ctrl + S Send HTTP Request (Executes call and switches to Response view)
Ctrl + K Save Request (Saves current endpoint to collections)
Ctrl + N New Request (Resets input fields)
Ctrl + W Toggle Webhook Server (Starts / Stops listener on port 9090)
Tab / Shift + Tab Navigate between inputs, method selector, and tabs
Enter Select endpoint from sidebar / trigger button
Ctrl + Q Quit Ghostman

🛠️ Testing Webhooks Locally

  1. Press Ctrl + W to start the listener on port 9090.
  2. Send a test webhook from another terminal:
    curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9090/webhook \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"event": "payment_succeeded", "amount": 4200}'
    
  3. Switch to the Live Webhooks tab to inspect headers, timestamp, and payload.
  4. Click any captured webhook to load its payload directly into the editor.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions, feedback, and pull requests are very welcome! Feel free to open an issue for bug reports or feature requests.

📄 License

Released under the MIT License.

Metadata

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