Milkman is an extensible, JavaFX-based workbench designed to address the high memory footprint and slow startup times of Electron-based request/response tools like Postman and Insomnia. It targets developers and power users seeking a lightweight, performant alternative for crafting and managing HTTP/REST, gRPC, GraphQL, and database requests, offering significant extensibility without mandatory user accounts.

How It Works

Milkman employs a core JavaFX application that manages workspaces, environments, and collections, delegating specific functionalities to a robust plugin system. This architecture allows nearly every aspect—from request types (HTTP, gRPC, JDBC, Cassandra, WebSocket, Socket.IO) and request elements (headers, bodies) to editors, importers, and even themes—to be extended via plugins. This plugin-first design ensures a fast, low-memory footprint and allows users to tailor the workbench precisely to their needs, supporting diverse protocols beyond standard HTTP.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Installation:
  • Windows: choco install milkman or choco install milkman-plugins.
  • macOS: brew install --cask milkman.
  • Manual: Download release/nightly builds, unzip plugins into the application directory, and run via provided scripts or milkman.exe.
• Prerequisites: JavaFX runtime (implied). Specific OS requirements apply for Chocolatey/Homebrew.
• Links: Release Section, Nightly Version, Wiki/FAQ, Plugin Development Guide.

Highlighted Details

• Extensibility: Core philosophy is "Everything is a plugin," enabling custom request types, aspects, editors, and importers.
• Protocol Support: Includes plugins for HTTP/REST (JSON highlighting, proxy, SSE), gRPC (server reflection, streaming), JDBC (SQL), Cassandra (CQL), WebSocket, and Socket.IO.
• Migration: Importers available for Postman (v2.1 dump) and Insomnia data.
• Performance: JavaFX-based, offering faster startup and lower memory usage compared to Electron alternatives.
• Features: Command-line interface (CLI), PrivateBin sharing with "Burn After Reading," Git team synchronization plugin.

Maintenance & Community

The provided README does not detail specific maintainers, community channels (like Discord/Slack), or roadmap links.

Licensing & Compatibility

The license type is not explicitly stated in the provided README. This requires further investigation for commercial use or integration decisions.

Limitations & Caveats

The GraphQL plugin currently lacks auto-complete and schema validation features. Proxy support is opt-in via the Options page. Users may need to develop custom plugins for less common or internal service integrations.