Tiger vs Hoppscotch

Both Tiger and Hoppscotch are open source and free to use. Hoppscotch is a lightweight web and PWA client with optional self-hosting; Tiger is a native desktop application that stores every request as a plain-text file in a Git repository. This page compares them honestly so you can pick the right tool for your workflow.

At a glance

Storage and ownership

This is the sharpest difference between the two tools. Hoppscotch stores collections in its own backend - either the hosted cloud or a self-hosted instance you run. Data moves through a server, which makes real-time collaboration and multi-device sync straightforward. The trade-off is that your request definitions live outside your codebase.

Tiger has no server at all. A collection is a folder on your disk. Every request is a .tiger file you can open in any text editor:

meta {
  name: Get user
  seq: 1
}

get {
  url: {{baseUrl}}/users/{{userId}}
}

headers {
  Authorization: Bearer {{token}}
  Accept: application/json
}

capture {
  email: body.email
}

Because collections are files, you version them with Git, branch them for feature work, open pull requests when an endpoint changes, and resolve conflicts in the same editor you use for code. Tiger also ships a built-in Git panel - status, diff, commit, push, pull, branch, checkout, log, and clone - so you never have to leave the app to keep the repository in sync.

Native desktop versus web-first

Hoppscotch was designed from the start as a web application. It runs in any modern browser with no install step, which makes it easy to share with teammates who are not developers. A PWA install and a desktop app (built on Electron around the same web UI) are also available.

Tiger is a native Electron application built around a native file system and a native Git integration. It is not accessible from a browser tab. Downloads for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows (installer or winget), and Linux (AppImage and .deb) are on the GitHub Releases page. The trade-off is that you need to install it - the payoff is that it works completely offline and keeps all data on disk.

Team collaboration

Hoppscotch has a first-class team workspace concept: invite members, set roles, and share collections without anyone needing to think about Git. That is a genuine advantage for teams who do not use version control for API definitions today, or who include non-developer members who only need to run requests.

Tiger's collaboration model is Git. Anyone who can clone the repository and open the folder gets the full collection. Changes flow through pull requests and code reviews. There are no seats to manage and no workspace billing, but everyone on the team needs to be comfortable with a basic Git workflow.

MCP server

Tiger ships a standalone binary called tiger-mcp that exposes a collection as a set of tools any MCP-compatible AI client can call. Register the server in your AI client's configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tiger": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/tiger/out/mcp/server.mjs",
        "/path/to/your/collection"
      ]
    }
  }
}

The assistant gets four tools: list_requests, list_environments, get_request, and run_request. Every response includes the status code, timing, response headers, and a body. Requests are executed locally by Tiger's own HTTP engine - nothing passes through a third-party service. Hoppscotch does not offer an MCP server.

WebSocket and Server-Sent Events

Hoppscotch supports WebSocket connections and Server-Sent Events as dedicated request types, which is useful when working on real-time APIs. Tiger currently handles HTTP and HTTPS requests only; WebSocket support is not available in 0.4.0.

WSDL and SOAP

Tiger 0.4.0 added a WSDL importer. Point it at a .wsdl or .xml file and each binding operation becomes a POST request with a pre-filled SOAP envelope body, the correct Content-Type, and - for SOAP 1.1 - a SOAPAction header. SOAP 1.2 is also supported. Hoppscotch does not have a WSDL importer, so SOAP requests require manual configuration.

Performance runner

Tiger includes a performance tab on every request that fires N requests at a configurable concurrency level and reports min, max, average, p50, and p95 timings. Hoppscotch does not have a built-in performance or load-testing mode.

Privacy and telemetry

Tiger sends anonymous usage analytics by default - events like "app opened" or "request sent" with method and HTTP status bucket only. URLs, hostnames, header values, and bodies are never recorded. You can turn analytics off entirely in Settings under Privacy. There is no account, no user ID, and no persistent identifier beyond a random app-local value.

Hoppscotch's privacy posture depends on the deployment. The hosted version sends data to Hoppscotch's servers by design. Self-hosting keeps data inside your own infrastructure, though the backend is a service you have to operate.

When to choose Hoppscotch

• Your team works across mixed environments (browsers, tablets, shared machines) and needs no-install access.
• You want real-time collaborative workspaces with role-based access control without configuring Git.
• You need WebSocket or SSE support today.
• You are already running a self-hosted Hoppscotch instance and your team is used to it.

When to choose Tiger

• You want API definitions versioned in Git alongside application code.
• Your team reviews endpoint changes in pull requests, the same way you review code changes.
• You need to work fully offline - on a plane, in a data centre with no outbound internet, or on a network with strict egress rules.
• You want to give an AI assistant (Claude, Cursor) direct access to run requests from your collection via the MCP server.
• You are migrating a SOAP/WSDL service and want import support rather than building envelopes by hand.
• You do not want to run or maintain any backend service.

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