Keploy vs Restfox
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Keploy | Restfox |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Developer Tools & Git | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,479 | ★ 2,761 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Postman | Postman, Insomnia |
What are Keploy and Restfox?
Keploy
Keploy is an open-source testing toolkit that records API calls and database interactions to automatically generate test cases and data mocks. It is self-hosted as a CLI and server for backend testing.
- Tests from real traffic
- Auto-generated mocks
- CI integration
- No code changes needed
Restfox
Restfox is a lightweight REST API client that runs in the browser or as a desktop app, storing all data locally. It supports collections, environments, and scripting for API workflows.
- Browser and desktop client
- Local-first storage
- Environments and collections
- Request scripting
Keploy vs Restfox: key differences
Keploy is written in Go, while Restfox is built with Vue. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Keploy versus MIT for Restfox. Restfox is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Keploy. Keploy has the considerably larger community, at 18,479 GitHub stars versus 2,761.
Why pick each one
Choose Keploy if…
- Tests from real traffic
- Automatic mock generation
- CI-friendly CLI
Watch out for
- Linux-centric capture
- Setup varies per stack
Choose Restfox if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Keploy or Restfox better?
Neither is universally better. Keploy has the larger community, while Restfox is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Keploy and Restfox free and open-source?
Yes. Keploy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Restfox under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keploy and Restfox with Docker?
Keploy: yes. Restfox: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Keploy or Restfox?
Restfox has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Keploy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.