Whether you’re building a WordPress plugin or just tinkering with external services, APIs are everywhere. But if you’ve ever fumbled around with Postman or struggled to inspect headers — meet Hoppscotch.
Hoppscotch is a free, lightweight, browser-based API testing tool with a beautiful UI. It’s perfect for devs who want quick results without bulky apps or logins.
🚀 What Is Hoppscotch?
Hoppscotch (hoppscotch.io) is an open-source API request builder that runs entirely in the browser. It lets you:
- Send GET, POST, PUT, DELETE requests
- Add headers, query params, auth tokens
- Inspect responses instantly (JSON, XML, etc.)
- Save and organize requests
🧪 Example: Fetching Crypto Prices from CoinGecko
Let’s grab live crypto data from CoinGecko’s API in Hoppscotch.
Step 1: In Hoppscotch, set the method to GET and enter this URL:
https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/price?ids=bitcoin,ethereum&vs_currencies=usdStep 2: Hit “Send” — you’ll get a response like:
{
"bitcoin": { "usd": 29857 },
"ethereum": { "usd": 1884 }
}No API key, no account — just data. Now imagine integrating this with a custom WordPress block or dashboard widget!
🔐 Working with Authenticated APIs
Hoppscotch also supports headers and tokens. Just toggle over to the “Authorization” or “Headers” tab and paste your token:
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKENThis is great for working with services like Mailchimp, Notion, or GPT APIs.
🧰 Dev Tip: Test Your WordPress API Too
If you build REST endpoints in WordPress (via register_rest_route), you can test them in Hoppscotch too. Example:
https://yoursite.com/wp-json/myplugin/v1/custom-dataUse Basic Auth or cookie headers if your route is protected.
🎯 Final Thoughts
Hoppscotch makes exploring and testing APIs ridiculously easy — whether you’re pulling in space launches from SpaceX or checking the weather from OpenWeatherMap.
It’s fast, clean, and open source. No more excuses — go explore some APIs!
Leave a Reply