Flamingo

A modern, high-performance desktop API client.

Craft HTTP requests, manage environments and collections, and sync across devices with end-to-end encryption.

_{Electron · React · TypeScript · MIT licensed}

Features

Requests

• Full request builder for GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD and OPTIONS
• Headers, query params and bodies (JSON, XML, text, form-data, URL-encoded)
• Auth presets: Basic, Bearer token and API key
• Paste a curl command straight into the URL bar and it becomes a request
• Pre-request and post-response scripts with a captured console output panel

Responses

• Pretty, raw, preview, JSON tree and headers views
• Status, latency and payload size at a glance
• Side-by-side diff of two responses from different tabs
• Copy or download the body in one click

Workspace

• Multi-tab editing with pinning, duplication and middle-click to close
• Command palette on Ctrl+K
• Collections for grouping saved requests, plus searchable request history
• Environment variables resolved as {{variable}} in URLs, headers and bodies
• Light, dark and system themes, applied to the Monaco editor as well

Sync

• Optional cloud sync with AES-256-GCM end-to-end encryption
• Per-category opt-in: history, environments, collections, secrets, settings

Getting started

Requires Node.js 18+ and pnpm (the repo ships a pnpm-lock.yaml and a pnpm-workspace.yaml).

pnpm install
pnpm electron:dev     # Vite + Electron together, with hot reload
pnpm react:dev        # Vite dev server only, on http://localhost:5173

To attach Electron to a dev server you already have running, use electron . --dev.

Build

pnpm react:build      # Type-check, then produce the Vite bundle in dist/
pnpm build            # Full build, then package for Windows + Linux
pnpm electron:build   # Full build, then package for the current platform

electron:win, electron:linux and electron:mac package an existing dist/ for a single target, so run react:build first if the bundle is stale. Packaging for macOS needs Xcode, an Apple Developer account and valid signing certificates.

Scripts

Script	What it does
react:dev	Vite dev server on port 5173
react:build	tsc type-check + Vite production bundle
electron:dev	Bundle, then run Vite and Electron concurrently
electron:build	react:build + package for the current platform
electron:win	Package an existing dist/ as an NSIS installer
electron:linux	Package an existing dist/ as AppImage + deb
electron:mac	Package an existing dist/ as DMG + ZIP
build	react:build + package for Windows and Linux
preview	Serve the production bundle in a browser
lint	tsc --noEmit

Architecture

.
├── electron/
│   ├── main.js              # BrowserWindow, IPC handlers, window controls
│   └── preload.js           # contextBridge — the only surface exposed to the renderer
├── public/                  # Static assets copied verbatim (fonts, logo)
└── src/
    ├── components/
    │   ├── layout/          # TitleBar
    │   ├── request/         # RequestBuilder, BodyEditor, KeyValueEditor
    │   ├── response/        # ResponseViewer, ResponseCompare
    │   ├── sidebar/         # Sidebar + History/Collections/Environments/Favorites/Sync panels
    │   ├── ui/              # Primitives: Button, Input, Select, Modal, Tabs…
    │   └── workspace/       # TabBar, CommandPalette
    ├── lib/
    │   ├── sync/            # Sync client, crypto, store, provider
    │   ├── curl-parser.ts   # curl → request
    │   ├── monaco-setup.ts  # Editor themes matching the app surfaces
    │   ├── script-runner.ts # Pre/post request scripts
    │   └── utils.ts
    ├── main/                # App entry point and root component
    ├── stores/              # Zustand stores
    └── styles/              # Design tokens and global CSS

State

Every domain gets its own Zustand store, most behind the persist middleware:

Store	Holds	Persisted
tab-store	Open tabs, active tab, request drafts, responses	Yes
history-store	Past requests	Yes
collection-store	Collections and folder state	Yes
environment-store	Environments and their variables	Yes
settings-store	Font size, timeout, behaviour toggles	Yes
theme-store	Theme preference	Yes
ui-store	Sidebar collapse, modal visibility	No

Sync

Flamingo talks to the Flamingo Sync Server, and the server never sees plaintext:

1. A random 256-bit master key is generated on the client at first connection
2. Everything is encrypted with AES-256-GCM via the Web Crypto API before upload
3. Extra devices fetch the shared master key through a device-authorization flow
4. Each category syncs only if you enable it

Design system

The interface runs on CSS custom properties, exposed to Tailwind as RGB channels so opacity modifiers keep working. Both themes live in src/styles/globals.css; no component hardcodes a colour.

Token	Role
canvas	Window background, behind everything
surface / surface-raised / surface-sunken	Panels, popovers, insets
line / line-strong	Borders and dividers
body / muted / faint	Text hierarchy
accent / accent-foreground	Primary actions — ink on light, white on dark
good / warn / bad	Status feedback
method-*	Per-HTTP-method colours, colour-blind safe

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Enter	Send the current request
Ctrl+K	Open the command palette
Ctrl+T	New tab
Ctrl+B	Toggle the sidebar

Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Desktop shell	Electron 43
UI	React 18
Build	Vite 5
Language	TypeScript 5
Styling	Tailwind CSS 3
Components	Radix UI primitives
State	Zustand 5
Editor	Monaco (the VS Code engine)
Animation	Framer Motion 11
Icons	Lucide
Encryption	Web Crypto API (AES-256-GCM)

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Copyright © 2024 Javier Fernández (Jallox/Jayox)