Insomnia Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-04-29

Insomnia is an open-source, cross-platform API client developed by Kong, designed for testing, debugging, and designing APIs across REST, GraphQL, gRPC, WebSockets, Server-Sent Events (SSE), Socket.IO, and other HTTP-compatible protocols. It offers a lightweight, developer-friendly alternative to Postman with unlimited collection runs, native Git sync, AI-powered features (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, or local LLM), and full support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Insomnia streamlines API workflows through intuitive templating, powerful scripting (pre-request and after-response), environment management, and flexible storage options—local, cloud, or Git-based—making it essential for modern API development and collaborative testing. A key advantage is its simplicity and speed, which keeps developers focused on API functionality rather than wrestling with tooling complexity.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 21 focused tables and 169 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Request Types and Protocol SupportTable 2: Workspace Organization and StorageTable 3: Environment Variables and TemplatingTable 4: Authentication MethodsTable 5: Request Body FormatsTable 6: Scripts and AutomationTable 7: Testing and ValidationTable 8: Mock ServersTable 9: Code Generation and ExportTable 10: Design and DocumentationTable 11: Collaboration FeaturesTable 12: AI and MCP FeaturesTable 13: CI/CD IntegrationTable 14: Plugins and ExtensionsTable 15: Import and MigrationTable 16: Keyboard ShortcutsTable 17: Response InspectionTable 18: Advanced Request FeaturesTable 19: Settings and PreferencesTable 20: Troubleshooting and DebuggingTable 21: Enterprise Features

Table 1: Request Types and Protocol Support

Protocol	Example	Description
HTTP/REST	`GET https://api.example.com/users` `POST /auth/login`	• Standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS) for RESTful APIs • full header, body, and query parameter control.
GraphQL	`query { user(id: "1") { name email } }`	Native GraphQL support with query editor, variable section, schema introspection, auto-completion, and inline validation based on the type system.
gRPC	Host: `localhost:50051` Method: `/grpc.health.v1.Health/Check`	• Supports all four gRPC types: unary, server-streaming, client-streaming, bidirectional • configure host, port, metadata, and use `.proto` files for schema definitions.
WebSocket	`ws://localhost:8080/socket` Send: `{"action": "subscribe"}`	• Bi-directional persistent connections for real-time communication • send and receive messages interactively; messages can be JSON or raw format.

Table 1: Request Types and Protocol Support

Protocol	Example	Description
HTTP/REST	`GET https://api.example.com/users` `POST /auth/login`	• Standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS) for RESTful APIs • full header, body, and query parameter control.
GraphQL	`query { user(id: "1") { name email } }`	Native GraphQL support with query editor, variable section, schema introspection, auto-completion, and inline validation based on the type system.
gRPC	Host: `localhost:50051` Method: `/grpc.health.v1.Health/Check`	• Supports all four gRPC types: unary, server-streaming, client-streaming, bidirectional • configure host, port, metadata, and use `.proto` files for schema definitions.
WebSocket	`ws://localhost:8080/socket` Send: `{"action": "subscribe"}`	• Bi-directional persistent connections for real-time communication • send and receive messages interactively; messages can be JSON or raw format.