Chiko vs Granc

Chiko is a free, open-source desktop terminal interface for testing gRPC APIs. When a server exposes reflection, it can discover and browse available gRPC endpoints. Chiko creates formatted request templates, and requests can include Bearer-token authorization, custom headers, and other metadata. You can save requests as bookmarks and replay them later. The project lists importing and exporting grpcurl commands as completed features, and a release changelog records SSL connection support. Installation instructions cover Homebrew, Go installation, building from source, and prebuilt releases. Chiko is licensed under the MIT License and lists a Free plan at free, with no paid plans or usage limits stated. OAuth, API keys, proto-file import, and password protection for sensitive bookmarks are listed as work in progress. Felix Angga, identified as a software engineer, is the maker.

Granc is a free, open-source Linux command-line tool written in Rust for dynamic gRPC calls. It sends JSON payloads without requiring service Protobuf files to be compiled into the client, translating JSON to Protobuf and back at runtime. Using a descriptor, it detects unary, server-streaming, client-streaming, and bidirectional RPCs. Schemas can come from server reflection or a local binary FileDescriptorSet file. Commands list services and describe services, messages, and enums. Granc also creates static Markdown documentation cross-linked between services and types. Requests may include custom headers such as authorization or tracing metadata, and JSON is validated before transmission. The core logic is available as a separate library crate for integration tests, proxies, and automation tools. Installation is documented with cargo install --locked granc. The project has moved to Codeberg, while its GitHub repository was archived on March 9, 2026. It is offered under Apache License 2.0 or MIT. TLS support with configurable roots and client identity is on the roadmap.