Granc vs grpcmd

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.

grpcmd is a free command-line tool for working with gRPC services on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It can use reflection to find available services and methods, describe a method’s request and response messages, and make calls. Requests and responses can stream, with headers, data, and trailers included in output. Users who do not want to rely on reflection can instead provide.proto files and import search paths. The tool can also start a gRPC server implementing grpcmd.GrpcmdService with reflection, and its documentation covers shell completion for Bash, Zsh, fish, and PowerShell. A related tool, grpcmd-script, lets users define endpoint tests in JavaScript and assert response headers, data messages, and trailers; it is distributed as a binary and does not require Node.js. The separate grpcmd-gui desktop app supports reflection-based method lookup, request headers, response headers and trailers, JSON request templates, streaming, and themes. GUI downloads are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, including amd64 and arm64 builds. grpcmd is listed at free; grpcmd-script is listed at $9 a year with early-bird pricing.