This page covers the command palette and its commands, the Preferences dialog, the Keyboard shortcuts dialog and how to change a shortcut, the themes, and the About dialog. Throughout, Ctrl means Command on macOS.
Command palette
The command palette runs most actions in Gostman from the keyboard.
Open it with Ctrl+K, or with the Commands button in the header (shown on wide windows). Type to filter, use the up and down arrows to move, press Enter to run the highlighted row and Esc to close it. The ? button in the palette opens the Keyboard shortcuts dialog.
- Typing searches command names first, then their descriptions and keywords. It also finds saved requests by name, folder, method or URL, and history entries.
- Once you type, results are grouped under Commands, Requests and History. Selecting a request or a history entry opens it in a tab.
- Ctrl+P (Go to request or history) opens the palette in a mode that lists requests and history only, with the search box reading
Go to a request or history entry. - The palette shows the current shortcut next to a command that has one, including any you changed.
Commands
| Command | What it does | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Send request | Send the request in the current tab | Ctrl+Enter |
| New request | Open a new empty tab | Ctrl+N |
| Save request | Save the request in the current tab | Ctrl+S |
| Duplicate request | Save a copy of the current request | |
| Copy request | Copy the saved request to paste it into a folder | |
| Paste request | Paste the copied request or folder next to the current request | |
| Generate code | Show the current request as code | |
| Close tab | Close the current tab | Ctrl+W |
| Close other tabs | Keep only the current tab | Alt+Shift+W |
| Close saved tabs | Close every tab without unsaved changes | Alt+Shift+S |
| Keep preview tab open | Turn the preview tab into a regular tab | Alt+Shift+K |
| Reopen closed tab | Bring back the tab you closed last | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Toggle sidebar | Show or hide collections and history | Ctrl+B |
| Keyboard shortcuts | See every shortcut | Ctrl+/ |
| New folder | Create a folder at the top level | |
| Run requests | Run every request in a folder with its tests | |
| Request examples | See the saved responses of the current request | |
| Mock server | Serve saved examples on a local port | |
| Capture traffic | Forward an app's calls to its API and save them as requests | |
| Manage cookies | See and delete stored cookies | |
| Scan for secrets | Find credentials typed into requests before you share or commit them | |
| Preferences | Theme, density, editor, layout and defaults | |
| Network settings | Proxy and certificates | |
| Import data | Import Postman, OpenAPI or Gostman files | |
| Lint API spec | Check the imported OpenAPI spec for problems | |
| Export data | Export collections and environments | |
| Share collection | Create an encrypted link or file, no account needed | |
| AI: new request from a description | Draft a request, shown as a preview you accept | Ctrl+Shift+U |
| AI: generate assertions and tests | Propose checks for the last response | |
| AI: write a script | Propose a pre-request or post-response script | |
| AI: explain the response | Explain a failure and suggest a fix | Ctrl+Shift+X |
| AI: document this request | Propose a description for the request | |
| AI: ask about the collection | Find requests by describing them | |
| AI: requests from an API schema | Turn an OpenAPI or GraphQL schema into requests | |
| AI settings | Provider, model, key and consent | |
| Clear history | Delete every history entry | |
| Show welcome | Sample request, imports and shortcuts | |
| About Gostman | Version, links and diagnostics | |
| Reset app | Delete all data and reload |
The shortcuts above are the defaults on the desktop app. The web version uses different keys for some of them; see Default shortcuts. The AI commands are described in AI features. Run requests, Load test this request and Scan for secrets are described in Running, load testing and scanning. Manage cookies and Network settings are described in Secrets and network settings.
Some commands appear only when they apply:
- Load test this request (description:
Send the current request many times at once and measure latency) appears when load testing is available, which is not the case in the web version. - Install app (
Add Gostman to this device and open it in its own window) appears when the browser can install Gostman as an app. - Switch workspace (
Choose another folder, pinned or recent), Open folder and Open workspace: ... for each other known folder appear when folder workspaces are available. Switch workspace has the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+O. - Switch environment: ... appears once for each environment that is not the active one.
Preferences
Open Preferences from the command palette. Changes apply as soon as you make them. They are saved on this device, in local storage under gostman.preferences.
| Section | Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Theme | System, Light, Dark | System |
| Appearance | Density | Comfortable, Compact | Comfortable |
| Appearance | Response panel | Below, Right | Below |
| Editor | Editor font size | A whole number from 10 to 24 | 12 |
| Editor | Wrap long lines | On or off | On |
| Requests | Default timeout | A whole number of seconds from 0 to 3600 | 0 |
| Requests | Ask before discarding unsaved changes when closing a tab | On or off | On |
| Language | Language | English | English |
- Default timeout applies to requests that set no timeout of their own. 0 uses the built-in limit. See Variables, scripts and settings for request settings.
- A number field only takes effect while the value is a whole number inside the range. Otherwise the field is marked invalid, and it goes back to the saved value when you leave it.
- Language lists English only. The dialog says more languages will appear when translations are available.
At the bottom of the dialog:
- Keyboard shortcuts closes Preferences and opens the Keyboard shortcuts dialog.
- Reset to defaults restores every setting in the table. It keeps the shortcuts you changed; reset those in the Keyboard shortcuts dialog.
- Done closes the dialog.
Themes
Theme has three options:
- System follows the light or dark setting of your operating system and changes with it.
- Light and Dark always use that appearance.
The About dialog's diagnostics report the theme setting.
Keyboard shortcuts
Open the Keyboard shortcuts dialog with Ctrl+/, with the Keyboard shortcuts command, with the ? button of the palette or with the Keyboard shortcuts button in Preferences. It lists every shortcut in four groups: General, Request, Tabs and Navigation.
Default shortcuts
| Group | Action | Desktop | Web |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | Command palette | Ctrl+K | Ctrl+K |
| General | Go to request or history | Ctrl+P | Ctrl+P |
| General | Keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl+/ | Ctrl+/ |
| General | AI: new request from a description | Ctrl+Shift+U | Alt+Shift+U |
| General | AI: explain the response | Ctrl+Shift+X | Alt+Shift+X |
| Request | New request | Ctrl+N | Ctrl+N |
| Request | Save request | Ctrl+S | Ctrl+S |
| Request | Send request | Ctrl+Enter | Ctrl+Enter |
| Tabs | Close tab | Ctrl+W | Alt+W |
| Tabs | Reopen closed tab | Ctrl+Shift+T | Alt+Shift+T |
| Tabs | Close other tabs | Alt+Shift+W | Alt+Shift+W |
| Tabs | Close saved tabs | Alt+Shift+S | Alt+Shift+S |
| Tabs | Keep preview tab open | Alt+Shift+K | Alt+Shift+K |
| Tabs | Next tab | Ctrl+Tab | Alt+] |
| Tabs | Previous tab | Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Alt+[ |
| Tabs | Go to tab 1 to 9 (9 is the last tab) | Alt+1 to 9 | Alt+1 to 9 |
| Navigation | Toggle sidebar | Ctrl+B | Ctrl+B |
| Navigation | Search the sidebar | Ctrl+Shift+F | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Navigation | Switch workspace | Ctrl+Shift+O | Not available |
| Navigation | Next workspace | Ctrl+Shift+] | Not available |
| Navigation | Previous workspace | Ctrl+Shift+[ | Not available |
On macOS the dialog shows the same shortcuts with the symbols for Control, Command, Option and Shift. In the browser, Alt replaces the shortcuts that browsers keep for themselves: Ctrl+W, Ctrl+Shift+T and Ctrl+Tab.
Change a shortcut
- Open the Keyboard shortcuts dialog.
- On the action's row, select the pencil button (Change the shortcut for the action).
- Press the new combination. The row shows the keys as you hold them. Esc cancels.
- If the combination is free, it is saved at once. The row gets a Changed badge.
Other buttons on a row:
- The X button (Remove the shortcut for the action) clears the shortcut. The row then reads Not set.
- The reset button (Restore the default shortcut for the action) appears on a changed row and brings back the default.
- Reset all at the bottom restores every default. It is disabled when nothing has been changed.
If another action already uses the combination, the dialog says ... is already used by ... and offers Replace or Cancel. Replace clears the other action's shortcut and assigns the combination to this one.
A combination must include Ctrl, Alt or the command key. A function key can be used alone. These combinations are refused:
- Combinations that edit text in every field, such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y.
- In the browser, combinations that browsers keep for themselves.
- On macOS, combinations the operating system keeps for itself.
- Ctrl and Alt together on Windows and Linux, because many keyboards send that pair for AltGr. The Windows or Super key cannot be used, and Command with Control together is not supported on macOS.
- For Go to tab 1 to 9, a combination without a number key. The other tabs use the same modifier.
Your changes are saved with your preferences.
About
Open About Gostman from the command palette. The dialog shows:
- the version number;
- a short description: an open source API client for REST, GraphQL, gRPC and WebSocket, with no account and your data on your device;
- links to the Website, Source code, Releases and Report an issue.
Copy diagnostics copies a short JSON text to the clipboard, and the button then reads Copied. It holds the app version, whether you run the desktop or web app, the platform, the language, the theme, whether you are online, and the number of requests, folders and environments. It never includes requests, URLs, variables, tokens or secrets, so you can attach it to a bug report.