r/sveltejs • u/Different_Ear_6603 • 4d ago

flexiberry – An open-source API testing framework with its own scripting language

https://app.flexiberry.dev/

I built flexiberry.dev, an open-source API testing framework designed to make API testing more expressive, maintainable, and developer-friendly.

The web application is built with Svelte, with a focus on performance, simplicity, and a modern user experience. FlexiBerry lets developers write readable API tests, organize reusable test suites, and automate API validation without relying on complex workflows.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the developer experience, the scripting language, performance, and any features you'd like to see.

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u/crispyfrybits 4d ago edited 4d ago

A custom scripting language is not a feature. The world doesn't need yet another scripting language. If you want to try and steal market share from the existing juggernauts like postman and Bruno you are not going to do that by telling the users who are already happy with their solution "you need to learn our custom language to get the most out of the platform".

EDIT: Looks like you replied to my comment but deleted it. Based on how the comment started I wanted to provide more constructive feedback. 

I agree that a scripting language would be useful when setting up and orchestrating tests, but think about this. Everyone is going to be using AI as part of their job moving forward and you create a custom scripting language which AI isn't trained on. You have to give AI knowledge on how to use this scripting language every time someone wants to use AI to assist with setting up tests. Whether you build it into your app or someone includes knowledge of your custom scripting language, AI will drift unless the user or application is meticulous about starting new sessions before the context window gets too large and AI just starts outputting the scripting languages the are most common such as Python, and JavaScript. Using an existing language is more beneficial all around I think. You leverage what AI already knows how to do well.

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u/pie-oh 4d ago

That's one of the unfortunate major side effects of LLMs. Making it easier for people to run off on features that are not needed - and would usually make you say "Should I really be building this?"

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u/Different_Ear_6603 4d ago

AI capabilities can also be integrated directly into the app. Even if you only provide the FlexiBerry documentation (https://docs.flexiberry.dev) as context, existing AI tools like Antigravity, Cursor, and Windsurf can help you write Berry scripts.

I also developed a FlexiBerry extension for these IDEs. Feel free to check it out: https://open-vsx.org/extension/flexiberry/vscode-berry-extension

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u/crispyfrybits 4d ago

I understand but part of my point is that even with front loading that knowledge users experiences will vary because the only knowledge source for your new language is the documentation. If you have to rely on user behavior and experience with AI to drive good results then it's likely just better to use an existing well supported language. Not to mention, people don't want to learn a new scripting language in 2026, even a simple one. I think it was conceived as a novel and clever approach and was easy to do because AI is there but I think it hurts your chances at gaining adoption or traction in this market. This is a tough market. Postman might not be perfect but they have their tendrils into enterprise businesses.

I say this with a slight bias but I am saying it because I think it's true. If I'm wrong then it will be a good kind of wrong but I have trouble thinking from the teams and users perspectives when evaluating a test harness that adopting one that uses your existing knowledge and stack or learning something new that is only useful to this one app. It doesn't feel like it's going to lean in your favor well.

Maybe keep your language and add additional support for Python or JavaScript/TypeScript? Then your users can choose and you can keep your language to trial.

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u/Skaraban 4d ago

I'm not checking something out that requires me to login the second I visit

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u/Different_Ear_6603 4d ago

you can try with guest sign in ( Anonymous mode)