Layer 5 · self-hosting reality check
What it actually takes to self-host Bruno
The docs say 256 MB. In practice you want 600 MB as an Electron app. Here is the honest version — real requirements, real monthly cost, what you will be maintaining, and the one thing that catches people out.
Usually reached from Postman alternatives, where Bruno is one of the picks.
Wondering whether you need to at all? Is Postman free? — what the free tier actually allows, and where the wall is.
| RAM — documented minimum | 256 MB |
|---|---|
| RAM — what it really needs | 600 MB as an Electron app |
| CPU | Any modern CPU |
| Disk | 500 MB installed; collections are plain files in your repo |
| Monthly cost | $0 — it runs on the machine you already own |
| Setup time | 10 minutes |
| How you install it | Desktop installer, or `npm install -g @usebruno/cli` for CI |
| Ongoing maintenance | None beyond updating the app. |
| Where it stops scaling | Any collection size. It is a local app reading local files. |
The thing that catches people out
Bruno stores collections as plain files in your own Git repository, which is the whole point and also the thing that surprises teams: there is no cloud sync, no shared workspace and no live collaboration. Two people editing the same request resolve it as a merge conflict, like code. That is better for most engineering teams and genuinely worse for anyone expecting Postman's shared workspace.
When not to self-host Bruno
Your team relies on Postman's shared workspaces and real-time collaboration. Bruno replaces that with Git, deliberately.
Every guide here carries this section. A site that only ever tells you to self-host is selling something — the useful answer is sometimes no.
Other Layer 5 self-hosting guides
- Self-hosting LibreOffice2 GB with a large spreadsheet open
- Self-hosting ONLYOFFICE6 GB for the Document Server with a handful of concurrent editors
- Self-hosting Collabora Online4 GB, and roughly 1 GB per 20 concurrent documents
- Self-hosting CryptPad2 GB for a small instance
- Self-hosting Mattermost4 GB for a team of 50 with PostgreSQL on the same box
- Self-hosting Rocket.Chat6 GB with MongoDB on the same machine
Common questions
- How much RAM does Bruno actually need?
- 600 MB as an Electron app in practice. The documented minimum is 256 MB, which is the figure at which the process starts rather than the figure at which it works under real use. Any modern CPU alongside it.
- What does self-hosting Bruno cost per month?
- $0 — it runs on the machine you already own This is commodity VPS pricing and excludes your time, which is the larger cost for most people — budget for none beyond updating the app.
- How long does it take to set up Bruno?
- 10 minutes, via Desktop installer, or `npm install -g @usebruno/cli` for CI.
- When should I NOT self-host Bruno?
- Your team relies on Postman's shared workspaces and real-time collaboration. Bruno replaces that with Git, deliberately.
- What is the most common mistake when self-hosting Bruno?
- Bruno stores collections as plain files in your own Git repository, which is the whole point and also the thing that surprises teams: there is no cloud sync, no shared workspace and no live collaboration. Two people editing the same request resolve it as a merge conflict, like code. That is better for most engineering teams and genuinely worse for anyone expecting Postman's shared workspace.