Bifurc

Getting Started

Bifurc is a desktop-first API development workspace for routing, mocking, capture, protocol testing, browser-assisted workflows, and git-backed workspaces.

Install Bifurc#

Bifurc runs on Windows 10 and 11, macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux. Every download is on the download page.

  • Windows: the Microsoft Store, an installer, or a portable zip
  • macOS: a DMG for Apple silicon or Intel; drag Bifurc to Applications
  • Linux: a .deb, an AppImage, or a plain .tar.gz

Or install from a terminal:

irm https://bifurc.app/install.ps1 | iex          # Windows, PowerShell
curl -fsSL https://bifurc.app/install.sh | sh     # macOS and Linux

First launch checklist#

  1. Open Settings and confirm the ports you want to use for the reverse proxy, forward proxy and companion.
  2. Open Services to discover local processes already listening on localhost.
  3. Create a Mapping from a discovered service or add one manually.
  4. Decide how traffic should reach Bifurc:
    • via the browser extension
    • via a browser or OS proxy pointed at the forward proxy
    • via a *.localhost URL served by the reverse proxy
  5. Open Capture to confirm requests are flowing through the app.

Core navigation#

Find anything, run any command from the keyboardVideo coming soon

The application is organized around a few top-level workflows:

Services and routing#

  • Services — discover local ports and create mappings quickly, and run your dev servers with their logs
  • Mappings — bind *.localhost domains to local targets
  • Proxy Rules — redirect and transform matching traffic
  • Capture — inspect live proxied traffic
  • Mail — the mail your app sends to the local SMTP server

Mocking and request authoring#

  • Mocks — REST, GraphQL and SOAP mocks matched on proxied traffic
  • Requests — REST, GraphQL, SOAP, gRPC, WebSocket, SSE, Socket.IO, MCP and webhook requests
  • Flows — saved requests chained on a canvas

Workspace management#

  • Environments — variables and built-in randomizers
  • Vaults — secrets that are masked in captured traffic
  • Health bar — endpoint monitoring
  • Config — workspace settings and GitHub sync
  • Audit log — a record of changes made in the workspace
  • Settings — proxies, ports, HTTPS, certificates, connected browser extensions, and application options

Recommended first workflows#

Map a local service#

  1. Open Services
  2. Find your app or API port
  3. Click the quick-map action
  4. Save a mapping such as api.localhost → 127.0.0.1:3000
  5. Route browser traffic through Bifurc and open http://api.localhost

Capture and mock an existing API#

  1. Route traffic through Bifurc
  2. Open Capture
  3. Trigger a request from your browser or app
  4. Inspect the captured entry
  5. Create a mock from the captured request/response
  6. Enable the mock and retry the request

Save and replay a request#

One request, every environmentVideo coming soon

  1. Open Requests and create a REST request
  2. Paste a URL or a full cURL command
  3. Add headers, body, scripts, and variables
  4. Send, inspect the response, then save it into your workspace

Use browser-assisted workflows#

  1. Load the Bifurc Companion extension in Chrome or Firefox
  2. Configure its proxy and companion ports to match your Bifurc settings
  3. Open the extension popup and enable proxy routing when needed
  4. Use the DevTools panel to turn captured browser traffic into Bifurc mocks or saved requests

See browser-extension.md and workflows.md for the operational details.

Port notes#

Common defaults documented in the project:

PortPurposeConfigurable
80Reverse proxy — serves *.localhost mappingsYes
8080Forward proxy — point a browser or tool hereYes
4747Extension companion bridgeYes

*.localhost resolves to 127.0.0.1 automatically per RFC 6761. With the reverse proxy on port 80, mapped names work without a port. If you move it to another port, use an explicit http://your-domain.localhost:<port> URL, or send traffic through the forward proxy with a browser or OS proxy or the browser extension toggle.

System requirements#

  • OS: Windows 10+ today
  • Git: required for workspace history and sync features
  • Local network access: only localhost bindings are required for normal operation

Where the docs live#

These pages on the Bifurc website are the canonical documentation.

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