DialCatz is the API client of the Catzoid family — dial an endpoint, hear it purr. It sends REST, GraphQL and WebSocket requests, keeps them in collections, fills them from environments, runs scripts and tests, and can run a whole collection in one go. Teams share their work through a self-hosted DialCatz Den, and anyone can share a workspace through a Git repository.
It is free and open source (GPL-3.0). There is no account to make and no paid tier. The DialCatz page has the short tour; this page and the ones after it are the full guide.
What you need
- macOS 13 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel — or Windows 10 or 11 (x64).
- The installer from catzoid.com/dialcatz/download, which picks the right one for your computer.
DialCatz needs no administrator rights. Only one DialCatz runs at a time: opening it again brings the existing window to the front. The window is at least 920 × 560 and starts at 1320 × 840.
On a Mac the download is a DMG. The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings, and it updates itself. Homebrew works too:
brew tap catzoidhub/catz && brew trust catzoidhub/catz
brew install --cask dialcatzOn Windows the installer is DialCatz-Setup-<version>.exe. It installs for your account only — into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\DialCatz, with no administrator prompt. Its pages: Welcome to DialCatz, Only me or
Anyone (all users, which does need an administrator), the install folder, then Shortcuts — DialCatz is always
added to the Start menu, so Windows search finds it, and Create a desktop shortcut is ticked by default. To pin it,
right-click DialCatz in Start and choose Pin to taskbar. The last page, DialCatz is ready, has Open DialCatz
now.
The Windows installer is a full release, but it is not code-signed yet (why): the first time, Windows SmartScreen may stop it, and More info → Run anyway lets it start. After that DialCatz updates itself as on a Mac.
Mac and Windows
DialCatz is the same app on both: every section, request type, import, the Git section, teams, AI and every Settings tab are on Windows, and workspaces, folder workspaces and DialCatz Den servers work alike. What differs is short:
| On Windows | Why |
|---|---|
| Shortcuts use Ctrl where a Mac uses ⌘ | The shortcuts on these pages follow the macOS / Windows switch at the top of the page. |
| The app menu behind ☰ | There is no menu bar. The ☰ button at the top left, above the rail, opens the app menu (File, Edit, Request, View, Window, Help), and every menu shortcut works with Ctrl. Minimize, maximize and close sit at the top right. |
| Settings… and Exit are in File, Check for Updates… and About DialCatz in Help | On a Mac, About, Check for Updates, Settings… (⌘,) and Quit are in the DialCatz menu. Settings… opens the same Settings as the gear at the bottom of the rail, on both. |
| Secrets are encrypted with Windows’ protected storage (DPAPI) | Instead of the macOS Keychain: the AI keys, the Git account tokens and the DialCatz Den tokens, tied to your Windows account. |
Files live in %APPDATA% |
%APPDATA%\DialCatz and %APPDATA%\Catzoid instead of ~/Library/Application Support/… — see Where your data lives. |
| Git comes from Git for Windows | DialCatz uses the git you install (git-scm.com); SSH keys are in %USERPROFILE%\.ssh. |
| Closing the window quits DialCatz | On a Mac the app stays open until you quit it. |
| The Recycle Bin and File Explorer | Uninstall moves DialCatz’s data to the Recycle Bin, and Show the folder opens File Explorer — instead of the Trash and Finder. |
Mac-only: the Homebrew cask, and Bring over in the Git section for accounts an older DevCatz kept in its own settings — on Windows, connect those accounts again.
Menu paths on these pages — File → Import…, Request → Send, Help → Report a Bug… and the like — are the Mac menu bar. On Windows the same menus open from the ☰ button: ☰ → Help → Report a Bug….
The DialCatz window
The rail
The narrow column on the left switches between the sections of the app, top to bottom:
| Rail item | What it holds | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Requests | Your collections, folders and requests, the open tabs and the response | Requests and responses, Collections and workspaces |
| Variables | Environments, globals and secrets | Environments and variables |
| History | Every request you sent, newest first | History |
| Git | Repositories, branches, pull requests, accounts and SSH keys | Git |
| Team | DialCatz Den servers and the team workspaces you can use | Teams with DialCatz Den |
| Settings (bottom) | General, AI, Updates and About | Settings and shortcuts |
A small dot on the Settings gear means an update is waiting.
Back and forward
The ‹ and › buttons next to the window’s traffic lights☰ button move back and forward through the screens you visited, like a browser. Right-click either one to see a list of recent screens and jump straight to one. mod+[ and mod+] do the same, and so do the back and forward buttons on a mouse.
The workspace picker
At the top of the Requests sidebar sits the workspace picker. A workspace holds a set of collections and environments. It is either Personal (on this computer, or saved as files in a folder you can share through Git) or a team workspace on a DialCatz Den. The line under the workspace’s name tells you which: “Personal · this computer”, “Folder · <path>”, or “<host> · <role>”. See Workspaces.
What you get on the first start
DialCatz does not open empty. The first time, you get:
- a Personal workspace,
- a Getting started collection with three requests against httpbin.org: Get JSON, Echo a POST and A 404 (the cat hisses),
- an httpbin environment with two variables,
baseUrlandname, which those requests use.
The Welcome to DialCatz dialog offers three ways to start:
- Make the first call — New request opens a fresh tab.
- Bring your collections — Import… opens the import list (Postman, OpenAPI / Swagger, cURL, DevCatz, DoCatz).
- Work as a team (optional) — Connect… adds a DialCatz Den server.
Get started closes it, and so does Maybe later. Its footer reminds you that AI is off until you turn it on in Settings → AI.
Your first request
- Press mod+N (or New request in the welcome dialog). A new tab opens.
- Pick a method — GET is already set.
- Type an address in the URL field, for example
https://httpbin.org/json, or{{baseUrl}}/jsonto use the httpbin environment. You can also paste a whole cURL command here: the tab turns into that request. - Press Send (or mod+enter).
The response appears below: its status, how long it took, its size, and the body in the best view for its type. The cat tells you how it went:
| Status | The cat says |
|---|---|
| 2xx, success | Purr. |
| 3xx, a redirect | Over there… |
| 4xx, a client error | Hiss! |
| 5xx, or the call did not go through | HISS! |
To keep the request, press Save (mod+S). A request that is not in a collection yet asks for a name and where it goes.
How the pieces fit
- A request lives in a collection, optionally inside folders. Collections and folders can carry auth, scripts and notes that the requests inside inherit.
- A collection belongs to a workspace. Personal workspaces stay on this computer or in a folder; team workspaces sync through a DialCatz Den.
- Environments hold the values behind
{{variables}}— abaseUrl, a token — so the same request works against local, staging and production. - Scripts run before a request and after its response; tests check the response. The runner sends a whole collection or folder, optionally once per row of a data file.
- AI is optional and off until you turn it on.
With DevCatz, DBCatz and DoCatz
DialCatz knows its siblings. From DevCatz it imports a site, and from DoCatz a compose project, as an environment plus a collection of its routes; with DBCatz, Check in DBCatz opens the table a call just touched. All of it is explained in With DevCatz, DBCatz and DoCatz. The theme, the AI connection and Git accounts are shared with every Catzoid app.
Where to next
- Requests and responses — methods, params, headers, bodies, auth, cURL paste, every response view, WebSocket, GraphQL, code generation and history.
- Collections and workspaces — the sidebar, folders, workspaces, import from Postman, OpenAPI and cURL, and export.
- Environments and variables — environments, globals, secrets, and where a
{{variable}}gets its value. - Scripts, tests and the runner — pre-request and test scripts, the full
dcandpmAPI, and running a whole collection. - Git — share a workspace through a repository, and the full Git section.
- AI in DialCatz — Ask DialCatz, Explain, Write tests, Generate a body, and exactly what is sent.
- Teams with DialCatz Den — invite links, shared workspaces, values that stay on each computer.
- Install DialCatz Den — run your team’s own server.
- Settings and shortcuts — every shortcut, settings, updates, where data lives, troubleshooting, and the DevCatz, DBCatz and DoCatz integration.
Last updated 2026-11-03