ServerDevTools vs Postman

Compare in-process request inspection with API client workflows.

ServerDevTools and Postman answer different questions. Postman helps you send, save, and test requests; ServerDevTools shows the execution that happened inside your Node.js server after a request arrived.

Area	ServerDevTools	Postman
Setup	Install in the Node.js app, preload before imports, and mount middleware.	Use the API client or an agent to send requests to an API.
Debugging workflow	Open `/_devtools` to inspect the request trace, child spans, database work, outbound calls, and errors.	Inspect the response, tests, console output, and saved collection history.
Captured detail	In-process request/response data and supported OpenTelemetry spans.	Request/response exchange and client-side test data.
Data location	Local SQLite by default: `./server-devtools.db`.	The desktop client can work locally; signed-in work can sync to Postman’s cloud workspace. See Postman basics .
Runtime constraints	Requires Node.js 20+ and adds instrumentation/persistence to the application process.	Runs as a separate API client or agent; the Cloud Agent cannot access private or local resources.

Use Postman when you need to design or exercise an API from the outside. Use ServerDevTools when you need to understand the server-side work caused by a request.