What’s New in Swell 0.6.0?

Swell is a cross-platform compatible (Mac, Linux, & Windows) desktop application and the leading API dev tool for testing and visualizing steaming TCP connections (i.e., WebSockets, SSEs, GraphQL subscriptions). Swell functions similarly to Postman, but with the added perks of full streaming and GraphQL support. Being an Open Source project, Swell is 100% free and open to outside contributions. For details on how it works, see our previous article here.

Swell just released v0.6.0 and this release comes with new exciting features. Some of the ones we’ll be talking in this article about are:

1. UI/UX overhaul
2. Schema introspection  
3. Type hinting  
4. Schema linter     
5. gRPC bug fixes

UI/UX

The first thing you notice when you open the app is that the UI of the app has been revamped with a sleek, neumorphic design with better selectable options for more intuitive navigation:

Before:

After:

Another impressive update is that the scatter plot graph to compare latencies of different network protocols and endpoints has been replaced with a dynamic bar graph for a more perceptive data analysis:

Before:

After:

And the final most notable UI/UX update is that previously, when switching between protocols, the URL text area would reset, which was a minor UX annoyance, but the newest release now comes with persistent URLs for seamless testing of different network protocols.

GraphQL Schema Introspection

Definitely one of the most exciting features in this release is the ability to introspect your schema. If you need information about a GraphQL API’s type system that you or someone else built, you can now access it using the Schema Introspection tool. Having access to a full schema can help minimize errors and reduce the front-end complexities that come with constructing queries.

All you need to do is enter a valid endpoint URL and click on Introspect:

GraphQL Type Hinting

Schema Introspection is a handy tool that helps reveal what types of queries might or might not be supported, but to help users catch errors earlier, Swell has included a new feature that allows for smart type hinting and auto-completion:

GraphQL Schema Linting

Swell really went off on this update with GraphQL and you can see the amount of detail that was put in place. The fact that GraphQL is strongly typed helps prevent various errors but it can be cumbersome to have to remember which types are capitalized or pluralized. It’s a mistake any developer is bound to make, so this is where the schema linter comes in handy.

Now, in Swell v0.6.0, when you send a request with incorrect queries, mutations, or subscriptions, you are sent back a response with a precise error message with smart suggestions on how you can revise your request:

gRPC

The final update worth mentioning is that the front-end for the gRPC composer section has been heavily optimized and refactored. Unnecessary component re-renders, as well as extraneous Redux reducer dispatch actions have been eliminated. The result is a more robust, more predictable, and ultimately faster program, the benefits of which can be seen by the user as well as future contributors to the app.

Bug that created unnecessary component re-renders in previous version:

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