# Retriever - a native Mac API client, and a Paw alternative > A native Swift API client for Mac: environments, OAuth 2.0, response chaining without scripts, a foldable JSON viewer and an MCP server. Plain files, no account. $19 once. Source: https://karakabakov.com/retriever/ --- macOS API client # Retriever A native Mac API client you buy once, for everyone Paw left behind. [Get Retriever](https://fetchretriever.app/) [More build write-ups](https://karakabakov.com/posts/) At a glance - $19 USD once, early adopter price, then $39 - macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon - Notarized, no account The short version ## What Retriever does Paw, later RapidAPI for Mac, was discontinued in September 2026, and what was left to move to was a row of Electron apps that want you signed in. Retriever is the other option: a real Mac app written in Swift that sends your requests, keeps them in collections, switches environments, and keeps your work as plain JSON files on your own disk. It does the daily part quickly. Every method, query and header tables you can also edit as JSON, a body editor that closes your braces, and a response pane that parses big payloads off the main thread and opens a 2,000-line response folded down to 67. Command-K goes anywhere, Command-Return sends, and every shortcut can be rebound. And it does the parts that used to need scripts. Right-click a value in one response and paste it into the next request as a chain reference. Sign in with OAuth 2.0 once and the token refreshes itself. Let an AI agent drive the same workspace through the built-in MCP server, and watch what it does appear in your sidebar. In detail ## The parts worth knowing about Not the whole list - the app has more screens than a page like this can usefully hold. These are the decisions that make Retriever different from the last one you tried. - ### Environments that switch the whole request Write {{baseUrl}} and {{token}} once. Pick Local, Staging or Production in the toolbar and the same request goes to a different server with different credentials. - ### Chain one response into the next, no scripts Right-click any value in a response and copy it as a reference like {{@Login.body.accessToken}}. Chained requests show the link in the sidebar, and Send chain runs the sequence in order. - ### JSON you can fold Responses are drawn as a tree of virtualized rows. Folded objects preview their keys, and the last 25 responses of every request are kept, so going back to one is instant. - ### OAuth 2.0 that stays signed in Authorization code with PKCE, client credentials, device code, password and refresh token, with presets for GitHub, Google, Microsoft Entra ID, Auth0, Okta and Spotify. Tokens refresh before they expire, and a 401 gets one quiet retry. - ### Code in seven languages Shift-Command-C turns the request into cURL, Swift, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Go or HTTPie, with variables already resolved from the active environment, so the snippet runs as it is. - ### An MCP server for your agent Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client can list, create, edit and send your requests with seventeen tools. Values that look like secrets are masked unless the agent asks to reveal them. - ### Moving from Paw takes three steps Export a Postman collection from Paw, open it in Retriever, pick an environment. It also imports cURL, Postman environments, OpenAPI 3 and Swagger 2. - ### Your files, not an account Everything is one workspace.json and a history file per request in Application Support. Back it up, sync it, commit it to git. Nothing is sent anywhere except the requests you send and a daily licence check. On screen ## Retriever, running ![A GET request to /auth/me that reads its token from a Login request, with a collection of forty-two DummyJSON requests in the sidebar and the 200 OK user record as a JSON tree on the right](https://karakabakov.com/images/products/retriever-request.webp) *A request, chained from the one before it* ![A 33 KB products response from dummyjson.com shown as a tree folded to 67 of 2,107 lines, each product collapsed to a preview of its id, title, description and price](https://karakabakov.com/images/products/retriever-json.webp) *Two thousand lines, folded to what you need* ![The Command-K palette over the app, listing requests by name with their collection, folder and path, including chained paths such as /posts/user/{{@Login.body.id}}](https://karakabakov.com/images/products/retriever-palette.webp) *Command-K to any request* ![The Generate Code sheet with Swift selected among cURL, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Go and HTTPie, showing a URLSession login request with its JSON body filled in](https://karakabakov.com/images/products/retriever-code.webp) *Any request as runnable code* What it costs ## Pricing The early adopter price will rise to $39 USD, still paid once; what you buy at $19 stays yours. Checkout is through Polar. The app checks the key once a day and keeps working offline for 30 days after the last check. - Retriever $19 Paid once, at the early adopter price. A licence key by email, pasted into the app once. - Everything: OAuth 2.0, chaining, the MCP server, code generation, every import - No subscription, no seats, no account - Plain JSON files that still open if you stop using it Before you start ## What you need **Mac** macOS 15 or later **Processor** Apple silicon **Latest version** 0.4.0 **Where it comes from** A 3 MB disk image from its own site, signed and notarized by Apple **Account** None, ever **Your data** Plain JSON in ~/Library/Application Support/Retriever. Nothing leaves your Mac except the requests you send and a daily licence check with Polar. **Not yet** A cookie jar, GraphQL introspection, WebSockets and gRPC Common questions ## Questions about Retriever **### How much does Retriever cost?** $19 USD, paid once, at the early adopter price; later it will cost $39 USD, still paid once. There is no subscription, and checkout is through Polar. **### What does Retriever run on?** macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon. It is a 3 MB disk image from its own site, signed and notarized by Apple. **### Can I move my Paw projects to it?** Yes. Export a Postman collection from Paw, open it in Retriever and pick an environment. It also imports cURL, Postman environments, OpenAPI 3 and Swagger 2. **### Where is my data?** In plain JSON files in ~/Library/Application Support/Retriever on your Mac. There is no account, and nothing is sent anywhere except the requests you send and a daily licence check with Polar. $19 once, early adopter price ## Bring your Paw projects over while they still open. [Get Retriever](https://fetchretriever.app/) [More build write-ups](https://karakabakov.com/posts/)