How to Sync API Collections with OpenAPI Specifications Using Bruno OpenAPI Sync

Keeping API collections aligned with a constantly evolving OpenAPI or Swagger specification can be frustrating. Teams often end up manually re-importing specs, recreating endpoints, and dealing with inconsistencies between the API documentation and their testing tools.

OpenAPI Sync in Bruno solves this problem by automatically keeping your Bruno collection aligned with a remote OpenAPI specification. It tracks changes, removes the manual effort of re-importing specs, and helps teams stay synchronized with their API definitions.

Connecting Your Collection to OpenAPI Sync

There are two ways to connect your Bruno collection with OpenAPI Sync:

1. Connecting an existing collection
2. Importing a new collection with OpenAPI Sync enabled

Option 1: Connect an Existing Collection

1. Open the context menu (···) in your Bruno collection.
2. Select OpenAPI Sync (Beta).

You will then see two options:

• Add URL – Enter the remote OpenAPI specification URL
• Upload file – Upload an OpenAPI spec file from your machine

After selecting the spec source, click Connect.

Option 2: Import a New Collection

You can also enable OpenAPI Sync during the import process.

1. Import a collection using an OpenAPI spec file or URL.

2. Enable Check for Spec Updates to connect the collection to OpenAPI Sync automatically.

Click Review and Sync Collection to preview the changes before confirming the sync.

Understanding the OpenAPI Sync UI

The OpenAPI Sync interface provides a quick overview of your collection’s synchronization status.

Overview

The overview dashboard shows the current sync status, pending updates from the specification, and changes made locally in the collection.

Collection Changes

This tab shows changes that were made directly in the Bruno collection.

• Deleted – Endpoints removed from the collection
• Added – New endpoints or fields added locally
• Modified – Changes made to existing endpoints

The following elements are being tracked:

• Request body
• URL
• Parameters
• Headers

Tests, scripts, and request assertions are preserved.

Spec Updates

If the remote OpenAPI specification changes, this tab will display the pending updates.

You can then choose how to handle those updates:

• Sync collection – Apply changes from the spec
• Skip All – Ignore all spec updates
• Accept All – Apply all detected changes
• Keep Current – Preserve your current local changes

Once you’re ready, click Confirm and Sync Collection.

What Happens During a Sync

When you synchronize your collection with the OpenAPI spec:

• Updated from spec: URLs, parameters, request bodies, and folder/request structures are regenerated.
• Preserved: Tests, scripts, and assertions remain intact.
• Stored locally: The latest specification is saved under collection/resources/spec/ for offline use.

Automatic Spec Updates

OpenAPI Sync automatically checks for specification updates every 5 minutes.

You can adjust these settings:

1. Click the context menu (···) next to View spec.

2. Select Edit connection settings.

From the connection settings, you can enable or disable automatic checks, disconnect the sync, or modify how frequently Bruno checks for spec updates.

Inspect the OpenAPI Specification

You can view the connected OpenAPI specification directly inside Bruno.

1. Click View spec in the top right of the OpenAPI Sync interface.

This opens a read-only Swagger-style interface where you can inspect the API specification without modifying it.

Try the Demo Yourself

You can start playing around with Bruno OpenAPI Sync using the Swagger Petstore specification (v3). Import it as a new collection using the URL and make some changes (params, path, etc.) to get hands-on experience with how OpenAPI Sync works.

Why OpenAPI Sync Matters

API specifications evolve constantly. Without automation, developers end up manually updating collections, leading to mismatches between the API documentation and testing environments.

With OpenAPI Sync, Bruno enables teams to:

• Automatically track spec changes
• Keep API collections aligned with documentation
• Reduce manual maintenance
• Collaborate efficiently across teams

For teams working heavily with OpenAPI-driven APIs, this feature significantly improves workflow efficiency and consistency.