Postman Readme Guide

Postman Quick Reference Guide
Documentation
Release Version 1.8.0 - August 2021
Valentin Despa
Aug 16, 2021

Contents:
1 Cheatsheet 1
1.1 Postman Cheatsheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Dynamic variables 9
2.1 Dynamic variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Simple solutions to common problems 15

3.1 Request creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2 Assertions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.3 Schema validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 JavaScript libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.6 Newman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4 Online course 31
4.1 Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.2 Postman online course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
i
ii
CHAPTER 1
Cheatsheet
1.1 Postman Cheatsheet
Thank you for downloading this cheat sheet. This guide refers to the Postman App, not the Chrome extension.
Please report any problems with it.
Postman Cheat Sheet is based on the official Postman documentation and own experience.
For a detailed documentation on each feature, check out https://www.getpostman.com/docs.
1.1.1 Variables
All variables can be manually set using the Postman GUI and are scoped.
The code snippets can be used for working with variables in scripts (pre-request, tests).
Learn more about the different variables scopes in this tutorial.
Getting variables in the Request Builder
Depending on the closest scope:

Syntax: {{myVariable}}
Examples:
Request URL: http://{{domain}}/users/{{userId}}
Headers (key:value): X-{{myHeaderName}}:foo
Request body: {"id": "{{userId}}", "name": "John Doe"}
Global variables
General purpose variables, ideal for quick results and prototyping.

Please consider using one of the more specialized variables below. Delete variables once they are no longer
needed.
When to use:
1
Postman Quick Reference Guide Documentation, Release Version 1.8.0 - August 2021
• passing data to other requests

Setting
pm.globals.set('myVariable', MY_VALUE);
Getting
pm.globals.get('myVariable');
Alternatively, depending on the scope:
pm.variables.get('myVariable');
Removing
Remove one variable
pm.globals.unset('myVariable');
Remove ALL global variables (rather unusual)
pm.globals.clear();
Collection variables
When to use:
• good alternative to global variables or environment variables
• for URLs / authentication credentials if only one environment exists
Setting
pm.collectionVariables.set('myVariable', MY_VALUE);
Getting
pm.collectionVariables.get('myVariable');
Removing
pm.collectionVariables.unset('myVariable');
Environment variables
Environment variables are tied to the selected environment. Good alternative to global variables as they have a
narrower scope.
When to use:
• storing environment specific information
• URLs, authentication credentials
• passing data to other requests
Setting
pm.environment.set('myVariable', MY_VALUE);
Getting
2 Chapter 1. Cheatsheet
pm.environment.get('myVariable');
Removing
Remove one variable
pm.environment.unset("myVariable");
Remove ALL environment variables
pm.environment.clear();
Examples:
pm.environment.set('name', 'John Doe');

console.log(pm.environment.get('name'));
console.log(pm.variables.get('name'));
** Detecting the environment name **

If you need to know inside scripts which environment is currently active (locahost, production, . . . ) you can use
the name property:
pm.environment.name
Data variables
Exist only during the execution of an iteration (created by the Collection Runner or Newman).
When to use:
• when multiple data-sets are needed
Setting
Can only be set from a CSV or a JSON file.
Getting
pm.iterationData.get('myVariable);
Removing
Can only be removed from within the CSV or JSON file.
Local variables
Local variables are only available withing the request that has set them or when using Newman / Collection runner
during the entire execution.
When to use:
• whenever you would like to override all other variable scopes—for whatever reason. Not sure though then
this is needed.
1.1. Postman Cheatsheet 3

Setting
pm.variables.set('myVariable', MY_VALUE);
Getting
pm.variables.get('myVariable', MY_VALUE);
Removing
Local variables are automatically removed once the tests have been executed.
Dynamic variables
All dynamic variables can be combined with strings, in order to generate dynamic / unique data.
Example JSON body:
{"name": "John Doe", "email": "john.doe.{{$timestamp}}@example.com"}
If you want to use dynamic variables in scripts, you can use the replaceIn starting with Postman v7.6.0.
pm.variables.replaceIn('{{$randomFirstName}}'); // returns a String
For more details please see the section dedicated to Dynamic variables
Logging / Debugging variables
Open Postman Console and use console.log in your test or pre-request script.
Example:
var myVar = pm.globals.get("myVar");

console.log(myVar);
1.1.2 Assertions
Note: You need to add any of the assertions inside a pm.test callback.
Example:
pm.test("Your test name", function () {

var jsonData = pm.response.json();
pm.expect(jsonData.value).to.eql(100);
});
Status code
Check if status code is 200:
pm.response.to.have.status(200);
Checking multiple status codes:
pm.expect(pm.response.code).to.be.oneOf([201,202]);
Response time
Response time below 100ms:
pm.expect(pm.response.responseTime).to.be.below(9);
Headers
Header exists:
pm.response.to.have.header('X-Cache');
Header has value:
pm.expect(pm.response.headers.get('X-Cache')).to.eql('HIT');
Cookies
Cookie exists:
pm.expect(pm.cookies.has('sessionId')).to.be.true;
Cookie has value:
pm.expect(pm.cookies.get('sessionId')).to.eql('ad3se3ss8sg7sg3');
Body
Any content type / HTML responses

Exact body match:
pm.response.to.have.body("OK");
pm.response.to.have.body('{"success"=true}');
Partial body match / body contains:
pm.expect(pm.response.text()).to.include('Order placed.');
JSON responses
Parse body (need for all assertions):
const response = pm.response.json();
Simple value check:
pm.expect(response.age).to.eql(30);
pm.expect(response.name).to.eql('John');
Nested value check:
pm.expect(response.products.0.category).to.eql('Detergent');
XML responses
Convert XML body to JSON:

const response = xml2Json(responseBody);
Note: see assertions for JSON responses.
Skipping tests
You can use pm.test.skip to skip a test. Skipped tests will be displayed in reports.
Simple example
pm.test.skip("Status code is 200", () => {

});
Conditional skip
const shouldBeSkipped = true; // some condition
(shouldBeSkipped ? pm.test.skip : pm.test)("Status code is 200", () => {

});
Failing tests
You can fail a test from the scripts without writing an assertion:
pm.expect.fail('This failed because ...');
1.1.3 Postman Sandbox
pm
this is the object containing the script that is running, can access variables and has access to a read-only copy of
the request or response.
pm.sendRequest
Allows to send simple HTTP(S) GET requests from tests and pre-request scripts. Example:
pm.sendRequest('https://httpbin.org/get', (error, response) => {

if (error) throw new Error(error);
console.log(response.json());
});
Full-option HTTP POST request with JSON body:
const payload = { name: 'John', age: 29};
const options = {
method: 'POST',
url: 'https://httpbin.org/post',
header: 'X-Foo:foo',
body: {
mode: 'raw',
raw: JSON.stringify(payload)
}
(continues on next page)
(continued from previous page)

};
pm.sendRequest(options, (error, response) => {
});
Form-data POST request (Postman will add the multipart/form-data header):
const options = {
'method': 'POST',
'url': 'https://httpbin.org/post',
'body': {
'mode': 'formdata',
'formdata': [
{'key':'foo', 'value':'bar'},
{'key':'bar', 'value':'foo'}
]
}
};
pm.sendRequest(options, (error, response) => {
});
Sending a file with form-data POST request

Due to security precautions, it is not possible to upload a file from a script using pm.sendRequest. You cannot
read or write files from scripts.
1.1.4 Postman Echo
Helper API for testing requests. Read more at: https://docs.postman-echo.com.

Get Current UTC time in pre-request script
pm.sendRequest('https://postman-echo.com/time/now', function (err, res) {

if (err) { console.log(err); }
else {
var currentTime = res.stream.toString();
console.log(currentTime);
pm.environment.set("currentTime", currentTime);
}
});
1.1.5 Workflows
Only work with automated collection runs such as with the Collection Runner or Newman. It will NOT have any
effect when using inside the Postman App.
Additionaly it is important to note that this will only affect the next request being executed. Even if you put this
inside the pre-request script, it will NOT skip the current request.
Set which will be the next request to be executed
postman.setNextRequest(“Request name");
Stop executing requests / stop the collection run
postman.setNextRequest(null);

CHAPTER 2
Dynamic variables
2.1 Dynamic variables
Dynamic variables can be used in the request builder like this:
If you want to use dynamic variables in scripts, you can use the replaceIn starting with Postman v7.6.0.
pm.variables.replaceIn('{{$randomFirstName}}');
pm.variables.replaceIn('{{$randomFirstName}} {{$randomLastName}}');
The replaceIn method will return a String with the resolved variables.
Before Postman 7.2, only the following dynamic variables were available:
Variable Description Example

name
$guid Generates a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) in 15aacbb1-1615-47d8-b001-
v4 e5411a044761
$timestamp Returns the current timestamp 1561013396
$randomInt Generates random integer between 0 and 1000 764
Starting with version 7.2, Postman is using the faker.js library and added more variables. If used multiple times,
they can return different values per request. Note: the autocomplete support in the Request Builder might be
missing.
9
10
Variable name Description Examples Comment
$randomCity City East Ryanfurt, Jenkinsview
1
$randomStreetName Street name Mckenna Pines, Schiller Highway, Van-
dervort Pike
2
$randomStreetAddress Street with number 98165 Tanya Passage, 0695 Monahan
Squares
$randomCountry Country Belgium, Antarctica (the territory South
of 60 deg S)
$randomCountryCode Country code (2-letter) GY, TK, BG
$randomLatitude Latitude -79.9881, 87.8072
$randomLongitude Longitude -41.5763, 10.4960
$randomColor Color lime, azure, maroon, gold, violet
$randomDepartment Departments in a store Garden, Clothing, Grocery, Kids
$randomProductName Product name Intelligent Steel Sausages, Awesome
Rubber Cheese
3
$randomPrice Price 244.00, 301.00
$randomProductAdjective Product adjective Refined, Handcrafted, Handmade, Sleek
$randomProductMaterial Product material Frozen, Cotton, Wooden, Soft
$randomProduct Simple product name Salad, Cheese, Bike, Soap
$randomCompanyName Company name Christiansen LLC, Corwin Inc, Fahey -
Boyer
$randomCompanySuffix Company suffix LLC, Group, Inc, and Sons
$randomCatchPhrase Catch phrase Centralized upward-trending attitude
$randomBs BS one-to-one unleash communities
$randomCatchPhraseAdjective Catch phrase adjective Total, Diverse, Horizontal
$randomCatchPhraseDescriptor Catch phrase descriptor leading edge, dynamic, attitude-oriented
$randomCatchPhraseNoun Catch phrase noun Graphical User Interface, matrix, bench-
mark
$randomBsAdjective BS adjective compelling, vertical, revolutionary
$randomBsBuzz BS buzz strategize, redefine, streamline
$randomBsNoun BS noun systems, bandwidth, paradigms
$randomDatabaseColumn Database column status, title, name, password, createdAt
$randomDatabaseType Database column type enum, mediumint, double, timestamp

$randomDatabaseCollation Database collation utf8_general_ci, utf8_bin
$randomDatabaseEngine Database engine MEMORY, InnoDB, CSV, MyISAM
Continued on next page
Chapter 2. Dynamic variables

Table 1 – continued from previous page
$randomDatePast Date in the past Wed Mar 06 2019 04:17:52 GMT+0800
(WITA)
$randomDateFuture Date in the future Wed Nov 20 2019 20:26:40 GMT+0800
(WITA)
$randomDateRecent Recent date Thu Jun 20 2019 13:29:11 GMT+0800
(WITA)
$randomMonth Month February, April
2.1. Dynamic variables

$randomWeekday Weekdat Saturday, Monday
$randomBankAccount Bank account (8-digit) 58484223, 18983115
$randomBankAccountName Bank account name Home Loan Account, Investment Ac-
count
$randomCreditCardMask Masked credit card number (4-digit) 7333, 6202
$randomCurrencyAmount Amount 297.80, 529.26
$randomTransactionType Transaction type invoice, deposit, withdrawal, payment
$randomCurrencyCode Currency code THB, HTG USD, AUD
$randomCurrencyName Currency name Pound Sterling, Bulgarian Lev
$randomCurrencySymbol Currency symbol $, , Kč
$randomBitcoin ??? 1URwKxDpfEkTYNGYfKBZUWcuavqbSL
6
$randomBankAccountIban IBAN PK46Y5057900541310025311
7
$randomBankAccountBic BIC YQCIFMA1762
$randomAbbreviation Abbreviation RSS, SQL, TCP, HTTP, SMS
$randomAdjective Adjective virtual, solid state, digital
$randomNoun Noun microchip, interface, system, firewall
$randomVerb Verb connect, parse, navigate, synthesize
$randomIngverb Verb with -ing bypassing, copying, programming
$randomPhrase Phrase We need to copy the online CSS mi-
crochip!
$randomAvatarImage Avatar image URL https://s3.amazonaws.com/uifaces/faces/
twitter/jacksonlatka/128.jpg
$randomImageUrl Image URL http://lorempixel.com/640/480
$randomAbstractImage Abstract image http://lorempixel.com/640/480/abstract
$randomAnimalsImage Image with animals http://lorempixel.com/640/480/animals
$randomBusinessImage Business-related image http://lorempixel.com/640/480/business
$randomCatsImage Image with cats http://lorempixel.com/640/480/cats
11

12
$randomCityImage Image with a city http://lorempixel.com/640/480/city
$randomFoodImage Image with food http://lorempixel.com/640/480/food
$randomNightlifeImage Image with nightlife http://lorempixel.com/640/480/nightlife
$randomFashionImage Image with fashion http://lorempixel.com/640/480/fashion
$randomPeopleImage Image with people http://lorempixel.com/640/480/people
$randomNatureImage Image with nature http://lorempixel.com/640/480/nature
$randomSportsImage Image with sport http://lorempixel.com/640/480/sports
$randomTransportImage Image with transportation http://lorempixel.com/640/480/transport
$randomImageDataUri Image as data URI data:image/svg+xml;charset=UTF-8,
%3Csvg%20 . . .
8
$randomEmail Email from popular email providers Mable_Crist@hotmail.com,
Ervin47@gmail.com
$randomExampleEmail Example email Ayla.Kozey27@example.net,
Adrian.Hickle@example.com
$randomUserName Username Minerva42, Shania_Nitzsche
$randomProtocol HTTP Protocol http, https
$randomUrl URL http://daphney.biz, https://ansley.com
$randomDomainName Domain name adaline.org, murray.name, abdul.biz
$randomDomainSuffix Top Level Domain (TLD) extension com, net, biz, name, org
$randomDomainWord Word that can be used within a domain guadalupe, willa, jose
name
$randomIP IP v4 147.236.215.88, 139.159.148.94
$randomIPV6 IP v6 64d7:f61e:d265:167f:3971:9ae3:6853:3c48
$randomUserAgent Browser User-agent Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0;
Windows NT 5.2; Trident/5.1)
$randomHexColor Color in hex format #010638, #010638
$randomMACAddress MAC address 15:12:78:1e:96:fe, 99:f4:aa:40:49:59
$randomPassword Password v_Ptr4aTaBONsM0,
8xQM6pKgBUndK_J
$randomLoremWord Lorem ipsum word ipsa, dolor, dicta
$randomLoremWords Lorem ipsum words debitis tenetur deserunt
$randomLoremSentence Lorem ipsum phrase Qui fugiat necessitatibus porro quasi ea

modi.
$randomLoremSlug Lorem ipsum slug sint-dolorum-expedita, modi-quo-ut

$randomLoremSentences Lorem ipsum sentance Voluptatum quidem rerum occaecati . . .
$randomLoremParagraph Lorem ipsum paragraph Asperiores dolor illo. Ex . . .
9
$randomLoremParagraphs Lorem ipsum paragraphs Saepe unde qui rerum . . .
10
$randomLoremText Lorem ipsum text Ipsam repellat qui aspernatur . . .
11
$randomLoremLines Lorem ipsum text aliquid enim reiciendis . . .
$randomFirstName First name Dillan, Sedrick, Daniela
$randomLastName Last name Schamberger, McCullough, Becker
2.1. Dynamic variables

$randomFullName Full name Layne Adams, Bridget O’Reilly III
$randomJobTitle Job title Product Usability Consultant, Product
Mobility Architect
$randomNamePrefix Personal title (used as prefix) Miss, Mrs., Mr., Ms
$randomNameSuffix Title (used as suffix) I, II, Sr., MD, PhD
12
$randomNameTitle Job title Product Markets Administrator, Internal
Functionality Producer
$randomJobDescriptor Job title descriptor Corporate, Global, International, Chief,
Lead
$randomJobArea Job area Creative, Markets, Tactics
$randomJobType Job type Administrator, Consultant, Supervisor
13
$randomPhoneNumber Phone number 946.539.2542 x582, (681) 083-2162
14
$randomPhoneNumberFormat Phone number 840-883-9861, 353-461-5243
$randomPhoneFormats Phone number format ###.###.####, 1-###-###-#### x###,
(###) ###-####
$randomArrayElement Random element from array [a,b, c] a, b, c
$randomObjectElement Random object element car, bar
$randomUUID UUID 1f9a0bc0-582c-466f-ba78-
67b82ebbd8a8
15
$randomBoolean Boolean true, false
$randomWord Word or abbreviation transmitting, PCI, West Virginia
16
$randomWords Words portal bypassing indigo, Cotton transmit-
ting
$randomLocale Locale en
$randomAlphaNumeric Alphanumeric character 4, a, h
$randomFileName Filename soft_smtp.wvx, calculate.grv
$randomCommonFileName Common filename mall.pdf, chair.mp4, facilitator.mp3
13

14
$randomMimeType MIME type application/x-font-bdf, applica-
tion/omdoc+xml
$randomCommonFileType Common filetype image, application, audio
$randomCommonFileExt Common file extension png, mp3, mpeg, gif
$randomFileType File type x-shader, font, audio, message
$randomFileExt File extension xsm, zirz, xar
$randomDirectoryPath Directory path
$randomFilePath File path
$randomSemver Version (using semantic version) 6.3.4, 2.8.0, 1.7.6
1 Limited usability as you cannot specify a country.

2 Warning: it may generate invalid data, with street numbers starting with 0. Limited usability as you cannot specify a country.
3 Not possible to specify a format. It seems that the price is never with a subdivision (cents). Alternative: $randomCurrencyAmount.
6 May not be a valid IBAN.
7 May not be a valid BIC.
8 Better use example emails.
9 Includes \n \r characters (CR + LF).
10 Length is unpredictable. May include \n \r characters (CR + LF).
11
Length is unpredictable. May include \n characters (LF).

12 Seems to overlap with $$randomJobTitle.
13 Random format. Cannot specify a format / country.
14 Fixed format. Cannot specify another format / country
15 Warning: the output is still a string!
16

May return only one word.
CHAPTER 3
Simple solutions to common problems
3.1 Request creation
3.1.1 I have an environment variable as {{url}}. Can I use it inside a script (like
pm.sendRequest)?
The following syntax will not work while writing scripts:
pm.sendRequest({{url}}/mediaitem/)
You are inside a script, so you need to use the pm.* API to get to that variable. The syntax {{url}} works only
inside the request builder, not in scripts.
Example:
var requestUrl = pm.environment.get("url") + "/mediaitem/");
pm.sendRequest(requestUrl, function (err, res) {

// do stuff
});
3.1.2 How to use pre-request script to pass dynamic data in the request body?
In the pre-request script you can simply create a JavaScript object, set the desired values and save it as a variable
()
For example if you want to send a request body that looks like:
{
"firstName": "First Name",
"lastName": "Last Name",
"email": "test@example.com"
}
You can do the following in the pre-request script:
15
// Define a new object

var user = {
"firstName": "First Name",
"lastName": "Last Name",
"email": "test@example.com"
}
// Save the object as a variable.

// JSON.stringify will serialize the object so that Postman can save it
pm.globals.set('user', JSON.stringify(user));
In the request body you can simply use {{user}}. This also works just as well for nested objects:
{
"user": {{user}}
"address": {
"street": "Foo"
"number": "2"
"city": "Bar"
}
}
3.1.3 How can I create or modify the request body?
You can use console.log(pm.request.body) to understand the current data structure of the request body. With the
method pm.request.body.update you can update the request.
Create/replace JSON request body
const body = {
mode: "raw",
raw: JSON.stringify(
{
name: "jane",
age: 33
}
),
options: {
raw: {
language: "json"
}
}
}
pm.request.body.update(body);
Add property to JSON request body

const body = JSON.parse(pm.request.body.raw);
body.email = 'jane@example.com';
pm.request.body.raw = body;
Encode request body as base64

pm.request.body.update(btoa(pm.request.body.toString()));
Removing comments from JSON body

const jsonWithComments = pm.request.body.toString();
const jsonWithoutComments = jsonWithComments.replace(/\\"|"(?:\\"|[^"])*"|(\/\/.
˓→*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)/g, (m, g) => g ? "" : m)
16 Chapter 3. Simple solutions to common problems

// Regex from Stackoverflow: https://stackoverflow.com/a/62945875/766177

// & Postman issue tracker (@codenirvana): https://github.com/postmanlabs/postman-
˓→app-support/issues/4808
const body = {
mode: "raw",
raw: jsonWithoutComments,
options: {
raw: {
language: "json"
}
}
}
pm.request.body.update(body);
3.1.4 How can I modify the request headers?
You can modify the request headers from the Pre-request script as follows.
Add header
pm.request.headers.add({
key: 'X-Foo',
value: 'Postman'
});
Remove header
pm.request.headers.remove('User-Agent'); // may not always work
Update header
pm.request.headers.upsert(
{
key: "User-Agent",
value: "Not Postman"
}
);
3.1.5 How to generate random data?
Option 1 Using existing Postman random generators

If you need to create an unique string (with every request) and pass it in the request body, in the example below
there will be generated an unique GroupName everytime the request is executed.
You can use the variable {{$guid}} - this is automatically generated by Postman. Or you can use the current
timestamp, {{$timestamp}}:
{
"GroupName":"GroupName_{{$guid}}",
"Description": "Example_API_Admin-Group_Description"
}
This will generate something like:
3.1. Request creation 17

{
"GroupName":"GroupName_0542bd53-f030-4e3b-b7bc-d496e71d16a0",
"Description": "Example_API_Admin-Group_Description"
}
The disadvantage of this method is that you cannot use these special variables in a pre-request script or test.
Additionally they will be only generated once per request, so using {{$guid}} more than once will generate
the same data in a request.
Option 2 Using existing JavaScript random generators
Below you will find an exemple function that you can use to generate integer number between a specific interval:
function getRandomNumber(minValue, maxValue) {

return Math.floor(Math.random() * (maxValue - minValue +1)) + minValue;
}
You can call the function like this:
var myRandomNumber = getRandomNumber(0, 100);
And the output will look similar to:
67
Below you will find an exemple function that you can use to generate random strings:
function getRandomString() {
return Math.random().toString(36).substring(2);
}
You can call the function like this:
var myRandomNumber = getRandomString();
And the output will look similar to:
5q04pes32yi
3.1.6 How to trigger another request from pre-request script?
Option 1 You can trigger another request in the collection from the pre-request script using postman.
setNextRequest.
That can be done with:
postman.setNextRequest('Your request name as saved in Postman');
The difficulty is returning to the request that initiated the call. Additionally you need to make sure you do not
create endless loops.
Option 2 Another possibility is making an HTTP call from the pre-request script to fetch any data you might need.
Below I am fetching a name from a remote API and setting it as a variable for use in the actual request that will
execute right after the pre-request script completed:
var options = { method: 'GET',

url: 'http://www.mocky.io/v2/5a849eee300000580069b022'
};
pm.sendRequest(options, function (error, response) {



var jsonData = response.json();
pm.globals.set('name', jsonData.name);
});
Tip You can generate such requests by using the “Code” generator button right below the Save button, once you
have a request that works. There you can Select NodeJS > Request and the syntax generated is very similar to
what Postman expects.
You can import this example in Postman by using this link: https://www.getpostman.com/collections/
5a61c265d4a7bbd8b303
3.1.7 How to send request with XML body from a script?
You can use the following template to send a XML request from a script. Notice that price is a Postman variable
that will be replaced.
const xmlBody = `<?xml version="1.0"?>

<catalog>
<book id="bk101">
<author>Gambardella, Matthew</author>
<title>XML Developer's Guide</title>
<genre>Computer</genre>
<price>{{price}}</price>
<publish_date>2000-10-01</publish_date>
<description>An in-depth look at creating applications
with XML.</description>
</book>
</catalog>`;
const options = {
'method': 'POST',
'url': 'httpbin.org/post',
'header': {
'Content-Type': 'application/xml'
},
body: pm.variables.replaceIn(xmlBody) // replace any Postman variables
}
pm.sendRequest(options, function (error, response) {

console.log(response.body);
});
3.1.8 How to pass arrays and objects between requests?
Assuming your response is in JSON format, You can extract data from the response by using
After this you can set the whole response (or just a subset like this):
pm.environment.set('myData', JSON.stringify(jsonData));
You need to use JSON.stringify() before saving objects / arrays to a Postman variable. Otherwise it may not work
(depending on your Postman or Newman version).
In the next request where you want to retrieve the data, just use:
3.1. Request creation 19

• {{myData}} if you are inside the request builder

• var myData = JSON.parse(pm.environment.get('myData'));
Using JSON.stringify and JSON.parse methods is not needed if the values are strings or integers or booleans.
JSON.stringify() converts a value to a JSON string while JSON.parse() method parses a JSON string, creating the
value described by the string.
3.1.9 How to read external files?
If you have some information saved on a file locally on your computer, you might want to access this information
with Postman.
Unfortunately this is not really possible. There is a way to read a data file in JSON or CSV format, which allows
you to make some variables dynamic. These variables are called data variables and are mostly used for testing
different iterations on a specific request or collection.
Possible options:
• start a local server to serve that file and to get it in Postman with a GET request.
• use Newman as a custom Node.js script and read the file using the filesystem.
3.1.10 How to add a delay between Postman requests?
To add a delay after a request, add the following in your Tests:
setTimeout(() => {}, 10000);
The example above will add a delay of 10000 milliseconds or 10 seconds.
3.2 Assertions
Assertions in Postman are based on the capabilities of the Chai Assertion Library. You can read an extensive
documentation on Chai by visiting http://chaijs.com/api/bdd/
3.2.1 How find object in array by property value?
Given the following response:
{
"companyId": 10101,
"regionId": 36554,
"filters": [
{
"id": 101,
"name": "VENDOR",
"isAllowed": false
},
{
"id": 102,
"name": "COUNTRY",
"isAllowed": true
},
{
"id": 103,
"name": "MANUFACTURER",


"isAllowed": false
}
]
}
Assert that the property isAllowed is true for the COUNTRY filter.
pm.test("Check the country filter is allowed", function () {

// Parse response body
// Find the array index for the COUNTRY

var countryFilterIndex = jsonData.filters.map(
function(filter) {
return filter.name; // <-- HERE is the name of the property
}
).indexOf('COUNTRY'); // <-- HERE is the value we are searching for
// Get the country filter object by using the index calculated above
var countryFilter = jsonData.filters[countryFilterIndex];
// Check that the country filter exists

pm.expect(countryFilter).to.exist;
// Check that the country filter is allowed

pm.expect(countryFilter.isAllowed).to.be.true;
});
3.2.2 How find nested object by object name?
{
"id": "5a866bd667ff15546b84ab78",
"limits": {
"59974328d59230f9a3f946fe": {
"lists": {
"openPerBoard": {
"count": 13,
"status": "ok", <-- CHECK ME
"disableAt": 950,
"warnAt": 900
},
"totalPerBoard": {
"count": 20,
"status": "ok", <-- CHECK ME
"disableAt": 950,
"warnAt": 900
}
}
}
}
}
You want to check the value of the status in both objects (openPerBoard, totalPerBoard). The problem is that in
order to reach both objects you need first to reach the lists object, which itself is a property of a randomly named
object (59974328d59230f9a3f946fe).
So we could write the whole path limits.59974328d59230f9a3f946fe.lists.openPerBoard.
status but this will probably work only once.
3.2. Assertions 21
For that reason it is first needed to search inside the limits object for the lists object. In order to make the
code more readable, we will create a function for that:
function findObjectContaininsLists(limits) {
// Iterate over the properties (keys) in the object
for (var key in limits) {
// console.log(key, limits[key]);
// If the property is lists, return the lists object
if (limits[key].hasOwnProperty('lists')) {
// console.log(limits[key].lists);
return limits[key].lists;
}
}
}
The function will iterate over the limits array to see if any object contains a lists object.
Next all we need to do is to call the function and the assertions will be trivial:
pm.test("Check status", function () {
// Parse JSON body
// Retrieve the lists object

var lists = findObjectContaininsLists(jsonData.limits);
pm.expect(lists.openPerBoard.status).to.eql('ok');
pm.expect(lists.totalPerBoard.status).to.eql('ok');
});
3.2.3 How to compare value of a response with an already defined variable?
Lets presume you have a value from a previous response (or other source) that is saved to a variable.
// Getting values from response
var username = jsonData.userName;
// Saving the value for later use

pm.globals.set("username", username);
How do you compare that variable with values from another API response?
In order to access the variable in the script, you need to use a special method, basically the companion of setting
a variable. Curly brackets will not work in this case:
pm.test("Your test name", function () {
pm.expect(jsonData.value).to.eql(pm.globals.get("username"));
});
3.2.4 How to compare value of a response against multiple valid values?
Given the following API response:

{
"SiteId": "aaa-ccc-xxx",
"ACL": [
{
"GroupId": "xxx-xxx-xx-xxx-xx",
"TargetType": "Subscriber"


}
]
}
You want to check that TargetType is Subscriber or Customer.

The assertion can look like:
pm.test("Should be subscriber or customer", function () {

pm.expect(jsonData.ACL[0].TargetType).to.be.oneOf(["Subscriber", "Customer"]);
});
where:
• jsonData.ACL[0] is the first element of the ACL array
• to.be.oneOf allows an array of possible valid values
3.2.5 How to parse a HTML response to extract a specific value?
Presumed you want to get the _csrf hidden field value for assertions or later use from the response below:
<form name="loginForm" action="/login" method="POST">

<input type="hidden" name="_csrf" value="a0e2d230-9d3e-4066-97ce-
˓→f1c3cdc37915" />
<ul>
<li>
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input required type="text" id="username" name="username" />
</li>
<li>
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input required type="password" id="password" name="password" />
</li>
<li>
<input name="submit" type="submit" value="Login" />
</li>
</ul>
</form>
To parse and retrive the value, we will use the cherrio JavaScript library:
// Parse HTML and get the CSRF token

responseHTML = cheerio(pm.response.text());
console.log(responseHTML.find('[name="_csrf"]').val());
Cheerio is designed for non-browser use and implements a subset of the jQuery functionality. Read more about it
at https://github.com/cheeriojs/cheerio
3.2.6 How to fix the error “ReferenceError: jsonData is not defined”?
If you have a script like this:
pm.test("Name should be John", function () {

pm.expect(jsonData.name).to.eql('John');
});
3.2. Assertions 23
You will get the error ReferenceError: jsonData is not defined while setting the global vari-
able.
The reason is that jsonData is only defined inside the scope of the anonymous function (the part with
function() {...} inside pm.test). Where you are trying to set the global variables is outside the function,
so jsonData is not defined. jsonData can only live within the scope where it was defined.
So you have multiple ways to deal with this:
1. define jsonData outside the function, for example before your pm.test function (preferred)
var jsonData = pm.response.json(); <-- defined outside callback

});
2. set the environment or global variable inside the anonymous function (I would personally avoid mixing test
/ assertions with setting variables but it would work).

pm.globals.set('name', jsonData.name); // <-- usage inside callback
});
Hope this helps and clarifies a bit the error.
3.2.7 How to do a partial object match assertion?
Given the reponse:
{
"uid": "12344",
"pid": "8896",
"firstName": "Jane",
"lastName": "Doe",
"companyName": "ACME"
}
You want to assert that a part of the reponse has a specific value. For example you are not interested in the dynamic
value of uid and pid but you want to assert firstName, lastName and companyName.
You can do a partial match of the response by using the to.include expression. Optionally you can check the
existence of the additional properties without checking the value.
pm.test("Should include object", function () {

var expectedObject = {
"firstName": "Jane",
"lastName": "Doe",
"companyName": "ACME"
}
pm.expect(jsonData).to.include(expectedObject);
// Optional check if properties actually exist

pm.expect(jsonData).to.have.property('uid');
pm.expect(jsonData).to.have.property('pid');
});

3.3 Schema validation
This section contains different examples of validating JSON responses using the Ajv schema validator. I do not
recommend using the tv4 (Tiny Validator for JSON Schema v4).
3.3.1 Response is an object
This is the JSON response:
{}
This is the JSON schema:
const schema = {
"type": "object"
};
And here is the test:
pm.test("Validate schema", () => {

pm.response.to.have.jsonSchema(schema);
});
3.3.2 Object has optional property
This is the JSON response:
{
"code": "FX002"
}
This is the JSON schema with a property named code of type String:
const schema = {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"code": { "type": "string" }
}
};
Possible types are:

• string
• number
• boolean
• null
• object
• array
3.3.3 Object has required property
Given this JSON response:
3.3. Schema validation 25

{
"code": "FX002"
}
This is the JSON schema with a property named “code” of type String that is mandatory:
const schema = {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"code": { "type": "string" }
},
"required": ["code"]
};
3.3.4 Nested objects
Given this JSON response:
{
"code": "2",
"error": {
"message": "Not permitted."
}
}
This is the JSON schema with the an nested object named “error” that has a property named “message” that is a
string.
const schema = {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"code": { "type": "string" },
"error": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"message": { "type": "string" }
},
"required": ["message"]
}
},
"required": ["code", "error"]
};
3.4 JavaScript libraries
Postman comes with a few built-in libraries. If you prefer to add additioal JavaScript libraries, please take a look
at the Custom libraries section.
3.4.1 Built-in JavaScript libraries
cheerio
Simple library for working with the DOM model. Useful if you are getting back HTML.
responseHTML = cheerio(pm.response.text());
console.log(responseHTML.find('[name="firstName"]').val());

Example fetching a CSRF code form the meta tag:
const $ = cheerio.load('<meta name="csrf" Content="the code">');

console.log($("meta[name='csrf']").attr("content"));
Read more: https://github.com/cheeriojs/cheerio

Moment.js
Moment.js is already built into Postman and can make your life easier if you are working with dates.
Here is a basic usage example:
const moment = require('moment');

moment('2021-08-15').add(1, 'days').format('DD.MM.YYYY')
This script will parse a date, will add one day and will reformat the date.
Read more: https://momentjs.com/docs
crypto-js
Library which implements different crypto functions.
Hash string using SHA256
CryptoJS.SHA256("some string").toString()
HMAC-SHA1 encryption
CryptoJS.HmacSHA1("Message", "Key").toString()
AES Encryption
const encryptedText = CryptoJS.AES.encrypt('message', 'secret').toString();
AES Decryption
const plainText = CryptoJS.AES.decrypt(encryptedText, 'secret').toString(CryptoJS.

˓→enc.Utf8);
Read more: https://www.npmjs.com/package/crypto-js
3.4.2 Node.js libraries
NodeJS modules that are available inside Postman:

• path
• assert
• buffer
• util
• url
• punycode
• querystring
• string_decoder
• stream
• timers
• events
3.4. JavaScript libraries 27

3.4.3 Custom libraries
There is no standard way of including 3rd party JavaScript libraries.

Currently the only way is to fetch (and optionally store) the content of the JavaScript library and to use the
JavaScript eval function to execute the code.
Template:
pm.sendRequest("https://example.com/your-script.js", (error, response) => {
if (error || response.code !== 200) {
pm.expect.fail('Could not load external library');
}
eval(response.text());
// YOUR CODE HERE

});
Example loading a library using unpkg as a CDN:

pm.sendRequest("https://unpkg.com/papaparse@5.1.0/papaparse.min.js", (error,
˓→response) => {
if (error || response.code !== 200) {

pm.expect.fail('Could not load external library');
}
eval(response.text());
const csv = `id,name\n1,John`;

const data = this.Papa.parse(csv); // notice the this
console.log(data);
});
Notice: in order to load a library and use it in Postman, the JavaScript code needs to be “compiled” and ready for
distribution. Usually the code will be available as a *.min.js file or within the dist or umd folder.
3.5 Workflows
3.5.1 How to extract value of an authentication token from a login response body
and pass in subsequent request as ‘Bearer Token’?
Given the response from the authentication server:

{
"accessToken": "foo",
"refreshToken": "bar"
"expires": "1234"
}
Extract the value of the token from the response in the Tests tab:
var token = jsonData.accessToken;
Set the token as a variable (global, environment, etc) so that it can used in later requests:
pm.globals.set('token', token);
To use the token in the next request, in the headers part the following needs to be added (key:value example
below):

Authorization:Bearer {{token}}
3.5.2 How to read links from response and execute a request for each of them?
{
"links": [
"http://example.com/1",
"http://example.com/5"
]
}
With the following code we will read the response, iterate over the links array and for each link will submit a
request, using pm.sendRequest. For each response we will assert the status code.
// Parse the response

// Check the response

pm.test("Response contains links", function () {
pm.expect(jsonData.links).to.be.an('array').that.is.not.empty;
});
// Iterate over the response

var links = jsonData.links;
links.forEach(function(link) {
pm.test("Status code is 404", function () {
pm.sendRequest(link, function (err, res) {
pm.expect(res).to.have.property('code', 404);
});
});
});
3.5.3 How to create request parameterization from Excel or JSON file?
TODO
3.6 Newman
3.6.1 How to set delay while running a collection?
You have a collection and have a requirement to insert a delay of 10 secs after every request.
In order to do that you can use the --delay parameter and specifiy a delay in miliseconds.
newman run collection.json --delay 10000
3.6. Newman 29
3.6.2 Jenkins is showing wierd characters in the console. What to do?
If the Newman output in your CI server is not properly displayed, try adding following flags:
--disable-unicode or / and --color off
Example:
newman run collection.json --disable-unicode
3.6.3 How to pass machine name and port number dynamically when running
the tests?
Suppose, the URL to the server under the test may be different every time you get a new environment for testing,
which is common with cloud environments. i.e. the part machine_name:port_number may be different.
There can be multiple way to do it, so below is one possible solution:
You can set global variables using newman from the CLI.
newman run my-collection.json --global-var "machineName=mymachine1234" --global-

˓→var "machinePort=8080"
In your request builder, just use them as https://{machineName{}}:{{machinePort}}.

CHAPTER 4
Online course
4.1 Contributions
This is an open-source project. The code is available on Github:

https://github.com/vdespa/postman-quick-reference-guide/
Thank you for all who have contributed to making this guide better.
• Christophe Gesché (@Moosh-be)
• Khanh Do (@khanhdodang)
• Bernard Vander Beken (@jawn)
• Joseph Klos (@joeklos)
• Florian Mayer (@flomayer)
• Zuba Zenovka (@EzikMarconi)
• sweetnoods (@sweetnoods)
• gassims (@gassims)
4.2 Postman online course
This document is part of the online course “Postman: The Complete Guide”.
If you are not already a student of this course you are missing on a lot of training on Postman, including:
• Introduction to Postman
• Creating requests and workflows
• Writing tests
• Continuous Integration / Delivery with Jenkins or other CI/CI tools (Gitlab, TeamCity)
• Practical assignments with personal feedback
• Q&A Forum where you can get answers to your Postman problems
• and much more
31
If you want to register for this course, you can find more details (including a discount here):
https://vdespa.com/courses
Enjoy!
32 Chapter 4. Online course

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Postman Quick Reference Guide

Aug 16, 2021

3 Simple solutions to common problems 15

1.1 Postman Cheatsheet

Getting variables in the Request Builder

Depending on the closest scope:

General purpose variables, ideal for quick results and prototyping.

• passing data to other requests

Alternatively, depending on the scope:

Remove ALL global variables (rather unusual)

Depending on the closest scope:

Remove ALL environment variables

pm.environment.set('name', 'John Doe');

** Detecting the environment name **

Depending on the closest scope:

1.1. Postman Cheatsheet 3

{"name": "John Doe", "email": "john.doe.{{$timestamp}}@example.com"}

pm.variables.replaceIn('{{$randomFirstName}}'); // returns a String

Logging / Debugging variables

var myVar = pm.globals.get("myVar");

pm.test("Your test name", function () {

Check if status code is 200:

Checking multiple status codes:

Response time below 100ms:

Header has value:

Cookie has value:

Any content type / HTML responses

Partial body match / body contains:

const response = pm.response.json();

Simple value check:

Nested value check:

1.1. Postman Cheatsheet 5

const response = xml2Json(responseBody);

Note: see assertions for JSON responses.

pm.test.skip("Status code is 200", () => {

const shouldBeSkipped = true; // some condition

(shouldBeSkipped ? pm.test.skip : pm.test)("Status code is 200", () => {

pm.expect.fail('This failed because ...');

1.1.3 Postman Sandbox

pm.sendRequest('https://httpbin.org/get', (error, response) => {

Full-option HTTP POST request with JSON body:

const payload = { name: 'John', age: 29};

(continued from previous page)

Form-data POST request (Postman will add the multipart/form-data header):

Sending a file with form-data POST request

1.1.4 Postman Echo

Helper API for testing requests. Read more at: https://docs.postman-echo.com.

pm.sendRequest('https://postman-echo.com/time/now', function (err, res) {

1.1. Postman Cheatsheet 7

2.1 Dynamic variables

Dynamic variables can be used in the request builder like this:

Variable Description Example

$randomDatabaseType Database column type enum, mediumint, double, timestamp

Chapter 2. Dynamic variables

2.1. Dynamic variables

Continued on next page

$randomLoremSentence Lorem ipsum phrase Qui fugiat necessitatibus porro quasi ea

Chapter 2. Dynamic variables

2.1. Dynamic variables

Continued on next page

1 Limited usability as you cannot specify a country.

Length is unpredictable. May include \n characters (LF).

Chapter 2. Dynamic variables

Simple solutions to common problems

3.1 Request creation

The following syntax will not work while writing scripts:

var requestUrl = pm.environment.get("url") + "/mediaitem/");

pm.sendRequest(requestUrl, function (err, res) {

You can do the following in the pre-request script:

// Define a new object

// Save the object as a variable.

3.1.3 How can I create or modify the request body?

Add property to JSON request body

Encode request body as base64

Removing comments from JSON body

16 Chapter 3. Simple solutions to common problems

Detecting the environment name