How to Use Postman for API Testing

Short answer

Postman is a collaboration platform for API development. It lets you build, send, and save HTTP requests, organize them into collections, and write test scripts.

Steps

1. Download and install Postman from postman.com.
2. Click "New" and create a Request. Enter the URL and select the HTTP method.
3. Add headers, query parameters, and a body as needed.
4. Click Send and inspect the response status, time, and body.
5. Save the request to a Collection for reuse and sharing.

Tips

• Use environment variables to switch between development and production URLs.
• Write test assertions in the Tests tab using JavaScript.
• Automate collections with Newman, Postman's command-line runner.

Common issues

• Large response bodies may slow down the Postman UI.
• Ensure cookies and redirects behave as expected by reviewing the console log.