Does Postman Support Scripting?

Does Postman Support Scripting?

Postman is a popular API development tool that provides a user-friendly interface for testing and interacting with APIs. It allows developers to send HTTP requests, view responses, and analyze data all in one place.

But does Postman support scripting? Let’s find out!

Introduction to Postman Scripts

Postman provides a powerful feature called “scripts” that allows you to write JavaScript code to automate various tasks during the API testing process. With scripts, you can manipulate data, set environment variables, and even make conditional requests based on the response received.

Using Scripts in Postman

To access the scripting feature in Postman, you need to open the “Tests” tab of any request. Here, you can write your JavaScript code within a <script> tag. Let’s explore some common use cases where scripting can be handy:

Data Manipulation

If you want to modify the response data before using it for further requests or validations, Postman scripts allow you to do just that. You can extract values from responses using JSONPath or regular expressions and store them in variables for later use.

// Example: Extracting data from response
var responseJson = pm.response.json();
var userId = responseJson.id;
pm.environment.set("userId", userId);

Environment Variables

Postman allows you to define environment variables that can be used across different requests or collections. With scripts, you can dynamically set these variables based on certain conditions or extracted values.

// Example: Setting environment variable
if (pm.code === 200) {
  pm.set("isSuccess", true);
} else {
  pm.set("isSuccess", false);
}

Conditional Requests

Scripts in Postman also enable you to make conditional requests based on the response received. For example, you can check if a specific condition is met and then decide whether to proceed with the next request or stop the execution.

// Example: Conditional request
if (pm.get("isSuccess") === true) {
  pm.sendRequest("https://api.example.com/next-request");
} else {
  console.log("Previous request failed. Skipping next request.");
}

Additional Functionality with Libraries

Postman scripts support third-party JavaScript libraries, allowing you to extend the capabilities even further. You can import popular libraries like Lodash, Moment.js, or Chai.js to perform complex data manipulations, handle date-time operations, or write assertions respectively.

Conclusion

In summary, Postman does indeed support scripting through its “Tests” tab. With scripting, you can automate tasks like data manipulation, setting environment variables, and making conditional requests. Additionally, by leveraging third-party libraries, you can extend the functionality of your scripts even further.

If you haven’t explored Postman’s scripting capabilities yet, it’s time to dive in and take advantage of this powerful feature!