Postman FlowsFlows referenceBlocksTrigger

The Request block

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Request block

The Request block is a special block that’s required to create a deployable flow that runs in the Postman cloud. The Request block takes request data sent to a flow’s URL and routes the data through its Headers, Params, and Body output ports. The only way to add a Request block to a flow is to change the Start block’s trigger to Request. The Request block can’t be deleted.

You can change a Request block to a Schedule block to run the flow at regular intervals or at specific times. To learn how, see Schedule a deployed flow to run automatically.

Prior to a flow being deployed to the cloud, the Request block gets values for headers, parameters, and the request body from scenarios. By running different scenarios, you can test how your flow will behave once it’s running in the cloud. Testing with scenarios is necessary because the flow won’t have a URL until you deploy it to the cloud.

The Request block can ingest input data of up to 5 megabytes if you’ve purchased the Flows add-on, or 1 megabyte if you’re using Flows for free.

Outputs

  • Headers - Sends the request headers to the flow’s URL.
  • Params - Sends the request’s query parameters to the flow’s URL.
  • Body - Sends the request body to the flow’s URL. Actions support JSON, form-data, and x-www-form-urlencoded formats.

Setup

All deployable flows require either one Request block or one Schedule block. Flows with a Request block require at least one Response block.

To add a Request block to a flow, do the following:

  1. Create a new flow.

  2. In the Start block, click Change trigger and select API icon Request.

You can change a Request block to a Schedule block to run flows at specified times and intervals. To change a Request block to a Schedule block, in the Request block, click Change trigger and select Calendar icon Schedule. To learn more, see The Schedule block.

To change a Request block back to a Start block, click Change trigger and select Open right icon Start.

Deployable flows require one Request or Schedule block. Deployable flows that have a Request block require at least one Response block.