Set up a Postman mock server

Create mock servers in Postman to help with API development and testing. A mock server simulates a real API server by accepting requests and returning responses. By configuring a mock server for your collection and adding examples to your requests, you can simulate the behavior of a real API.

When you send a request to a mock server, Postman matches the request to a saved example in your collection. Postman then responds with the data in the example. To view mock servers in your workspace, click the Services tab in the sidebar, then expand Mock Servers.

Mock servers can be private or public. Private mock servers require a Postman API key in the request header. Public mock servers can receive requests from anyone and anywhere (such as a browser, application code, or a curl command). New mock servers are public by default. Super Admins and Admins can enable or prohibit users from creating public mock servers. See Manage mock server privacy to learn more.

Create mock servers

You can create a mock server in the following ways:

• Create a new mock server from scratch.
• Create a mock server from an API call.
• Create a mock server from your request history.

Create a mock server

1. In the sidebar, click and select Mock Server. You can also click View more actions next to the collection you want to mock and select More > Create mock server.
2. In the Create a mock server tab that opens in the workbench, select an option to mock An existing collection or Create a new collection.
3. Configure your mock server details based on the option you selected.

Create a mock server from an API call

1. In Postman, send an HTTP request to an API (for example, https://postman-echo.com/get).
2. Click Save and save the request to a collection.
3. In the response pane, click Save Response. Postman automatically populates the example with the response you received when you sent the request.
4. Expand Collections in the sidebar. Click View more actions next to the collection where the request was saved and select More > Mock.
5. Give your mock a name and select the collection. Click Create Mock Server.
6. Click Copy Mock Server URL to copy the mock URL, then go back to your request. Replace the base part of the URL with the mock server URL (everything before the path, for example, up to /get).
7. Add your Postman API key to the request as an x-api-key header in the Headers tab.
8. Click Send. Postman returns the example response you saved for the request, this time from the mock server.
9. Open the example and change the response, then save the example and send the request again. Postman returns your edited mock response.

Create a mock server from history

You can build a collection and mock server based on requests from your Postman history.

1. Click the History tab in the sidebar.
2. Click More actions next to a request and select Mock Request. You can also mock all requests for a specific date. Postman creates a new collection for the mocked request or requests.
3. Configure the mock server’s details. Enter a server name, (optionally) select an environment, choose whether to enable Make this mock server private and Save the mock server URL as an environment variable, and select a response delay or enter a custom delay.
4. Click Create Mock Server.

Configure mock server details

1. To finish creating a mock server, specify the following details:

   • Mock server name — Enter a name for your mock server.

   • Collection — The collection used for the mock server. You can specify a collection if you selected an existing collection to create the mock server.

   • Add requests — This option is available if you opted to create a new collection. Enter the requests you want to mock. Click to view additional options to add a request body and description to include in the requests.

   • Environment — (Optional) Select an environment to use environment variables with your mock server.

   • Simulate a fixed network delay — Select a response delay or enter a custom delay. The mock server waits the specified time before sending the response.

   • Save the mock server URL as a new environment variable — Select this option to save the mock server URL as a variable in a new environment. You can then reference the variable in your requests. Learn more about using variables with mock servers.

   • Make mock server private — Select this option to make your mock server private. You must specify an API key in the request header when sending requests to a private mock server. Learn more about making calls to a private mock server.

     If the Make mock server private option is unavailable, it may be turned off in Team resources. An Admin or Super Admin can turn it back on.

2. Click Create Mock Server.

   Postman displays the details you need to use the mock server. To get these details at any time, click the Services tab in the sidebar, then expand Mock Servers and select the mock server.

3. Click Copy Mock Server URL in the workbench to begin making calls to your mock server.

Edit the mock server configuration

You can change the configuration for a mock server at any time.

1. Click the Services tab in the sidebar, then expand Mock Servers.

2. Select a mock server and click Edit Configuration.

3. Make any changes to the mock server configuration. You can change the mock server’s name, environment, network delay, and privacy setting. You can also specify options for response matching.

   You can’t change the mock server’s collection. If you need to mock a different collection, create a new mock server.

4. When you are done making configuration changes, click Update Mock Server.

Match request body and headers

When you send a request to the mock server, Postman uses a matching algorithm to decide which example to return in a response.

By default, the matching algorithm doesn’t consider the request’s body or headers when selecting the best response to return. You can change this behavior in the mock server’s configuration. Using body or header matching, you can specify the exact response you want the mock server to return by matching the body or headers of the saved example.

To use body or header matching with a mock server, do the following:

1. Click the Services tab on the sidebar, then click Mock servers, select a mock server, and click Edit Configuration.

2. Under Response Matching, select the matching options you want to use:

   • Request body - The mock server matches the request’s body to the body of the saved examples.
   • Headers - The mock server matches the request’s headers to the headers of the saved examples. In the box, add a comma-separated list of the header keys that you want the mock server to match. Header matching isn’t case-sensitive.

3. Click Update Mock Server.

Delete a mock server

To delete a mock server, click the Services tab on the sidebar and choose Mock servers, then click View more actions next to the mock server’s name and click Delete.

Next steps

To learn more about mock servers, see the following resources:

• Make calls to your mock server
• Mock APIs with response examples
• Create and use a mock server using the Postman API
• How a Postman mock server matches requests to saved examples