Send a request with the Postman API client

The Postman API client enables you to send API requests using HTTP, GraphQL, gRPC, or other common protocols. To create a new request, specify the request URL and the request method, such as GET or POST. After you save the request, you can share it with your team. You can also refer to requests from publicly maintained workspaces for the APIs you're testing and integrating with.

Create a new request

Your requests can include multiple details determining the data Postman will send to the API you are working with. Enter a URL and choose a method, then optionally specify a variety of other details.

You can create a new request from a workspace, by using New > HTTP, or by selecting + to open a new tab.

Select Save to save your request. You can give your request a name and description, and choose or create a collection to save it in.

Once your new tab is open, you can specify the details you need for your request. You will need to know the URL and method. You can also specify optional values such as authorization, parameters and body data, and headers.

To test sending a request in Postman, you can set the URL to the Postman Echo sample API endpoint https://postman-echo.com/get and the method to GET, then select Send.

You can turn on autosave to automatically save your changes to collections, requests, and environments. Learn more about autosave.

Select request protocols

You can change the protocol for a new request. Select New in the sidebar and then select a request protocol, or select + to open a new tab. Select the protocol dropdown menu to the left of the request's name, and then select a different request protocol.

In addition to HTTP, Postman supports sending requests using GraphQL, gRPC, WebSocket, MQTT, and SOAP protocols.

You can't change the request protocol after you select Save.

Specify request URLs

Each request you send in Postman requires a URL representing the API endpoint you are working with. Each operation you can perform using an API is typically associated with an endpoint. Each endpoint in an API is available at a particular URL. This is what you enter into Postman to access the API.

• If you're building an API, the URL will typically be the base location plus path. For example, in the request https://postman-echo.com/get, https://postman-echo.com is the base URL, and /get is the endpoint path.
• If you're using a public API, your API provider will supply the URLs you need, for example within their developer documentation.

When you start typing in the URL box, Postman will present a dropdown list of locations you've used before, which you can use to autocomplete.

Postman will automatically add http:// to the start of your URL if you don't specify a protocol.

You can optionally enter query parameters in the URL box, or you can enter them in the Params tab. If your request uses path parameters, you can enter them in the URL box. Learn more about sending parameters and body data with API requests in Postman.

You can use next generation URL encoding in your requests.

Select request methods

By default, Postman will select the GET method for new request. GET methods are typically for retrieving data from an API. You can use a variety of other methods to send data to your APIs, including the following most common options:

• POST - add new data
• PUT - replace existing data
• PATCH - update some existing data fields
• DELETE - delete existing data

For example, if you're working with an API for a to-do list application, you might use a GET method to retrieve the current list of tasks. Then you can use a POST method to create a new task, or you can use a PUT or PATCH method to edit an existing task.

Postman supports a number of extra request methods by default, and you can use custom methods. Select the method dropdown list, edit the method name text, and save your new method. To delete a method, hover over it in the list and select the delete icon .

To test the https://postman-echo.com/get endpoint, leave the GET method selected and select Send.

The same location (sometimes called route) can provide more than one endpoint by accepting different methods. For example, an API might have a POST /customer endpoint for adding a new customer, and a GET /customer endpoint for retrieving an existing customer.

Send a request

After you specify the request protocol, method, and URL, add any other details required by the API you're sending the request to:

• Specify any parameters and body data or request headers you need to send with the request.
• Set up any required authentication and authorization.
• You can also use cookies with your requests by selecting Cookies (under Send).

After you enter all the request details, select Send to send the request to the API server. You can view the response from the server in the response pane. Learn more about API response structure in Postman.

You can view requests you've sent in History in the sidebar and send them again. You can also save and organize requests in a collection.

Share your requests

You can share requests with collaborators by opening the request you want to share in the sidebar. Select the more actions icon next to the request, then select Share. Learn more about sharing your work in Postman.

To try out a collection template that has a typical REST API, select REST API Basics.

Leverage public API examples

To help you get started faster, as you create requests, Postman searches the Postman API Network in the background for related content from popular collections and from collections owned by verified teams. If you're testing and integrating with public APIs and their relevant content is found, it shows up in the Related requests tab in the right sidebar.

For example, suppose you're testing an integration with Notion. Notion is a verified team, so you know you can trust their content.

1. Enter api.notion.com/search in the URL box. A dot appears next to the related requests icon .

   

2. Select the related requests icon . A pane opens displaying Notion's example search-related requests with links to the API collections.

   

You can view related documentation and example responses in place, without being sent to a different page or window. You can also fork a collection and use it in your own workspace to test and reuse requests.