Build a "Hello, world" flow

Postman Flows is a visual, low-code editor you can use to build almost any workflow you can imagine. With Postman Flows you can create flows that run locally and can be deployed in the Postman cloud.

In this tutorial, you’ll create a flow with two blocks in Cloud View that displays the text Hello, world. You’ll learn how blocks and connections work and prepare yourself to build larger and more complex flows.

Create a new flow

With flows, you can create reusable flow components that can be added to multiple other flows. Then you can share your flows with teammates so they don’t need to rebuild the same components.

You create flows in a workspace. Use workspaces to organize your API projects and collaborate with your team.

To create a new flow, do the following:

1. Choose an existing workspace or create a new one.
2. In the sidebar, click the Items tab
3. Click > Flow.
4. Hover over the new flow you created and click More actions > Rename.
5. Rename the flow to Hello, world.
6. Press the Return or Enter key.

Add a String block

Use the String block to define text, which you can send to another block.

To add a String block, do the following:

1. On the canvas toolbar, click Block.
2. Select String. You can also search for the block by entering “string” in the search box.
3. To the right of the Start block, click the canvas to place the String block in that location.
4. In the String block, enter the text Hello, world.

In the next procedure, you’ll connect this block to a Display block to display your text.

Connect a Display block

When you connect two blocks, you connect one block’s input to another block’s output. Inputs are on the block’s left side and outputs are on its right side. The Display block displays incoming data, such as the String block’s string value.

To connect a Display block, do the following:

1. Hover over the String block’s output port. The pointer changes to a crosshair.
2. Drag the output port to the right of the String block to place the Display block in that location.
3. Select Display. You can also search for the block by entering “output” in the search box.

Run the flow

On the canvas toolbar, click Run to run the flow locally.

When you run the flow, the Display block displays the string value from the String block, which is Hello, world.

Congratulations! You built your first flow and displayed Hello, world in a Display block.

You can also run the flow in the Postman cloud. Click the icon next to the blue Run button and turn on the Cloud Run toggle. Click Run to run the flow in the cloud.