How to organize and manage your Postman collections

1. Introduction

Postman is a popular tool for testing and developing APIs. It allows you to create, send, and analyze HTTP requests and responses in a user-friendly interface. You can also automate your API testing using scripts and workflows.

One of the most powerful features of Postman is the ability to organize and manage your Postman collections. A collection is a group of related requests that you can save, share, and run as a single unit. Collections help you to structure your API testing and development process and keep your requests organized.

In this blog, you will learn how to use folders, variables, environments, and tags to organize and manage your Postman collections. These features will help you to:

• Create and edit collections
• Organize requests into folders
• Store and reuse data using variables
• Switch between different settings using environments
• Categorize and filter collections using tags

By the end of this blog, you will be able to create and manage your Postman collections more efficiently and effectively. Let’s get started!

2. How to create and edit collections

In this section, you will learn how to create and edit collections in Postman. Collections are essential for organizing and managing your requests and workflows. You can also share, export, and import collections with other users or tools.

To create a collection, you need to follow these steps:

1. Click on the New button in the top left corner of the Postman app.
2. Select Collection from the list of options.
3. Enter a name and a description for your collection.
4. Optionally, you can add requests to your collection from the Add requests tab. You can also add requests later by dragging and dropping them from the sidebar.
5. Click on Create to finish creating your collection.

You can view and access your collections from the Collections tab in the left sidebar. You can also edit, delete, duplicate, or share your collections by clicking on the … icon next to the collection name.

To edit a collection, you need to follow these steps:

1. Click on the … icon next to the collection name and select Edit.
2. Make any changes you want to the collection name, description, or requests.
3. Click on Update to save your changes.

Now that you know how to create and edit collections, you can start organizing your requests and workflows in Postman. In the next section, you will learn how to use folders to group your requests within a collection.

2.1. How to create a collection

Creating a collection is the first step to organize and manage your Postman collections. A collection is a group of related requests that you can save, share, and run as a single unit. You can also add scripts, tests, and documentation to your collection to enhance its functionality and readability.

To create a collection, you need to follow these steps:

1. Click on the New button in the top left corner of the Postman app.
2. Select Collection from the list of options.
3. Enter a name and a description for your collection. The name should be descriptive and relevant to the purpose of your collection. The description should provide a brief overview of what your collection does and how it can be used.
4. Optionally, you can add requests to your collection from the Add requests tab. You can search for existing requests or create new ones. You can also add requests later by dragging and dropping them from the sidebar.
5. Click on Create to finish creating your collection.

You can view and access your collections from the Collections tab in the left sidebar. You can also edit, delete, duplicate, or share your collections by clicking on the … icon next to the collection name.

Now that you know how to create a collection, you can start grouping your requests and workflows in Postman. In the next section, you will learn how to edit a collection and modify its settings and properties.

2.2. How to edit a collection

Editing a collection is an important skill to manage your Postman collections. You may need to edit your collection to update its name, description, requests, or settings. You can also add scripts, tests, and documentation to your collection to enhance its functionality and readability.

To edit a collection, you need to follow these steps:

1. Click on the … icon next to the collection name and select Edit.
2. Make any changes you want to the collection name, description, or requests. You can also add or remove requests from your collection by dragging and dropping them from the sidebar.
3. Click on the Authorization tab to configure the authentication method for your collection. You can choose from various options such as Basic Auth, Bearer Token, OAuth 2.0, etc. You can also use variables to store and reuse your credentials.
4. Click on the Pre-request Scripts tab to add scripts that run before each request in your collection. You can use scripts to set variables, generate data, or perform any logic that you need before sending your request.
5. Click on the Tests tab to add scripts that run after each request in your collection. You can use scripts to validate the response, extract data, or perform any logic that you need after receiving your response.
6. Click on the Variables tab to add or edit variables for your collection. You can use variables to store and reuse data across your collection. You can also use environment variables to switch between different settings.
7. Click on the Documentation tab to add or edit documentation for your collection. You can use documentation to provide a clear and detailed description of your collection and its requests. You can also use Markdown to format your documentation.
8. Click on Update to save your changes.

Now that you know how to edit a collection, you can modify your collection as per your needs and preferences. In the next section, you will learn how to use folders to organize your requests within a collection.

3. How to use folders to organize requests

Folders are a useful feature to organize your Postman collections. You can use folders to group your requests by functionality, category, or any other criteria that makes sense for your project. Folders help you to keep your collection neat and tidy, and make it easier to find and run your requests.

To create a folder, you need to follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the collection name and select Add Folder.
2. Enter a name and a description for your folder. The name should be descriptive and relevant to the purpose of your folder. The description should provide a brief overview of what your folder contains and how it can be used.
3. Click on Create to finish creating your folder.

You can view and access your folders from the Collections tab in the left sidebar. You can also edit, delete, duplicate, or share your folders by clicking on the … icon next to the folder name.

To add requests to your folder, you need to follow these steps:

1. Drag and drop your requests from the sidebar or the Add requests tab to your folder.
2. Alternatively, you can create new requests within your folder by clicking on the Add Request button next to the folder name.

Now that you know how to use folders to organize your requests, you can start grouping your requests and workflows in Postman. In the next section, you will learn how to use variables to store and reuse data across your collection.

4. How to use variables to store and reuse data

Variables are a powerful feature to manage your Postman collections. You can use variables to store and reuse data across your requests, folders, and collections. Variables help you to avoid hard-coding values, simplify your requests, and make your collections more dynamic and flexible.

There are four types of variables in Postman:

• Global variables: These are variables that are available throughout your Postman app. You can use them in any request, folder, or collection. They are useful for storing common data such as base URLs, tokens, etc.
• Collection variables: These are variables that are specific to a collection. You can use them in any request or folder within that collection. They are useful for storing data that is relevant to the collection’s purpose or functionality.
• Environment variables: These are variables that are specific to an environment. You can use them in any request, folder, or collection that is associated with that environment. They are useful for storing data that varies depending on the environment, such as credentials, endpoints, etc.
• Local variables: These are variables that are temporary and only available in the current request. You can use them to store data that is generated or extracted during the request execution. They are useful for storing data that is not needed beyond the current request.

To create and use variables, you need to follow these steps:

1. Depending on the type of variable you want to create, go to the Globals, Variables, or Environments tab in the collection edit window, or the Manage Environments option in the top right corner of the Postman app.
2. Enter a name and an initial value for your variable. The name should be descriptive and unique. The value can be any valid data type, such as string, number, boolean, etc.
3. Click on Add or Save to finish creating your variable.
4. To use your variable in your request, enclose the variable name in double curly braces, such as {{variable_name}}. You can use variables in any part of your request, such as URL, headers, body, parameters, scripts, etc.
5. To update or delete your variable, go to the same tab or option where you created it and make the changes you want. You can also use scripts to set, get, or unset variables programmatically.

Now that you know how to use variables to store and reuse data, you can start making your collections more dynamic and flexible. In the next section, you will learn how to use environments to switch between different settings for your collection.

4.1. How to create and use collection variables

Collection variables are one of the types of variables that you can use to manage your Postman collections. Collection variables are specific to a collection and can be used in any request or folder within that collection. Collection variables are useful for storing data that is relevant to the collection’s purpose or functionality, such as API keys, headers, parameters, etc.

To create and use collection variables, you need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the Variables tab in the collection edit window. You can access the collection edit window by clicking on the … icon next to the collection name and selecting Edit.
2. Enter a name and an initial value for your variable. The name should be descriptive and unique. The value can be any valid data type, such as string, number, boolean, etc.
3. Click on Add to finish creating your variable.
4. To use your variable in your request, enclose the variable name in double curly braces, such as {{variable_name}}. You can use variables in any part of your request, such as URL, headers, body, parameters, scripts, etc.
5. To update or delete your variable, go to the Variables tab in the collection edit window and make the changes you want. You can also use scripts to set, get, or unset variables programmatically.

Now that you know how to create and use collection variables, you can start storing and reusing data across your collection. In the next section, you will learn how to create and use environment variables to switch between different settings for your collection.

4.2. How to create and use environment variables

Environment variables are another type of variables that you can use to manage your Postman collections. Environment variables are specific to an environment and can be used in any request, folder, or collection that is associated with that environment. Environment variables are useful for storing data that varies depending on the environment, such as credentials, endpoints, parameters, etc.

To create and use environment variables, you need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the Manage Environments option in the top right corner of the Postman app.
2. Click on the Add button to create a new environment.
3. Enter a name and a description for your environment. The name should be descriptive and relevant to the purpose of your environment. The description should provide a brief overview of what your environment contains and how it can be used.
4. Enter a name and an initial value for each variable you want to add to your environment. The name should be descriptive and unique. The value can be any valid data type, such as string, number, boolean, etc.
5. Click on Add to finish creating your environment.
6. To use your environment, select it from the Environment dropdown menu in the top right corner of the Postman app.
7. To use your environment variables in your request, enclose the variable name in double curly braces, such as {{variable_name}}. You can use variables in any part of your request, such as URL, headers, body, parameters, scripts, etc.
8. To update or delete your environment or environment variables, go to the Manage Environments option and make the changes you want. You can also use scripts to set, get, or unset variables programmatically.

Now that you know how to create and use environment variables, you can start switching between different settings for your collection. In the next section, you will learn how to use tags to categorize and filter your collections.

5. How to use environments to switch between different settings

Environments are another powerful feature to manage your Postman collections. Environments are sets of variables that you can use to customize your requests for different scenarios or stages of development. Environments help you to avoid hard-coding values, simplify your requests, and make your collections more portable and flexible.

To create and use environments, you need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the Manage Environments option in the top right corner of the Postman app.
2. Click on the Add button to create a new environment.
3. Enter a name and a description for your environment. The name should be descriptive and relevant to the purpose of your environment. The description should provide a brief overview of what your environment contains and how it can be used.
4. Enter a name and an initial value for each variable you want to add to your environment. The name should be descriptive and unique. The value can be any valid data type, such as string, number, boolean, etc.
5. Click on Add to finish creating your environment.
6. To use your environment, select it from the Environment dropdown menu in the top right corner of the Postman app.
7. To switch between different environments, select a different environment from the same dropdown menu.
8. To update or delete your environment or environment variables, go to the Manage Environments option and make the changes you want. You can also use scripts to set, get, or unset variables programmatically.

Now that you know how to use environments to switch between different settings, you can start customizing your requests for different scenarios or stages of development. In the next section, you will learn how to use tags to categorize and filter your collections.

6. How to use tags to categorize and filter collections

Tags are another useful feature to organize and manage your Postman collections. Tags are labels that you can assign to your collections to categorize and filter them based on different criteria. Tags help you to find and access your collections more easily and quickly.

To create and use tags, you need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the … icon next to the collection name and select Edit Tags.
2. Enter a name for your tag. The name should be descriptive and relevant to the category or criterion you want to use. You can also use existing tags from the list of suggestions.
3. Click on Add to finish creating your tag.
4. To use your tag, go to the Collections tab in the left sidebar and click on the Filter icon. You can then select the tag you want to use from the list of available tags.
5. To update or delete your tag, go to the Edit Tags option and make the changes you want. You can also remove a tag from a collection by clicking on the x icon next to the tag name.

Now that you know how to use tags to categorize and filter your collections, you can start finding and accessing your collections more easily and quickly. In the next section, you will learn how to conclude your blog and provide some useful resources for further learning.

7. Conclusion

In this blog, you have learned how to organize and manage your Postman collections using folders, variables, environments, and tags. These features will help you to:

• Create and edit collections
• Organize requests into folders
• Store and reuse data using variables
• Switch between different settings using environments
• Categorize and filter collections using tags

By applying these techniques, you will be able to create and manage your Postman collections more efficiently and effectively. You will also improve your API testing and development workflow and make your collections more portable and flexible.

We hope you found this blog useful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. You can also check out the following resources for more information and tips on how to use Postman:

• Postman Learning Center: The official documentation and tutorials for Postman.
• Postman Blog: The official blog for Postman, where you can find the latest news, updates, and best practices for Postman.
• Postman Community: The official forum for Postman, where you can ask questions, share ideas, and connect with other Postman users.

Thank you for reading this blog and happy testing!