What is Postman? Instructions for downloading and using Postman

If you want to make API development for your application go more smoothly, you will need a tool that is capable of building and testing APIs like Postman. Do not let you wait long, Tino Group will help you answer the question "What is Postman" and how to use Postman to help you in this article!

Learn about Postman
What is Postman?
Postman is a software development support, testing and editing API . This is an HTTP client tool that makes testing HTTP requests simple and you won't need to run a single line of code; because most of the operations you can do with the extremely intuitive graphical application interface.

Postman's homepage at: Postman.com .

Postman offers many methods for you to communicate with the endpoint - the endpoint . The following are the most commonly used methods:

GET : get information
POST : more info
PUT : replace information
PATCH : update information
DELETE : delete information
In addition, Postman saves the request history. So you can reuse it whenever you need it.

To ensure the correct information, Tino Group will keep and do not translate the following words:

Request – Request
Environment – Environment, you can learn more about Environment Postman .
Import – import
Method – method/ method/ method.
Header
Features of Postman
Support calling HTTP Request with GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE methods.
Support authorization authorization Oauth1, Oauth2…
Returns images, XML, text, and JSON results.
Support POST data as key-value, JSON, text.
It is possible to modify the Header of Request.
Why should you use Postman?
Usually, the work of developing an API will be extremely complex, taking a lot of time, money and effort. But with Postman, you will get maximum support for developing and testing APIs such as:

Supports all HTTP Methods
Ability to convert from API to code
Support changing API development environment
You can reuse the data and not have to start from scratch
Support API testing without coding
Intuitive and easy to use graphical interface
Automated API test scheduling support
However, you should also note a few points before you start using Postman to avoid falling into a state of disappointment, or frustration:

For a newbie, Postman will make them suffocated because there are too many functions on one interface.
With the free plan, you can test the API and some other functionality, not 100% of the functionality.
Not any API that uses Postman to perform can be compatible and run in the browser.
Instructions for downloading and using Postman
Download and install Postman
Postman supports many different operating system versions such as: browsers, Mac OS, Windows, Linux.

To install you just need:

Step 1: visit the Download Postman page .

Step 2: choose the version suitable for your device/operating system 32bit or 64bit version .

Step 3: Download and install Postman software.

The installation process on the machine is not too difficult, so Tino Group will not go into detailed instructions!

If you don't want your computer to overpower, you can use the web version of Postman. You will only need:

Create a download account and log in to Postman
Download and install Postman Desktop Agent
Postman will automatically do the work for you and submit the API to the Postman Web instance.
In case you like to experience the new features of Postman, you can download the Postman Canary version and use it. Although you will experience the latest features of Postman software.

But you will also have to make a trade-off because new software will have "lots of bugs".

Introducing Postman's interface
After downloading and installing Postman software, we will start learning about the interface of Postman software!

The interface looks a bit confusing. However, you only need to pay attention to a few areas in the software:

URL input bar : is the longest bar for you to enter the URL you want to find and perform GET, PUSH, POST.
HTTP method menu: is the drop-down menu to the left of the URL input bar and the methods in the drop-down button include: POST (pictured), GET, PATCH, PUT and DELETE.
Params button: when you click this button, a new interface will appear and show the information that will be sent to the server in your request.
Send button: the Send button is a blue button, when clicked, your request will be sent to the server.
Basically, you just need to use as much as this is "voltage stabilizer" already! Next, Tino Group will explain in more depth in the instructions for sending and receiving requests in Postman.

Instructions for sending and receiving requests in Postman
The steps are very simple, just follow these steps:

Step 1: enter the URL in the URL bar. In this example, Tino Group will enter: http:localhost:3000

Step 2: Select the HTTP method in the method menu. Tino Group will choose the GET method to send the request.

Step 3: Click Send to start the process.

After running, you will be returned HTML when you GET. For more clarity, click the Preview button to see the results, the result in the example is the image above.

In the Header section , you will see the following values ​​returned:

Connection: because after a while the server will disconnect from the user, ie the connection will die. So you will have a keep-alive status that is still keeping the connection.
Content-length : the length of the returned HTML text
Date : the time the request was sent and the server returned the result
Etag : version identifier.
X-Powered-By : the result returned from which server.
Not only stopping at simple testing like this, you can learn, read more Postman developer documents to exploit a lot more powerful features of this software. You can refer to the functions of the Postman API .

At this point, Tino Group has answered the question of what Postman is as well as guiding you to download and use Postman in the most basic way! Hopefully, this writing will be a good starting point for becoming a famous API tester or developer in the future. Tino Group wishes you success!

The article references content from: Postman, geeksforgeeks, and TopDev.

Frequently asked questions about Postman
Where is the detailed Postman documentation?
If you are looking to "dig deeper" into Postman, you can refer to the extremely detailed documentation of Postman 's own Postman developer's manual for using the Postman software .

Should I buy Postman or not?
If you are a tester or you are looking to learn, Postman free version has enough functions for you to use.

In case you want to go bigger or build an API for your business, Postman Pro or Enterprise version will be more suitable. Because these versions will come with a very complete and thoughtful support service package. See Postman pricing here .

Buy Postman invoice or not?
Yes, if you purchase the Postman Enterprise plan, Postman will assist in providing you with the PO/invoice. However, if you buy other packages, like Pro, Team packages, they will not support providing invoices. But you can still try contacting Postman about this.

How to fix Postman errors?
No app is perfect. But when the software, the service you use has a support community will be a huge plus; Postman has that, they have a supportive community of users like you and are ready to help if you have questions. You can join Postman 's community here .