Optimize your API testing workflow with Postman’s skip request feature

Giridhar

November 15, 2023

In the fast-paced world of API development and testing, efficiency and flexibility are key. Developers need tools that facilitate the testing and automation of their APIs and allow them to optimize their workflows. With this in mind, we are super excited to introduce a feature that’s been heavily requested by our community: pm.execution.skipRequest(). This function empowers users to skip or stop requests from being sent, all within the pre-request scripts stage of your API testing, providing unparalleled control over your testing and conditional workflows. The function takes effect in the Postman API client, Collection Runner, and Postman Flows.

The power of pre-request scripts

Before diving into this exciting new functionality, let’s first understand the importance of pre-request scripts. Postman has long offered the ability to add pre-request scripts that are executed before a request is sent to the server. These scripts are instrumental in setting up the necessary conditions, parameters, and headers for the request to ensure it’s tailored to your specific needs.

However, what if you could go beyond just setting up your request? What if you could make intelligent decisions on whether to send the request at all, based on the conditions you specify? This is where pm.execution.skipRequest()comes into play.

Unleash conditional workflows

Imagine a scenario where you are testing an API and you only want to send a request when a certain condition is met. For example, if a particular access token is not present in an environment, the rest of the steps are deemed unnecessary to run. Prior to this feature, there was no way to skip execution of the current request at all; the request would still process and respond with an unintended result. With pm.execution.skipRequest(), you can now create conditional workflows that drastically improve the efficiency of your API testing.

For example, you can skip requests if a specific test case fails, a token expires, or if certain environmental conditions are not met. This level of control ensures that your test cases run more smoothly, and you can save valuable time by avoiding unnecessary network calls.

Write more efficient test cases

Efficiency in API testing is not just about saving time; it’s also about resource management and reducing the load on your servers. By utilizing pm.execution.skipRequest(), you can build more efficient test cases. This means your tests become less resource-intensive, and your server doesn’t get flooded with requests that may not be needed in specific scenarios.

Watch and learn

What’s next?

We are committed to providing developers with the tools they need to streamline their API testing and automation workflows, and so we hope you like this addition to the pm sandbox. Stay tuned for more advancements as we plan to build on this feature, offering even more ways to optimize your testing process.

As this feature becomes available, we encourage you to explore it, experiment with different use cases, and share your feedback. Your input is invaluable in helping us fine-tune this feature and create an even better experience for our users—so please leave us feedback in a comment below.

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