Skip to main content

HTTP Tools

Postman to send and receive HTTP requests​

postmanclient to server communciation
postman applicaiton to send http requests

Postman is a desktop and web-based tool that lets developers send, inspect, and test HTTP requests. It provides a visual interface for sending and receiving data between a client (like a React app) and a server (like your API routes).

postmanclient to server communciation
postman to send http requests

Postman allows you to:

  1. Create and send requests - Issue GET, POST, PUT/PATCH, and DELETE requests to any API endpoint — by typing the URL and selecting the method from a dropdown. Postman shows you exactly what your app would send over the network.

  2. Add headers and body data easily - Include authorization tokens, JSON payloads, or custom headers to mimic what your frontend code would send.

  3. View responses - Postman displays the response body, status code, headers, and time it took to complete — helping you verify your API behavior.

info

Download the Postman app here

postman GET request view
postman applicaiton sending a GET request

Try this​

Even without a server set up, we can use JSONPlaceholder as a free fake REST API for testing. JSONPlaceholder provides endpoints:

https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/comments
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos

Each endpoint supports GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE methods.

We will test GET and POST.

Example GET request​

In Postman,

  • Click “+ New” - HTTP Request (or just use a new tab)
  • Method: GET
  • URL:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts
  • Send

You should see a JSON array of posts because the GET request on the posts route simulates fetching all existing items.

Example POST new item request​

  • Method: POST
  • URL:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts
  • Headers: key: Content-Type; value: application/json
  • Body: raw, JSON
{
      "_id": 1,
      "owner": 2,
      "title": "Terry Business Learning Community",
      "description": "A modern hub for business students, offering collaborative workspaces and innovative classrooms.",
      "url": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1741091750011-f0fb9b8400cc?q=80&w=2572&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3DY"
  }
  • Send the request.
  • Check the response

GET again​

GET on https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts

The new post is not in the list - expected - because we have not persisted the data in a database - yet :)

Get an item​

  • GET
  • https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1