Efficient Token Management in Postman: Automatically Store Access Tokens with the Tests Tab

Tired of the tedious copy-paste routine every time your access token expires? Manually grabbing a new token from your authentication response and pasting it into the authorization header of your other request is not only annoying but also wasting time and a significant workflow interruption.

There's a much smarter and more efficient way to handle this in Postman. By using a simple script in the Script tab, you can automatically extract and store your access token in a environment variable. Let's break down how to set it up.

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The Problem Manual Token Handling

In a typical OAuth 2.0 flow, you have dedicated request to get an access token. Once you send the request, the server sends back a JSON response containing the access token.

The old way of doing things looks like this:

1.Hit the login API to get response access token and refresh token.

2.Highlight and copy access token value from the response body.

3.Go to your next API with authentication guard

4.Open the Headers tab, add key Authorization and value with "Bearer Token", and paste the new token.

5.Repeat for every single request, every single time the refresh token expires.

This process is repetitive and exhausted if you change the token one by one.

Solution for this problem, Automate with the Script Tab

The Scripts tab in Postman is not just for writing test; it's a powerful feature that allows you to run Javascript code after a request has been completed. We can use this to our advantage to automatically save the access token.

Here's the simple, two-step plan:

1.Extract the access token & refresh token from the JSON response.

2.Save it to an environment or global variable

Once the token is saved as a variable, you can reference it in the authorization header of all your other requests. When the token expires, you just hit the refresh token API, and the variable is automatically updated everywhere.

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Step by Step Guide to Automating Your Token

Step 1: Set Up Your "Get Token" Request

first, make sure you have a working request that successfully retrieves your access token. This is typically a POST request to an /login endpoint. when you run it, you should get a JSON response like this:

Step 2: Write the Script in the Script Tab

Now, click on the Script tab, then click for the section Post-Response for that same "Get Token" request. This is where the magic happens.

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Paste the following Javascript snippet into the editor:

What does this script do?

•pm.response.json(): This line parses the JSON data from the response body.

•pm.environment.set("access_dowell", token): This is the key part. It finds the value of the access_dowell key from the parsed response and saves it into an environment variable named access_dowell.

Note:You can use pm.globals.set() if you want the variable to be available across all your workspaces, but using an environment variable is generally a better practice for keeping things organized. Make sure you have an environment selected!

Step 3: Use the Variable in Your Other Requests

Now, go to any other request that needs authorization.

1.Click on the Headers tab.

2.Add new header with key Authorization then input value with variable environment we make.

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That's it!

Now, whenever you need a new token, simply run your login or refresh token request. The script will automatically update the {{access_dowell}} variable, and all you other requests will use the new token without any manual intervention. No more copy-pasting!🤩

Efficient Token Management in Postman: Using the Tests Tab to Store Access Tokens Automatically

The Problem Manual Token Handling

Solution for this problem, Automate with the Script Tab

Step by Step Guide to Automating Your Token

Step 1: Set Up Your "Get Token" Request

Step 2: Write the Script in the Script Tab

Step 3: Use the Variable in Your Other Requests