🧠 $100 Challenge – “Wish I’d Found This Sooner” Edition | 24 Hours Only

API Pulse
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The weekly community challenge is live! One winner will take home $100 cash.

Prompt:
What’s something new you discovered in Postman recently — a shortcut, tab, or behavior you wish you’d found sooner?

Maybe it’s a hidden keyboard combo that saves you clicks.
Maybe it’s a tab you never noticed that changes your workflow.
Or maybe it’s just a little behavior that made you go, “Wait… how long has that been there?”

Whatever it is, we want to see it.

How to enter:

  1. Reply to this thread within the next 24 hours with your discovery.
  2. Bonus: Add a quick screenshot or GIF showing it in action (totally optional, but we love visuals).
  3. Once you’ve posted, head over to Discord → #weekly-challenge to swap discoveries and see what others found.

Prize: $100 cash
Deadline: Thursday, Nov 27 at 10:00 am BST / 2:30 pm IST
Winner announced: Friday, Nov 28 right here and live on Discord

Why join the Discord chat?
That’s where people share quick reactions, vote with emojis, and talk through their discoveries in real time. If you haven’t joined yet, get in here.

link: https://bit.ly/3XITIYN

This contest is open worldwide to participants 18+. By entering, you grant Postman the right to feature your submission on our website, blog, and social channels.

3 Likes
3

One thing that I really love is having the ability to filter any response body using JSONpath :heart:

What’s your hidden gem? Is it a feature or maybe even a pm.* method, in the scripting sandbox, that’s not a common one that you see other people using?

Drop yours here for a chance to win the cash! :money_bag:

3 Likes
4

I recently discovered the Postman Visualizer feature which lets you transform API response data into custom visual HTML output. I’ve found it especially useful when responses are large, complex, or nested.

You try it quickly by creating a simple GET request to:

https://dummyjson.com/users?limit=5

Then drop the following code into the Post-response Script area:

// Parse users from API response
const data = pm.response.json().users;

// Visualizer HTML template
const template = `
<h2>User Table (Using Postman Visualizer)</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th>ID</th>
    <th>Name</th>
    <th>Age</th>
    <th>Email</th>
  </tr>

  {{#each users}}

  <tr>
    <td>{{id}}</td>
    <td>{{firstName}} {{lastName}}</td>
    <td>{{age}}</td>
    <td>{{email}}</td>
  </tr>

  {{/each}}

</table>
`;

// Render using Postman's visualizer
pm.visualizer.set(template, { users: data });

Then send the request and switch to the Visualization tab in the response pane to see the formatted HTML output.

5

Wish I’d Known Sooner: Copy As cURL (Ctrl+Alt+C)

For months I was frustrated by the same thing: every time I needed to share or debug a request, I’d end up rebuilding my Postman setup in a terminal from scratch headers, body, tokens painfully copying each one. Then one day, I got to know about Ctrl+Alt+C and Postman instantly handed me the complete cURL command on my clipboard.

One press of Ctrl+Alt+C captures everything: the HTTP method, URL, headers, body, and even auth tokens (with environment variables resolved). Suddenly, I could paste a ready-to-run cURL command into a terminal or chat window in an instant. No more guessing which headers or payload fields I used it even handles complex authorization presets and environment substitutions for me. In one click, my entire request transforms into shareable code.

Why It’s a Game-Changer

This tiny shortcut cut my debugging time in half. Now, if an endpoint misbehaves, I just hit Ctrl+Alt+C and test it outside Postman right away. No manual recreation, no fuss. Postman feels even smarter now like it knew I needed this trick all along. It’s a small hack that packs a huge productivity punch.

1 Like
6

I discovered something cool in Postman recently. While i was testing my personal project endpoints. My laptop shut down in the middle of creating few requests that I hadn’t saved, and I was sure that i have lost everything.

But when I reopened Postman, the entire unsaved tab was still there params, headers, body, scripts, all restored exactly as before. I genuinely didn’t know Postman could recover completely unsaved drafts.

Is there a built-in crash-recovery system for unsaved tabs?? This is my submission and I am curious to know more about it as well?

7

I really like the Postman VS Code extension.

Here’s why:

  • Test APIs without leaving VS Code

  • Collections + environments sync automatically

  • Clean UI inside the editor

  • Perfect for backend dev flow

  • Way less context switching

  • Feels lighter and faster than the full app

Once you use it, going back to the standalone Postman app feels slow! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes::fire:

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8

The Postman Console – caught a bug I’d been chasing for hours

I was debugging an API endpoint at work that wasn’t behaving right. Requests were returning 200s but data wasn’t processing correctly on the backend. Everything looked fine in Postman – valid JSON body, correct headers, auth was set up properly.

After way too much time staring at my setup, someone mentioned checking the Console. I had no idea what they meant.

Turns out there’s a Console view (bottom-left icon, or Ctrl+Alt+C on Windows / Cmd+Alt+C on Mac) that logs the actual raw requests and responses. Not just what you see in the UI, but what literally goes over the wire.

Opened it up and immediately spotted the problem – I was accidentally double-encoding my JSON payload. The Body tab showed clean JSON, but the Console revealed it was being sent as a stringified mess with escaped quotes everywhere. The backend was receiving a string instead of an object.

Now when APIs behave unexpectedly, I check Console first. It shows actual headers sent, cookies, redirects, SSL handshakes – the full picture. Saves hours of guessing.

Demo: I’ve recreated the scenario below using Postman Echo since I can’t share work APIs. Same bug, same debugging process. You can see in the video how the Console catches what’s really being sent vs what you think you’re sending.

To try it yourself:

  1. POST to https://postman-echo.com/post

  2. Body → raw → JSON, then paste: "{\"name\": \"John\", \"amount\": 1000}"

  3. Send and open Console (Ctrl+Alt+C) – notice the escaped quotes

  4. Fix by removing outer quotes, send again – Console shows clean JSON

Wish I’d known about this feature months ago. Would’ve saved me so many headaches.

9

I really wish I knew about pm.variables.replaceIn() earlier.
Postman’s dynamic variables like {{$randomEmail}} or {{$randomUUID}} were great for avoiding the “Already Exists” error but as they are generated inside the request body at run time I had to maintain utils.js files just for random data.
With pm.variables.replaceIn() I can call random generators inside a Pre-request script and assign them to a variable. This helped me generate a random user and immediately log them in.

const newEmail = pm.variables.replaceIn('{{$randomEmail}}');
pm.collectionVariables.set('current_user_email', newEmail);

P.S. Using Cmd+Shift+D (on macOs) or Ctrl+Shift+D lets me duplicate request immediately, helps in creating negative test variations fast

10

this is a cool feature. you can test and see the result of your test response.

11

A very recent addition to Postman was the new Environment Colours feature, I think I can say this for many users that I wish it was there sooner :smiley:

Having a visual clue to highlight the active environment woud save a lot of panic over sending the wrong data to Production.

I used to only rely on a basic script to stop the requests from sending, if I had a specific active environment set:

if (pm.environment.name === "PROD") {
    pm.execution.skipRequest();
};
2 Likes
13

I didn’t know Postman had an Autosave function in General Settings until recently. Even though I’ve always had the habit of hitting Ctrl+S repeatedly out of fear of losing something important, now I feel a bit more secure that my changes are saved automatically.

14

Honestly, I can’t believe I only just discovered this in Postman: the little “Search across all requests” feature at the top-left (CMD/CTRL + K).

I have been using Postman for years, clicking through collections like a lost traveler trying to find that one request I swear I created last week. Then I hit CMD + K by accident, and suddenly this beautiful global search bar pops up, letting me jump straight to any request, environment, or collection instantly.

It felt like discovering a door in my own house that’s been there forever.

Now, instead of digging through nested folders like I am in an archaeological expedition, I just type a keyword and boom, I am exactly where I need to be. It’s such a small thing, but it genuinely changed the flow of my daily debugging and testing. I wish I’d found it way sooner.

(If this was hidden in plain sight all this time… I owe Postman an apology.)

15

I wanted to find a time-saving feature in Postman that most people miss, so I decided to ask Agent Mode directly. I typed in a prompt looking for hidden shortcuts or underrated tabs that could make life easier. Agent Mode pointed me toward something really useful that I hadn’t noticed before.

I’ve included a screenshot of my Agent Mode chat below, showing how I explored and uncovered this new trick.

underrated timesavers
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Here are a few underrated time-savers in Postman that many experienced users still overlook. Each one is easy to adopt and can shave a lot of clicks off your daily flow.

Quick Switcher: jump anywhere without touching the mouse
What it is: A universal “Go to anything” palette to open requests, collections, environments, tabs, or workspaces with fuzzy search.
How to access: Press Cmd+K (macOS) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux), then type part of the name (e.g., “users get”, “env prod”, or “DJ workspace”).
Why it’s useful: It replaces most sidebar navigation and helps you hop between frequently used items instantly. You can also create new requests right from here by typing a URL.

Inline variable inspection and edit via hover
What it is: Hover over a variable like {{skillcheckBaseUrl}} in a request to see the resolved value, its scope (environment/global/collection), and a quick link to edit it.
How to access: In any request, hover on the variable; click the popup to jump straight to the variable’s editor.
Why it’s useful: Eliminates hunting for the right scope; lets you fix “why is my URL weird?” issues in seconds.

Cmd/Ctrl-click to open in a background tab
What it is: Open collections, folders, and requests in new tabs without losing your place.
How to access: Cmd-click (macOS) or Ctrl-click (Win/Linux) on items in the sidebar, search results, or links in descriptions.
Why it’s useful: Great for building a review queue—open a batch of endpoints, then work through them without bouncing back to the sidebar.

Duplicate Tab as Scratchpad
What it is: Clone your current request tab to experiment without disturbing the original (headers, body, auth included).
How to access: Right-click the tab name → Duplicate.
Why it’s useful: Perfect for quick diffs of bodies/headers or trying alternative auth without saving accidental changes to the source request.

Test failures jump-to-line and rerun
What it is: Clicking a failing test in the response panel jumps directly to the failing line in the Tests script.
How to access: Send a request with tests; when a test fails, click the failure in the Test Results panel.
Why it’s useful: Cuts the context-switching overhead when debugging complex test suites—fix and rerun fast.

Send and Download for large payloads
What it is: Stream a response directly to a file instead of rendering it in the UI.
How to access: Next to the Send button, open the dropdown → Send and Download.
Why it’s useful: Ideal for large JSON/CSV/pdf responses; avoids UI sluggishness and keeps a clean artifact for later analysis.

Collection-level pre-request and test scripts (inheritance)
What it is: Scripts added at the collection (or folder) level automatically run for all nested requests.
How to access: Open the collection → Tests or Pre-request Scripts tab.
Why it’s useful: Centralize auth token refresh, request signing, or standard assertions once—no more copy-paste across requests.

Quickly toggle “Retain Headers on Redirect” and “Automatically follow redirects”
What it is: Per-request redirect behavior that can silently break auth if not tuned.
How to access: In a request, open Settings (gear icon in the right sidebar) → Request Settings.
Why it’s useful: When dealing with 302s that drop Authorization headers, flipping “Retain headers on redirect” saves nasty debugging time.

Use examples to power instant mock servers
What it is: Saved examples on a request can be used to spin up a mock server with stable, realistic responses—no backend required.
How to access: In a request, click Examples → Save an example. Then from the collection, Create Mock Server and select the collection.
Why it’s useful: Frontend/backend parallelism, repeatable demos, and reproductions for bug reports without writing any server code.

Console search and filter
What it is: The Postman Console supports filtering by request name, status, or text.
How to access: View → Show Postman Console (or Cmd+Alt+C / Ctrl+Alt+C). Use the search bar at the top.
Why it’s useful: When debugging multi-request flows, quickly isolate a single call’s logs or find that one header among many.

Quick action menu
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Here are some powerful but often-overlooked Postman features that can genuinely save you time:

  1. Quick Open (Cmd/Ctrl + K or Cmd/Ctrl + P)
    This is probably the most underutilized feature. It’s a command palette that lets you:

Search and open any request, collection, folder, or environment by name
Jump between tabs instantly
Access workspace switcher
Search for monitors, mock servers, flows, etc.
Why it’s useful: Instead of clicking through the sidebar to find a request buried in a nested folder structure, just hit Cmd/Ctrl + K and type the first few letters. It’s dramatically faster than navigation.

  1. Environment Quick Switch (Top-right dropdown)
    Most users know environments exist, but many don’t realize you can:

Switch environments with a single click from the top-right
Use keyboard shortcuts to cycle through environments
Set environment-specific variables that override globals
Why it’s useful: If you’re testing across dev/staging/prod, this eliminates the need to manually change base URLs or API keys in requests.

  1. Pre-request Script Execution Order (Collection-level scripts run first)
    Lesser-known fact: You can set pre-request scripts at the collection level, and they execute before every request in that collection.

Why it’s useful: Set up authentication tokens, refresh tokens, or common headers once at the collection level instead of repeating them in every request. This is a game-changer for API workflows.

  1. Postman Variables Scoping (Local → Collection → Environment → Global)
    Variables follow a hierarchy, and understanding it can eliminate bugs:

Local variables (set in scripts, highest priority)
Collection variables
Environment variables
Global variables (lowest priority)
Why it’s useful: You can override a global base URL with an environment variable for a specific test run without touching the global. This prevents accidental changes.

  1. Response Body Search (Cmd/Ctrl + F in response)
    When you get a large JSON response, you can search within it directly in the response pane.

Why it’s useful: Finding a specific field in a 1000-line JSON response is instant instead of scrolling.

  1. Duplicate Tab (Right-click on tab)
    Right-click any request tab and select “Duplicate Tab” to create a copy without saving it.

Why it’s useful: Test variations of a request without cluttering your collection. The duplicate is temporary and won’t be saved unless you explicitly save it.

  1. Collection Runner with Data Files (CSV/JSON)
    Most users know about collection runs, but fewer know you can:

Upload a CSV or JSON file with test data
Iterate through rows automatically
Use {{$randomInt}}, {{$timestamp}}, and other dynamic variables
Why it’s useful: Run the same request 100 times with different payloads without writing a single line of code.

  1. Postman Interceptor (Capture real traffic)
    There’s a browser extension that captures HTTP requests from your browser and imports them directly into Postman.

Why it’s useful: Instead of manually recreating requests, capture them live from your web app. Saves tons of time for reverse-engineering APIs.

  1. Keyboard Shortcut: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C (Copy as cURL)
    Right-click any request and copy it as a cURL command, or use the shortcut.

Why it’s useful: Share requests with teammates who use the command line, or debug in terminal without leaving Postman.

  1. Vault Variables (Encrypted storage)
    In your workspace settings, you can create Vault variables that are encrypted and never logged.

Why it’s useful: Store API keys, passwords, and secrets securely. They won’t appear in logs, exports, or shared workspaces unless explicitly shared.

History tab
History tab1918×870 102 KB

The History Tab with Advanced Filtering
What It Is:
Most users know about the History tab, but very few leverage its advanced search and filtering capabilities to quickly find and reuse past requests without saving them to collections.

How to Access:
Open the sidebar (left panel)
Click on the History tab (clock icon)
Use Ctrl/Cmd + H to quickly jump to History from anywhere
In the History search bar, you can:
Search by URL, method, or status code
Filter by date range
Group by collection or ungrouped requests
The Hidden Power:
Right-click on any history item to get options like:
“Save Request” - instantly save to a collection
“Add to Collection” - add without opening
“Delete” - clean up your history
Multi-select history items (Ctrl/Cmd + Click) to bulk save or delete
Use the search with operators like status:200 or method:POST to filter precisely
Why It’s Incredibly Useful:
Rapid Prototyping: When testing APIs, you don’t need to save every variation. Just experiment freely and pull successful requests from history later.
Debugging: Quickly compare a working request from yesterday with today’s failing one by searching history.
Time Savings: Instead of recreating requests or searching through collections, find your exact request with parameters in seconds.
Clean Workflow: Keep collections organized with only finalized requests while using history as your “scratch pad.”
Pro Tip:
Combine this with Ctrl/Cmd + K (Command Palette) and type “History” to access recent requests even faster, or search for specific endpoints across your entire history.

This feature essentially gives you a “time machine” for your API testing without cluttering your collections, saving dozens of clicks per day for active API developers!

Productivity boosters
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Here’s a powerful but often-overlooked Postman productivity booster:

Hidden feature: Quick Look Variables (Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + ;), with inline variable resolution preview

What it is: A lightweight, floating inspector that shows the live value of every variable in scope (environment, collection, globals, local, data) and a companion behavior that previews resolved variable values right inside request editors. Together, they cut down context switching and prevent “why is this value undefined?” debugging loops.

How to access it (step-by-step):

Open the Quick Look panel
Windows/Linux: Shift + Ctrl + ;
macOS: Shift + Cmd + ;
Or click the tiny eye icon next to the active environment selector in the top bar.
Inspect variable scopes instantly
The panel lists Environment, Collection, Globals, and (when applicable) Iteration/Data variables.
Hover any variable to see the source scope and click to copy its value.
See inline variable resolution preview
In any request field (URL, headers, auth fields, body), hover or click a {{variable}} token.
Postman shows the current resolved value as a tooltip/subtle inline hint.
If multiple scopes define the same variable, the effective value is shown (with scope precedence applied).
Why it’s useful:

Zero context switching: No need to open the full environment editor or collection settings to check values.
Faster debugging: Immediately confirm whether a variable is set, which scope it’s coming from, and what Postman will actually send on wire.
Prevents misfires: Catch typos and casing issues ({{ApiKey}} vs {{apiKey}}) in seconds.
Safer changes: See the current value before editing. If you need to update, you can jump straight to the correct scope instead of guessing.
Extra tips and advanced tricks:

Scope precedence at a glance: If a variable name is repeated across scopes, Quick Look makes it obvious which one wins. This avoids mysterious behavior when a global masks an environment var.
Rapid variable overrides:
Temporarily set a variable for a single run via pm.variables.set(‘name’,‘value’) in a pre-request script. It shows up under “Local” in Quick Look and won’t pollute your environment or globals.
Use Data/Iteration variables (Collection Runner/Monitor) to override values at run time without touching environments; they appear in Quick Look during executions.
Inline verification in headers and auth:
For auth headers like Authorization: Bearer {{token}}, hover {{token}} to verify it’s fresh. Saves a round trip when your requests 401 due to expired tokens.
Debug missing values quickly:
If you see {{variable}} unresolved in previews, open Quick Look and search by name to see if it exists anywhere. If not, create it in the right scope on the spot.
Safe redaction patterns:
If you store secrets in the Postman Vault or as masked environment values, Quick Look respects masking while still indicating that the variable is present and which scope provides it.
Testing plus visibility:
In tests, log variable resolution with pm.test and console.log to verify final values; then keep Quick Look open to reconcile what your scripts set versus what the UI shows.
Speed-run variable audits:
Before sharing a collection/workspace, open Quick Look and scan for any hardcoded secrets in Globals or Environments that should be moved to the Vault or turned into placeholders.
When to use it:

Before sending any request that relies on authentication, dynamic URLs, or data-driven fields.
While debugging a failing test or unexpected response.
After importing a collection to ensure your environment variables match the expected names.

16

after discovering all about MCP server generation, using it, and pairing it with Notion to connect to a database, i finally understood how to generate customized MCP servers using APIs from the Postman API network.

for this week’s challenge, i want to share with everyone that i tried the AI protocol feature in Postman that allows you to test and compare AI models side by side.

Just like how you add a new request like HTTP, the AI option is available to choose from to access the interface. I discovered setting this up is similar to how you use your regular programming language like Python and JavaScript to connect to these providers (openai, anthropic, gemini), Postman gives you a wide variety of option to choose from all at once.

also, adjusting the settings for the temperature and the other parameters is available within Postman.

authorization
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what is props drilling?
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finally, i saved the new request into a separate collection that i can reuse.

17

I found something small in Postman this week that I honestly didn’t know existed: you can rename tabs just by right-clicking on them.

I’ve been juggling multiple requests with the same names (like “GET” or “POST”) and always got confused. Being able to rename the tab to something meaningful, like “Login Test” or “User Search,” suddenly made my workspace look way cleaner.

It’s such a tiny thing, but it actually saves a lot of scrolling and guessing. No screenshot needed for this one, but yeah… I wish I had known it earlier.

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Love this feature! Thanks for sharing, Danny. Will make switching environments way less stressful.

19

I just found something in Postman that made me feel like I’ve been working the hard way this whole time :sweat_smile:

While preparing an API script, I accidentally pressed Ctrl + B, and suddenly the “Code Snippets” panel popped up.

I’ve been manually copying headers, params, and writing code from scratch, but Postman was literally ready to generate runnable code for me all this time!

The best part? I noticed a small “Send and Download” button inside that panel — which lets me instantly test the generated code without even going back to the main tab :exploding_head:

Why this felt like a life hack

I now use Ctrl + B constantly to get request code for Node.js, Python, etc.

No more switching tabs or manually copying curl commands.

It’s a huge timesaver while debugging backend APIs

Honestly, my reaction was:

“Wait… this has been here since when?!” :man_facepalming:

You can try it right now: :backhand_index_pointing_right: Open any request → Press Ctrl + B → Click Send and Download

(If you already knew this, please pretend you didn’t so I don’t feel bad :joy:)

20

My discovery:
I just realized you can duplicate requests instantly with Ctrl + D — and I’m honestly embarrassed I didn’t know this earlier. :sweat_smile:
I’ve been right-clicking → Duplicate for months, especially while testing pagination or small variations of the same API call.

But pressing Ctrl + D copies the entire request (URL, params, headers, body) in one go… it literally shaved minutes off my workflow today.
It feels like discovering a cheat code that was hiding in plain sight.

Here’s a quick example of how it changed my workflow:
– Testing the same endpoint with 4–5 different query params
– Previously: click → duplicate → rename → edit
– Now: tap, tap, tap → done.

Did everyone else already know this? Because I definitely didn’t. :joy:

21

Postman feature that I found super useful and thought I should have known it earlier:

History and Saved Examples

I can revisit past API calls, compare responses, and save different success/error examples without rerunning anything.

Makes debugging easy