Can I reuse a JavaScript variable across requests?

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Is there any way to preserve my Javascript environment across requests in a collection run? I need to use javascript to extract an ID in one request, and then use that ID in the next request in the run.
I can do that using environment variables, and that’s fine.

However, what I next want to do is to push the ID numbers onto an array, and then pop them off in a later request. That means preserving the array across requests.

Is there any way to do that in JavaScript? The only way I can see is to serialize the array into a string, store it into an environment variable, and then deserialize it in a later request.

Any ideas?

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Hey there, welcome to the community!

I think I get the gist of your question but a few more clarifying details would be helpful. Here’s some best practices around getting the answers you need.

Using the environment variables is how I’d recommend doing that. Can you clarify what you mean by “pop them off in a later request” ? Not sure what pop off means :slight_smile:

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Hey @TeacherManAlex,

Your idea is correct, the pattern I typically put in place for this type of operation is:

const myArray = pm.environment.has('myArray') ? JSON.parse(pm.environment.get('myArray') : [];

const responseData = pm.response.json();
myArray.push(responseData.myValue);

pm.environment.set('myArray', JSON.stringify(myArray));

Then in the consuming request, I would do exactly as you suggested:

const myArray = JSON.parse(pm.environment.get('myArray'));
const myVariable = myArray.pop();

// Do work with the variable

pm.environment.set('myArray', JSON.stringify(myArray));

@hannah.neil, ‘pop’ refers to taking the last item from an array :slight_smile:

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Ah, that makes sense. Adding that to my vocabulary. Thanks for chiming in!

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