API Collections

Collections are the foundation of SmartAPI, allowing you to organize, share, and execute groups of API requests.

Coming Soon

This feature is currently in development.

Understanding Collections

What is a Collection?

A collection is a group of related API requests organized in a logical structure:

Collection: E-Commerce API
├── 📁 Authentication
│   ├── POST /auth/login
│   ├── POST /auth/register
│   ├── POST /auth/refresh
│   └── POST /auth/logout
├── 📁 Products
│   ├── GET /products
│   ├── GET /products/{id}
│   ├── POST /products
│   ├── PUT /products/{id}
│   └── DELETE /products/{id}
└── 📁 Orders
    ├── GET /orders
    ├── POST /orders
    └── GET /orders/{id}

Creating Collections

Manual Creation

1. Click New Collection
2. Enter collection name and description
3. Add folders for organization
4. Create requests within folders

Import Options

Source	Format
OpenAPI/Swagger	JSON, YAML
Postman	Collection v2.1
Insomnia	Export format
HAR Files	Browser recordings
cURL	Command line imports

Collection Structure

Folders

Organize requests into logical groups:

• By resource (Users, Products, Orders)
• By functionality (Auth, CRUD, Search)
• By test type (Smoke, Regression, Performance)

Requests

Each request contains:

Component	Description
Method	HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.)
URL	Endpoint path with variables
Headers	Request headers
Body	Request payload
Auth	Authentication settings
Tests	Assertions and validations
Pre-request	Setup scripts

Variables

Use variables for dynamic values:

// Collection variables
{{baseUrl}}/api/v1/users/{{userId}}

// Environment variables
Authorization: Bearer {{accessToken}}

Request Builder

HTTP Methods

Method	Use Case
GET	Retrieve resources
POST	Create new resources
PUT	Replace resources
PATCH	Partial updates
DELETE	Remove resources
HEAD	Headers only
OPTIONS	CORS preflight

Headers

Common header configurations:

Header	Value
Content-Type	application/json
Authorization	Bearer {{token}}
Accept	application/json
X-API-Key	{{apiKey}}

Request Body

Supported formats:

• JSON - Structured data
• Form Data - File uploads
• URL Encoded - Form submissions
• Raw - Plain text, XML
• Binary - File content

Authentication

Type	Configuration
Bearer Token	JWT, OAuth tokens
Basic Auth	Username/password
API Key	Header or query param
OAuth 2.0	Full OAuth flow
AWS Signature	AWS services

Test Scripts

Pre-request Scripts

Execute before sending request:

// Generate timestamp
pm.collectionVariables.set('timestamp', Date.now());

// Create signature
const signature = CryptoJS.HmacSHA256(data, secret);
pm.request.headers.add('X-Signature', signature);

Test Scripts

Validate responses:

// Status code check
pm.test('Status is 200', () => {
  pm.response.to.have.status(200);
});

// JSON structure
pm.test('Response has user data', () => {
  const json = pm.response.json();
  pm.expect(json).to.have.property('id');
  pm.expect(json).to.have.property('email');
});

// Response time
pm.test('Response time < 500ms', () => {
  pm.expect(pm.response.responseTime).to.be.below(500);
});

Collection Runner

Running Collections

Execute entire collections or folders:

Option	Description
Iterations	Run multiple times
Delay	Pause between requests
Data File	CSV/JSON for data-driven tests
Environment	Select environment

Execution Order

Control request sequence:

1. Folder order (top to bottom)
2. Request order within folders
3. Conditional flow with scripts

Data-Driven Testing

Use external data files:

email,password,expectedStatus
[email protected],pass123,200
[email protected],wrong,401
,pass123,400

Sharing & Collaboration

Team Sharing

• Share collections with team members
• Role-based access (View, Edit, Admin)
• Version history and rollback

Export Options

Format	Use Case
JSON	Backup, sharing
OpenAPI	Documentation
HTML	Static documentation
Markdown	README files

Best Practices

Organization

• Use consistent naming conventions
• Group by domain/resource
• Include descriptions

Variables

• Use environment variables for URLs
• Store secrets securely
• Document variable usage

Testing

• Add assertions to every request
• Test both success and error cases
• Validate response schema

Maintenance

• Regular cleanup of unused requests
• Update documentation
• Review and refactor periodically