Skip to main content

Using Postman

You can send complex HTTP requests to the backend server using the Postman API client. You can download Postman here.

To send a request through Postman, you can follow their "Sending your first request" tutorial. A sample BobaBoard URL to use is http://localhost:4200/realms/slug/twisted-minds with the GET HTTP method.

You can find all the BobaBoard REST API endpoints in our Rest API documentation.

important

When using Postman, make sure that the HTTP method in the request corresponds to the one required by the API.

How to authenticate Postman requests​

Some requests to the BobaBoard API require authentication.

API endpoints that require authentication have "firebase" listed under the AUTHORIZATIONS section in their documentation. They will also return 401 or 403 errors if accessed by an unauthenticated user.

Initial Setup​

Before authenticating Postman requests, you will need to set up a Postman environment.

  1. Follow the "variables in Postman" guide to set up a Postman environment.

  2. Set up a email variable in your environment with your BobaBoard login email.

  3. Set up a password variable in your environment with your BobaBoard login password.

  4. Set up a firebaseApiKey variable in your environment with value AIzaSyAYgQGhDsBS6rDKu8PVq_sAQrxt4tIrGEI.

    info

    Firebase API keys are designed to be used client-side and are not used to control access to backend resources. You can learn more on the Firebase API documentation website.

  5. Create (and save) the following Authentication HTTP Request

    • Method: POST

    • URL:

      https://www.googleapis.com/identitytoolkit/v3/relyingparty/verifyPassword?key={{firebaseApiKey}}

    • Body:

      {
          "email": "{{email}}",
          "password": "{{password}}",
          "returnSecureToken": true
      }

      Format: raw/JSON

    • Tests:

      This is the "Tests" tab in the postman request menu, near the Body one at the previous step.

      postman.setEnvironmentVariable("authToken", pm.response.json().idToken);

Authenticating Requests​

  1. Run the Authentication HTTP Request request set up in the previous step. A successful response will contain an "idToken" section with a very long string.

  2. Go to the request you want to authenticate.

  3. Under the Headers tab, add a row with the following:

    • Key: Authorization
    • Value: {{authToken}}

    Your request should now have the correct authorization header.

    tip

    Your authentication token will expire after an hour. You will need to reauthenticate again after that by sending another Authentication HTTP Request.