After a week of testing, you'll have 50+ requests scattered in History. Good luck finding that one DELETE request from Tuesday. Collections solve this. They're like folders for your requests — organized, labeled, shareable.
A Collection is a group of saved API requests. Think of it as a test suite. You can organize requests into folders, add descriptions, write tests, and run the entire collection in sequence. It's the backbone of professional API testing in Postman.
Key Point: No collection = no serious testing. Every professional tester organizes their work into collections. Random requests in History don't count.
Click "Collections" in the left sidebar
Click the "+" button to create a new collection
Name it "JSONPlaceholder Tests"
Click the three dots (...) on the collection > Add description
Write: "CRUD tests for JSONPlaceholder fake API — /posts, /users, /comments"
Right-click collection > Add Folder > Name it "Posts"
Add two more folders: "Users" and "Comments"
You now have a clean structure ready for requests
Every request you create should be saved to a collection. Here's how:
Create a GET request for https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1
Click Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S)
Name it "Get Single Post"
Select collection "JSONPlaceholder Tests" > folder "Posts"
Click Save
JSONPlaceholder Tests/
Posts/
Get All Posts GET /posts
Get Single Post GET /posts/1
Create Post POST /posts
Update Post (PUT) PUT /posts/1
Update Post (PATCH) PATCH /posts/1
Delete Post DELETE /posts/1
Users/
Get All Users GET /users
Get Single User GET /users/1
Create User POST /users
Comments/
Get Comments by Post GET /posts/1/comments
Create Comment POST /commentsUse clear, descriptive names. "Get Single Post" is good. "Request 1" is terrible. When your collection has 100 requests, names are the only thing keeping you sane.
Collections can have settings that apply to ALL requests inside them. Click the collection name > "Authorization" tab or "Variables" tab.
| Setting | What It Does | Why It's Useful |
|---|---|---|
| Authorization | Sets auth for all requests in the collection | Set Bearer token once, every request inherits it |
| Pre-request Script | Runs before every request in the collection | Generate timestamps, set dynamic variables |
| Tests | Runs after every request in the collection | Check status code is 2xx for all requests |
| Variables | Collection-scoped variables | Store base URL, API keys specific to this collection |
Don't put all your requests in a single flat collection. Use folders. Group by resource (Users, Posts, Orders) or by flow (Login Flow, Purchase Flow, Admin Flow). Future-you will thank present-you.
Q: How do you organize API tests in Postman?
A: I create collections for each module or service, then use folders to group by resource or flow. For example, a Banking API collection would have folders for Accounts, Transfers, Users, and Admin. Each request has a descriptive name, a description of what it tests, and test scripts for assertions. I set collection-level auth so individual requests inherit the token. This structure makes it easy to run regression tests and share with the team.
Key Point: Collections are test suites. Folders are test groups. Descriptive names are your documentation. Organize from day one — not after you have 200 random requests.