Variables

Postdata provides you the ability to create and use variable throughout the app. This helps you reuse values throughout Postdata just by invoking the variable name.

Postdata considers an objects within an angular brackets as a variable <<variable>>

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Variable Scopes

Postdata provides you different variables scopes, allowing you to use different scopes for different contexts.

1. Global Variables: can be accessed throughout Postdata and has the broadest scope of all variables.
2. Environment Variables: allow your variables to be scoped to an environment. Environment variables are useful when you have the same set of variables for two environments such as production and staging.
3. Request Variables: are scoped to just an individual request, request variables are useful when you want to use variables in your URL path or when you want to embed a variable URL.
4. Predefined Variables: are automatically generated at runtime and can be accessed globally throughout Postdata using the $ symbol, such as $guid or $timestamp.

The scope of each variable can be identified from the color of the variable name

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Types of Variables

1. A regular variable: allows users to reference the variable throughout Postdata, and anyone can see the value associated with the variable. In a workspace, regular environment variable-value pairs will be synced to the server, making them available to all workspace members. However, you have the option to choose whether to sync a regular variable value present in your personal workspace
2. A secret variable: enables users to specify secrets and reference the values as variables. The values of secret variables in any workspace will never be synced to the server or shared with any workspace members. It is expected that in a collaborative workspace the user will populate the value of the variable at runtime. All secret variable values in Postdata will be masked using asterisks (***). Secret Variables cannot be scoped to a request and can only be scoped in an environment or globally

3. A predefined variable: is automatically generated at runtime and provides dynamic, context-specific data. Predefined variables are available throughout your requests and responses and are useful for incorporating system-level information or dynamic values into your API interactions without manual configuration. All predefined variables are accessible throughout Postdata and can be retrieved using the $ symbol. Below is the list of predefined variables whose values are dynamically generated during the request or collection run:

Variable Name	Description	Example
$guid	A v4 style unique (GUID) identifier for each request.	123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000
$timestamp	The current UNIX timestamp in seconds	1693047645
$isoTimestamp	The current date and time in ISO-8601 format at zero UTC (also known as “Zulu time” or UTC-0)	2024-09-25T00:00:00.000Z
$randomUUID	A random 36-character UUID.	6929bb52-3ab2-448a-9796-d6480ecad36b

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Numbers, Text, and Colors

Variable Name	Description	Example
$randomAlphaNumeric	A random alpha-numeric character.	A9X1Z3
$randomBoolean	A random boolean value.	true , false
$randomInt	A random integer value between 0 and 1000.	29 , 432 , 786
$randomColor	A random color amongst red, green, blue, yellow, purple, and orange.	yellow
$randomHexColor	A random hex value.	#f2a729
$randomAbbreviation	A random abbreviation.	SQL , JSON , HTML

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Internet and IP addresses

Variable Name	Description	Example
$randomIP	A random IPv4 address	192.168.0.101
$randomIPV6	A random IPv6 address	2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
$randomMACAddress	A random MAC address.	00:1B:44:11:3A:B7
$randomPassword	A random 15-character alpha-numeric password.	H8w72Sx93KlqA1b
$randomLocale	A random two-letter language code (ISO 639-1).	en, fr, es
$randomUserAgent	A random user agent.	Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64)
$randomProtocol	A random internet protocol.	https, ftp
$randomSemver	A random semantic version number.	1.2.3

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Names

Variable Name	Description	Example
$randomFirstName	A random first name.	Ethan , Chandler, John
$randomLastName	A random last name.	Schaden , Schneider , Doe
$randomFullName	A random Full name.	Ethan Schaden , Chandler Schneider , John Doe
$randomNamePrefix	A random name prefix.	Dr. , Miss. , Prof.
$randomNameSuffix	A random name suffix.	MD , PhD , Jr.

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Addresses and Profession

Variable Name	Description	Example
$randomCity	A random city name.	New York , Houston , Philadelphia
$randomJobArea	A random job area.	Intranet , Development , Testing
$randomJobDescriptor	A random job descriptor.	Corporate , Lead , Principal
$randomJobTitle	A random job title.	Global Branding Officer , Productivity Analyst
$randomJobType	A random job type.	Manager , Coordinator , Director