Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
API Collaboration
3.
Using Postman Version Control
4.
Collaboration Overview
4.1.
Team Discovery
5.
Frequently Asked Questions
5.1.
What are the different types of roles in Postman workspaces?
5.2.
What are the different collection and API roles in Postman?
5.3.
What is SCIM provisioning?
6.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

How to Collaborate on Postman

Author Yashesvinee V
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Introduction

Postman is a very popular API platform that simplifies every stage of the API lifecycle and facilitates easy collaboration between developers. API Repository in Postman is a central platform where all the information about an API is available. APIs are catalogued in one place for collaboration and sharing. Collaboration allows all stakeholders to come together and build efficient APIs.

API Collaboration

APIs are integrated with various services and have a lot of scope for development. Collaboration involves incorporating the suggestions of multiple stakeholders to give an improvised API. API collaboration is an essential part of API development. In API-first development, APIs are designed considering all important features and compatibility factors. The source code for all APIs is given a separate space in the API Repository which keeps the software development cycle in sync. Developers and consumers collaborate and communicate with each other creating a feedback cycle.

Real-time collaborations can be done using Workspaces in Postman, a shared context for creating and developing APIs. Workspaces support version control, which allows developers to work parallelly. Any number of users can be invited to a workspace to collaborate. Users can give comments and receive feedback on API development and maintenance.

Using Postman Version Control

Postman Version control is similar to GitHub or any other version control tool. Collections are API descriptions containing the API features' primary building blocks. They generate documentation and build mock servers and test suites for the APIs. Users can create a copy of any collection by forking it. Forking a collection allows users to make changes without affecting the parent collection. 

The Create a Fork option can be found on the collection page after clicking the ellipsis. The collections can be forked into a personal workspace or a team workspace. Users can make all the changes they want and save the collection. Testing the collection is essential to ensure that the changes are reflected clearly. Once a user is satisfied with the changes, it is ready to be merged with the parent collection. All the changes done by the user can be reviewed by clicking the Merge changes option. Clicking Merge all changes on the top of the dashboard displays three possibilities.

  1. Merge changes - The parent collection is updated, and the forked collection remains the same.
     
  2. Merge changes and update source - Both parent and forked collections are updated.
     
  3. Merge changes and delete source - The parent collection is updated, and the forked collection is deleted.
     

There are also options to resolve conflicts when forked collections and parent collections are out-of-sync.

Collaboration Overview

Postman provides a wide range of tools and features to enhance collaboration. Team discovery and team workspaces are two such features where a group of members can work together to develop APIs. 

Users can create teams by choosing Create team after selecting their avatar in the upper-right corner. Postman Free allows a maximum of three members in a team.

Users can join a Postman team by accepting invites and email links or through the following ways.

  • Team discovery
     
  • SSO automatic provisioning - Users can join an organisation’s team that has enabled SSO configurations by signing into Postman using SSO.
     
  • SCIM provisioning - Users can join an organisation’s team that has enabled SCIM provisioning by signing into Postman using SSO.
     
  • Domain capture

Team Discovery

It simplifies the process of onboarding new team members for collaboration. Enabling team discovery allows a user with a verified email address of a company to send a request to join the team. Team discovery can be enabled by clicking Upgrade > Manage Team from the drop-down menu next to the avatar. It can also be enabled from Team settings. Team admins receive email notifications regarding any activity related to the team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of roles in Postman workspaces?

The Admin manages the setting and resources. An editor can create and edit existing workspace resources. A reader can only view, fork and export the workspace.

What are the different collection and API roles in Postman?

Editors can edit collections and APIs directly. Readers can fork collections and view or export APIs and collections.

What is SCIM provisioning?

SCIM stands for System for Cross-domain Identity Management. It allows users to automate provisioning and de-provisioning for team workspaces. It helps implement access control and improve security.

Conclusion

This blog discusses collaboration in Postman by giving a brief overview. It explains API collaboration and Version control in Postman. Check out our articles on Managing team and user groups in PostmanAPI definition warnings in Postman and Single Sign-On in Postman. Explore our Library on Coding Ninjas Studio to gain knowledge on Data Structures and Algorithms, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Cloud Computing and many more! Test your coding skills by solving our test series and participating in the contests hosted on Coding Ninjas Studio! 

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