Hello Ninjas! Do you know about VS Code extensions? Have you heard about the Thunder Client? If not, then don't worry. We will clear all your doubts. We frequently use compilers and editors as coders or developers. Visual Studio Code helps us program the code in different languages on one platform. VS code is also known as a streamlined code editor. We can use multiple extensions in VS code to perform different tasks and one of them is thunder client.
This article will look into the Thunder Client, an excellent solution for Postman in VS Code. Before going forward, let's know a brief about VS code.
Visual Studio Code
It is a source-code editor created by Microsoft using the Electron Framework and available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It helps to support debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, and embedded Git.
Users can change the theme of the workplace, keyboard shortcuts, and preferences, as well as download extensions that add extra functionality. One of the popular extensions is thunder client, which is used for API testing. Let's see the thunder client, what it is and why we need this.
Thunder Client
In Visual Studio, thunder client is an extension. It is a lightweight REST(REpresentational State Transfer) API( Application Programming Interface) client extension. It has a simple and clean design.
Following are some reasons why we use thunder client:
✴️ The user interface is simple and clean.
✴️ VS code can handle large responses and be viewed in full-screen mode.
✴️ Support for Collections(group of APIs) and Environmental Variables.
✴️ The majority of the functionality is accessible with a single click.
✴️ VS Code themes(colors) are supported in thunder client.
Features of Thunder Client
These are some of the features of thunder client:
🔻We can use all the major HTTP requests like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTION, and HEAD.
🔻A separate section is provided for adding necessary HTTP headers as keys and values.
🔻Thunder client's response section contains test results, cookies, headers, and the response. The response is marked up with colors.
🔻Using JSON, XML, text, form, form-encoded, and graphql, data can be sent in the body section.
🔻Thunder Client has the ability to create the environment, define tokens(security credentials that allow the application to access an API)and send the request.
🔻For testing purposes, we can add some important conditions for testing, like whether ResponseBody is JSON or not.
How to Use Thunder Client in VS code?
The following steps are there to use Thunder Client in VS code:
1️⃣ Open your visual studio code, search for thunder client, and install it.
2️⃣ A thunder icon will be shown on the left side of the screen. Click on the icon to start working with the thunder client.
3️⃣Initially, we can test it with a default endpoint, through which you can send a GET request.
You will get a JSON response that provides basic information about the Thunder Client extension.
4️⃣ We can take a random API and test it. To test, let us check ResponseCode, ResponseBody, ResponseTime, etc.
ResponseCode - HTTP response codes are three-digit codes generated by a server in response to a client's browser-side request.
ResponseBody informs a controller that the returned object is automatically serialized into JSON and returned to the HttpResponse object.
ResponseTime- The time it takes to convey the inquiry, processes it by the computer, and convey the response back to the terminal.
5️⃣ The results of the above test cases are here in Results.
Let's look into Postman Runner, and later we will discuss where Postman Runner lacks.
Postman Runner
Postman runner is an extension in VS code. Postman Runner allows running Postman tests from your VSCode. It analyzes the workspace and locates environment files and collections.
Export your Postman collections(group of APIs) and environments in a folder (or subfolders) and open it with VSCode.
Now, if we talk about Thunder Client or Postman, which is better!!
Why is Thunder Client Better Than Postman?
The Thunder Client extension in VS Code is lightweight with an easy-to-use UI. It lets us test APIs within the editor. It is also better because we don't need to install a dedicated application to test an API; we can use an extension on the VS code to do similar work. Thunder client is a lightning-fast API client extension. It generates requests to retrieve responses quickly and smoothly. Having internet access is also unnecessary when testing APIs on your local machine.
Thunder Client supports environment variables, GraphQL, collections, and test scripts. It also has popular features found in more robust tools such as Postman. In Postman Collection Runner does not make any ResponseBody.
Frequently Asked Question
How do we run code tests in Visual Studio Code?
Tests can be executed or run from Test Explorer by right-clicking a test in the code editor, selecting a Run test, or using Visual Studio's default Test Explorer shortcuts.
What is a Thunder Client?
Thunder Client is easy to use Rest API Client Extension for Visual Studio Code designed by Ranga Vadhineni.
What does REST API stand for?
A REST API (also known as RESTful API) is a type of application programming interface (API or web API) used for architectural style and allows interaction with RESTful web services.
How many extensions are there in Visual Studio Code?
The number of extensions known in the Marketplace makes VS Code so popular. With over 30,000 extensions available, the possibilities seem almost limitless and overwhelming.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed Thunder Client, a great solution for Postman. We have covered how we can use this extension. We hope this article helps you enhance your knowledge of VS code extension.
We suggest you check out our other articles to learn more about VS code,
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