Environment switching in Postman - Test Execution Trace

Test Overview

This test verifies that the API request correctly switches between different environments in Postman. It ensures the request URL changes according to the selected environment variables.

Test Code - Postman Test Script

Postman

pm.test("Environment switching test", function () {
    // Get the base URL from environment variable
    const baseUrl = pm.environment.get("base_url");
    
    // Check that the base URL is not empty
    pm.expect(baseUrl).to.not.be.empty;
    
    // Check that the request URL starts with the base URL
    pm.expect(pm.request.url.toString()).to.include(baseUrl);
});

Execution Trace - 6 Steps

Step	Action	System State	Assertion	Result
1	Test starts in Postman with selected environment 'Development'	Postman UI shows environment 'Development' active with base_url set to 'https://dev.api.example.com'	-	PASS
2	Send API request using the environment variable base_url	Request URL is 'https://dev.api.example.com/users', server responds with 200 OK	-	PASS
3	Run test script to verify base_url is set and used in request URL	Test script accesses pm.environment.get('base_url') and pm.request.url	Assert base_url is not empty and request URL includes base_url	PASS
4	Switch environment to 'Production' in Postman	Postman UI shows environment 'Production' active with base_url set to 'https://api.example.com'	-	PASS
5	Send API request again using new environment variable base_url	Request URL is 'https://api.example.com/users', server responds with 200 OK	-	PASS
6	Run test script again to verify base_url is updated and used in request URL	Test script accesses pm.environment.get('base_url') and pm.request.url	Assert base_url is not empty and request URL includes base_url	PASS

Failure Scenario

Failing Condition: Environment variable 'base_url' is missing or empty, or request URL does not include the base_url

Execution Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the test verify after switching the environment in Postman?

A The environment variables are deleted

B The response status code changes to 404

C The request URL updates to use the new environment's base_url

D The request headers are cleared

Key Result

Always verify that environment variables are correctly set and used in your API requests to ensure tests run against the intended environment.