Path parameters in Postman

Introduction

Path parameters let you send different values in the URL to get specific data. They help make your API requests flexible and dynamic.

When you want to get details of a specific user by their ID.

When you need to update a particular product using its product code.

When deleting a specific order by its order number.

When fetching comments for a specific blog post by post ID.

When accessing a resource that depends on a unique identifier in the URL.

Syntax

Postman

https://api.example.com/resource/{parameterName}

Use curly braces {} to mark the path parameter in the URL.

In Postman, you replace {parameterName} with actual values when sending requests.

Examples

Here, {userId} is a path parameter to get a specific user's data.

Postman

https://api.example.com/users/{userId}

This URL fetches items for a specific order using {orderId} as the path parameter.

Postman

https://api.example.com/orders/{orderId}/items

Fetch reviews for a product identified by {productCode}.

Postman

https://api.example.com/products/{productCode}/reviews

Sample Program

This example shows a GET request to fetch user details by replacing {userId} with 12345 in Postman.

Postman

GET https://api.example.com/users/{userId}

// In Postman, set path parameter userId to 12345

// Expected response:
// {
//   "id": "12345",
//   "name": "Alice",
//   "email": "[e-mail]"
// }

Important Notes

Always define path parameters clearly in your API documentation.

In Postman, you can add path parameters in the Params tab or directly in the URL by replacing the placeholders.

Path parameters are different from query parameters; path parameters are part of the URL path.

Summary

Path parameters make URLs dynamic by allowing variable parts.

Use curly braces {} to mark path parameters in URLs.

In Postman, replace path parameters with actual values before sending requests.