How to Use Basic Auth in Postman: Simple Steps

To use Basic Auth in Postman, open the Authorization tab in your request, select Basic Auth from the Type dropdown, then enter your Username and Password. Postman will automatically add the correct Authorization header with the encoded credentials when you send the request.

Syntax

Basic Auth requires a username and password to be sent in the HTTP header. Postman handles this by encoding the credentials in base64 and adding them to the Authorization header in this format:

Authorization: Basic base64(username:password)

In Postman, you just need to provide the username and password, and it creates this header for you.

http

Authorization: Basic dXNlcm5hbWU6cGFzc3dvcmQ=

Example

This example shows how to set Basic Auth in Postman for a GET request to a protected API endpoint.

http

GET https://api.example.com/protected/resource
Authorization: Basic dXNlcjEyMzpwYXNzNDU2

Output

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
{
  "data": "Protected resource content"
}

Common Pitfalls

• Not selecting Basic Auth in the Authorization tab and manually adding the header incorrectly.
• Entering wrong username or password causing authentication failure.
• Forgetting to save the request after setting credentials.
• Using Basic Auth over unsecured HTTP instead of HTTPS, risking credential exposure.

http

Wrong way:
Authorization: Basic username:password

Right way (Postman handles encoding):
Authorization: Basic dXNlcm5hbWU6cGFzc3dvcmQ=

Quick Reference

Step	Action
1	Open Postman and create a new request
2	Go to the Authorization tab
3	Select 'Basic Auth' from the Type dropdown
4	Enter your Username and Password
5	Send the request; Postman adds the Authorization header automatically

Key Takeaways

Select 'Basic Auth' in Postman's Authorization tab to set credentials easily.

Postman encodes username and password automatically into the Authorization header.

Always use HTTPS to protect your credentials when using Basic Auth.

Avoid manually typing the Authorization header to prevent encoding errors.

Check your username and password carefully to avoid authentication failures.