Postman Collections

Postman Collections are portable JSON documents that bundle one or more API requests — along with their parameters, headers, authentication, scripts, examples, and documentation — into a single shareable, runnable artifact. Backed by a published Collection Format schema, a collection is more than a folder of saved requests: it is an executable, versionable description of how to work with an API. That gives teams a machine-readable unit they can run, test, mock, and hand to other developers.

• A published format - The Collection Format is a documented JSON schema, so tooling beyond Postman can read and generate collections.
• Requests plus behavior - Folders, variables, pre-request and test scripts, and examples travel with the requests, capturing intent as well as endpoints.
• Runnable and automatable - Collections execute in the app, in CI via Newman, and as scheduled monitors, turning docs into tests.
• A shareable unit of work - Because they are self-contained files, collections move easily between people, repos, and platforms.

In real API operations, collections sit alongside OpenAPI as one of the most common ways an API’s surface gets documented, onboarded, and tested — often generated from or synced to a spec. They pair naturally with Postman Environments, which supply the variables that let one collection run against development, staging, and production. In the agentic turn, a well-formed collection is an appealing machine-readable contract: a package that describes not just what an API exposes but exactly how to exercise it.