Postman First GET Request

A GET request fetches data from a server without changing anything. It is the most common type of API request. In this topic, you send your first real GET request and read the response that comes back.

What a GET Request Does

Imagine a library. A GET request is like asking the librarian: "Can I see the list of available books?" You are only asking for information. You are not adding a book, removing one, or changing any records. The server reads what you asked for and sends the data back.

You (Postman)          The Server
     │                      │
     │── GET /books ──────▶│
     │                      │  (Server looks up books)
     │◀── 200 OK + data ───│
     │                      │

The Public Test API You Will Use

Postman provides a free test API called the Postman Echo API. You can also use the popular public API at https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com. It returns fake but realistic data — perfect for practice.

Send Your First GET Request – Step by Step

1. Open Postman and click the + button in the tab bar to open a new request tab
2. Make sure the method dropdown on the left shows GET (it does by default)
3. Click inside the URL bar and type:
   https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1
4. Click the orange Send button

The response panel at the bottom fills in with data within a second or two.

Reading the Response

After you send the request, look at the response panel. Here is what each part means:

Status Code

200 OK means the server found the user and returned their data successfully. Any 2xx code means success.

Response Body

The body tab shows the user data in JSON format. You should see something like this:

{
  "id": 1,
  "name": "Leanne Graham",
  "username": "Bret",
  "email": "Sincere@april.biz",
  "address": {
    "street": "Kulas Light",
    "city": "Gwenborough"
  },
  "phone": "1-770-736-0988"
}

This is the server's answer. It returned a user with ID 1 and all their details.

Response Time and Size

These two numbers appear at the top right of the response panel. Response time shows how fast the server replied. Response size shows how much data came back.

Try Changing the User ID

Change /users/1 to /users/3 in the URL and click Send again. The server returns details for a different user. This shows how the URL controls what data you get back.

Common Status Codes You Will See

Try a Request That Returns a List

Send a GET request to https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users without any ID. The server returns a JSON array containing all 10 fake users. A JSON array looks like a list in square brackets:

[
  { "id": 1, "name": "Leanne Graham", ... },
  { "id": 2, "name": "Ervin Howell", ... },
  ...
]

The square brackets mean the response is an array (a list of items).

Pretty vs Raw vs Preview Views

The body tab in the response panel has three view options at the top:

• Pretty — formatted and colour-coded JSON. Use this most of the time.
• Raw — the unformatted text exactly as the server sent it
• Preview — renders HTML responses as a web page (useful for HTML APIs)

Save the Request

1. Click the Save button (or press Ctrl+S)
2. Give the request a name like "Get User by ID"
3. Choose a collection to save it in (create a new one called "Practice" if needed)
4. Click Save

The request now appears in the sidebar under your collection and is ready to reuse any time.

Summary

A GET request retrieves data from a server. You type an endpoint URL, click Send, and read the JSON response in the body panel. A 200 status code confirms success. Changing the URL path changes which data comes back. Save your requests to reuse them without retyping.