# release-postman-generator
Source: https://speakeasy.com/blog/release-postman-generator


import { Callout } from "@/mdx/components";

Postman is a popular tool for API development and testing, but it is tedius and often challenging to keep Postman Collections up-to-date with the latest API changes.

To address this issue, we are excited to announce the release of our newest generation target: Postman Collections. This new generator means that you can now automatically generate high quality Postman Collections with the same OpenAPI documents, extensions, and workflows that you use today.

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  <video controls={false} loop={true} autoPlay={true} muted={true} width="100%">
    <source src="/assets/videos/Postman Generation.mp4" type="video/mp4" />
  </video>
</div>

## Get Started

<Callout title="Learn more" type="info">
  If you are new to Speakeasy, you can learn more about how to [get started
  here](/docs/introduction/introduction).
</Callout>

To get started just run:

```bash
speakeasy configure targets
```

Once you have configured the Postman target, use `speakeasy run` to run the workflow.

The Postman collection will be generated, ready for import into Postman

We are very excited to share this with our community. Please give it a try and let us know what you think.

We invite you to join our [Slack community](https://go.speakeasy.com/slack), and we look forward to your feedback and suggestions for future improvements.

<Callout title="Read on" type="info">
  If you're new to Postman, read on to learn more about what Postman Collections
  offer and why they are important.
</Callout>

## What is a Postman Collection?

A Postman Collection is a structured set of API endpoints and associated requests that can be imported into the Postman application for testing, development, and automation purposes. A collection encapsulates various operations like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests, allowing developers to interact with APIs effectively and efficiently.

## Why are they useful to maintain?

Maintaining Postman Collections facilitates the easy adoption, development, and testing of APIs. Collections allow developers to quickly execute API requests without setting up complex environments, speeding up both development and testing. Collections can also serve as a form of documentation, showing how APIs should be used, which is especially beneficial for onboarding new developers or for external users who need to understand the API's capabilities quickly.

## What makes maintenance hard?

Despite their utility, maintaining Postman Collections is challenging. The difficulty comes from needing to keep collections up to date with the latest API changes. Manually updating collections in Postman is time-consuming and prone to errors, and the lack of versioning support in Postman Collections can lead to confusion and inconsistencies. These issues are all compounded when collections are forked by a large number of users.

## How does the generation work?

Postman Collections can be automatically generated from an OpenAPI specification, which contains all the details of the API endpoints. Simply configure a Postman workflow target, run `speakeasy configure github`, and GitHub actions will automate generation. This automatic generation ensures that the collection always reflects any changes in the API specification, reducing the manual effort required and minimizing the risk of errors.

## How does this improve upon existing solutions?

The automated generation of Postman Collections is a significant improvement over manual methods, and the Speakeasy OpenAPI feature set allows a much larger array of customization and functionality over existing automated solutions. This automation not only saves time but also enhances accuracy and consistency across different users and systems. By dynamically generating collections, developers can ensure that their APIs are always correctly represented and can immediately be tested for any updates or changes.