Different Types of HTTP Status Codes and How To Use Them In Postman

Introduction

HTTP status codes are a way for web servers to communicate the status of a request to a client. They are used to indicate whether a request was successful, unsuccessful, or somewhere in between.

There are many different types of HTTP status codes, each with its own meaning. Some of the most common types of HTTP status codes include:

• 1xx Informational: These codes indicate that the request was received and is being processed.
• 2xx Success: These codes indicate that the request was successful.
• 3xx Redirection: These codes indicate that the client should take some action in order to complete the request.
• 4xx Client Error: These codes indicate that the client made a mistake in the request.
• 5xx Server Error: These codes indicate that the server encountered an error while processing the request.

Understanding the Different Types of HTTP Status Codes

The different types of HTTP status codes can be divided into five categories:

• Informational: These codes indicate that the request was received and is being processed.
• Successful: These codes indicate that the request was successful.
• Redirection: These codes indicate that the client should take some action in order to complete the request.
• Client Error: These codes indicate that the client made a mistake in the request.
• Server Error: These codes indicate that the server encountered an error while processing the request.

Informational Codes

The informational codes are used to indicate that the request was received and is being processed. They are typically used to provide feedback to the client about the progress of the request.

Some of the most common informational codes include:

• 100 Continue: This code indicates that the server is ready to receive the request body.
• 101 Switching Protocols: This code indicates that the server is switching to a different protocol.
• 102 Processing: This code indicates that the request is still being processed.

Successful Codes

The successful codes indicate that the request was successful. They are typically used to indicate that the server was able to fulfill the request as expected.

Some of the most common successful codes include:

• 200 OK: This code indicates that the request was successful.
• 201 Created: This code indicates that the request was successful and a new resource was created.
• 202 Accepted: This code indicates that the request was accepted and will be processed at a later time.

Redirection Codes

The redirection codes indicate that the client should take some action in order to complete the request. They are typically used to redirect the client to a different resource or to provide additional information about the request.

Some of the most common redirection codes include:

• 301 Moved Permanently: This code indicates that the resource has been permanently moved to a new location.
• 302 Found: This code indicates that the resource has been temporarily moved to a new location.
• 303 See Other: This code indicates that the client should get the resource from a different URI.

Client Error Codes

The client error codes indicate that the client made a mistake in the request. They are typically used to indicate that the request was malformed or that the client does not have the necessary permissions to access the resource.

Some of the most common client error codes include:

• 400 Bad Request: This code indicates that the request was malformed.
• 401 Unauthorized: This code indicates that the client does not have the necessary permissions to access the resource.
• 403 Forbidden: This code indicates that the client is not allowed to access the resource.

Server Error Codes

The server error codes indicate that the server encountered an error while processing the request. They are typically used to indicate that the server is overloaded or that there is a problem with the resource.

Some of the most common server error codes include:

• 500 Internal Server Error: This code indicates that the server encountered an unexpected error.
• 502 Bad Gateway: This code indicates that the server received a bad response from another server.
• 503 Service Unavailable: This code indicates that the server is temporarily unavailable.

Using HTTP Status Codes in Postman

Postman is a popular tool for API testing. It allows you to send requests to APIs and verify the response. You can use Postman to verify the HTTP status code of the response.

To verify the HTTP status code of the response in Postman, you can use the Status Code field in the Headers tab. This field will show the HTTP status code of the response.

You can also use the Tests tab in Postman to verify the HTTP status code of the response. To do this, you would create a new test and use the Status Code assertion. The Status Code assertion will verify that the HTTP status code of the response is equal to the expected value.

Example

Let's say you are testing an API that returns a list of users. You would send a request to the API and verify that the HTTP status code of the response is 200. This would indicate that the request was successful and that the API returned the list of users.

If the HTTP status code of the response was not 200, then you would know that there was an error with the request. You could then use the Body tab in Postman to view the response body and see more information about the error.

Conclusion

HTTP status codes are an important tool for software testing. By understanding the different types of HTTP status codes and how they are used, you can effectively test your APIs and ensure that they are returning the correct responses.

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