Create and capture cookies using Postman's cookie manager

Postman's cookie manager enables you to view and edit cookies that are associated with different domains. You can manually create cookies for a domain, or you can capture cookies using the Postman proxy or Postman Interceptor. You can then use the cookies stored in the cookie jar when sending requests in Postman.

To turn off sending cookies with a request, select the request's Settings tab, then select Disable cookie jar.

About cookies

A computer cookie is more formally known as an HTTP cookie, a web cookie, an Internet cookie, or a browser cookie. The name is a shorter version of "magic cookie," which is a term for a packet of data that a computer receives and then sends back without changing or altering it.

A cookie typically has two pieces of data: a unique ID for each user and a site name. Cookies enable websites to retrieve this information when you revisit them, so that they can remember you and your preferences and tailor page content for you based on this information. Without cookies, you’d have to sign in again after you leave a site or rebuild your shopping cart if you closed a web page. This makes cookies an important part of the internet experience.

Use the cookie manager

To manage cookies in Postman, open a request, then select Cookies (under Send).

In the Manage Cookies window, select the Manage Cookies tab to display a list of domains and the cookies associated with each one. If you want to view cookies for a domain that isn't in the list, you can add a domain.

Create cookies

To add a new cookie for a domain, select + Add Cookie. A pre-generated cookie string compliant with HTTP State Management standards is created.

Cookie_1=value; Path=/; Expires=Wed, 09 Oct 2024 21:49:26 GMT;

Postman supports the following attributes:

• cookieName = cookieValue - The name of the cookie and the value stored in it.
• Domain - The domain Postman will send the cookie to.
• Path - The URL path that the cookie is restricted to. If the path is /, the cookie will be sent to all requests in the specified domain.
• HttpOnly - If present, the cookie won't be accessible to the client-side scripts run on the page (for example, with document.cookie in JavaScript). The cookie will only be added to the cookie header in requests that are made. This field doesn't have an effect on Postman's behavior.
• Secure - If present, the cookie is only sent when the URL begins with https:// and won't be sent over an insecure connection.
• Expires - The time after which the cookie will expire and not be sent by Postman.

Select Save to save the cookie to the cookie jar under the relevant domain.

Postman doesn't support the SameSite attribute, or the __Secure- and __Host- prefixes.

You can also add or edit the cookies in a response with the Set-Cookie header.

Add a domain

To add a new domain to the cookie manager, do the following:

1. Select Type a domain name.
2. Enter the domain name. If you enter a protocol (such as http://) or port number, they won't be stored with the domain name in the cookie manager.
3. Select Add domain.

Edit or delete cookies

To update an existing cookie for a domain, select the cookie you want to edit, edit any attribute, then select Save.

To delete a domain and all cookies associated with it, select next to the domain. To delete an individual cookie, select next to the cookie.

To remove all cookies and domains from the cookie jar, select Clear All Cookies.

Send cookies with a request

When you make a request to a domain you have added a cookie to, the cookie will automatically appear in your request Headers tab. If the cookie isn't visible, select hidden to show autogenerated headers.

You can't override cookie headers directly in the Headers tab. Edit the cookie in the cookie manager, or delete the cookie and set your request headers manually. You can add cookies in the cookie manager and the Headers tab, and Postman will merge the cookies before sending the request.

Scripting with cookies

You can write scripts that create, get, and delete cookies, giving you more control over your cookies. Use the pm.cookies object to access cookies associated with the request. Use the pm.cookies.jar() methods to create, get, and delete cookies for a specific domain. To access cookies for specific domains using the pm.cookies.jar() methods, you must first add domains to the allowlist.

Learn more about writing scripts that create, get, and delete cookies.

Access cookies in scripts

When you add a domain to the allowlist, cookies for that domain can be accessed in scripts using the pm.cookies.jar() methods.

To add a domain to the allowlist, do the following:

1. In the Manage Cookies window, select Domains Allowlist.
2. Select Add a domain to the Allowlist.
3. Enter the allowed domain. If you include anything other than the just domain name, such as a protocol, you won't be able to access cookies for that domain.
4. Select Add.

To remove a domain from the allowlist, select next to the domain.

Sync cookies

Postman can capture cookies for a browser or client application using the Postman proxy or Postman Interceptor. For the domains you select, captured cookies are continuously synced with the Postman cookie jar. This enables you to use any authentication sessions in your browser or client application to make API calls in Postman.

Learn more about capturing cookies with the Postman proxy or Postman Interceptor.