How to use Insomnia?

<aside> ℹ️ Insomnia is an open-source GraphQL and REST client aimed at making testing and debugging APIs easier.

</aside>

How to send a GraphQL request?

1. To create a new Document:

   1. Select Create→Select Design Document

   

   b. Select the Debug tab→Select **⨁** icon→Select New Request.

   

2. In the New Request modal:

   1. Enter a request name.
   2. Select desired request type. For example POST from the dropdown.
   3. Another dropdown will appear to the right. Open it and select GraphQL Query.
   4. Click Create.

   

3. Enter request details

     a. Enter the API endpoint in the request URL input. 
   

   **https://tech-demo.scandipwa.com/graphql**

   b. In the GraphQL body tab, add your GraphQL schema

   query {
       categories {
           page_info {
               total_pages
               page_size
               current_page
               page_size
           }
   				items {
   						custom_layout_update_file
   						children {
   								children_count
   						}
   				}
   		}
   }
   

   

   In addition, Insomnia GraphQL can fetch the schema from the server, allowing you to “show documentation:”

   

   Response:

   

How to add a plugin?

To add an Insomnia plugin, go to Preferences (represented by the cog icon in the top right corner)→click the Plugins tab→ Enter the name of the plugin you want to add, → click Install Plugin

Each plugin listed at Insomnia’s Plugin Hub has a unique plugin name. You’ll enter the plugin’s name here (in the text input with the placeholder npm-package-name). For example, if we wanted to install the Faker plugin, we would enter insomnia-plugin-faker, then, we click on Install Plugin

The insomnia-plugin-faker

generates fake data With Faker, you can quickly generate random names, email addresses, phone numbers and more. This is excellent for generating test data.

The insomnia-plugin-dotenv

lets you use template tags to pull in dynamic values stored in a file with environment variables (a .env file). Each .env file has a different value for the variable status_code

The insomnia-plugin-jwtcreator

Sometimes, you need to create a JSON Web Token (JWT) for testing requests to a protected API. you can use a template tag to insert a generated JWT.

The insomnia-plugin-graphql-codegen

Automatically generate and import GraphQL operations to your Insomnia Workspace.

The insomnia-plugin-gist-sync

This is a plugin that allows users sync workspaces with gist of GitHub.

Checkout more plugins at insomnia plugins

Plugin Location:

• MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Insomnia/plugins/ (escaped version: ~/Library/Application\\ Support/Insomnia/plugins/)
• Windows: %APPDATA%\\Insomnia\\plugins\\
• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Insomnia/plugins/ or ~/.config/Insomnia/plugins/

To remove a plugin navigate to the location above and delete the plugin’s folder.

How to use the environments?

In Insomnia, environments are a place to store data as a JSON object.

Variables are defined as properties (or sub properties thanks to JSON format) of an environment: the base environment or a sub environment.

Variables will be read directly as a property of the current environment. Use ^Space to open the variables autocomplete palette, or start typing {{ followed by a space character or the variable name. You can use variables anytime a template tags is allowed.

Base Environment

This is the root environment containing data available to the current request collection, regarding what is the selected sub environment. There is only one base environment per workspace.

Sub Environment

A sub environment behaves exactly like the base environment, with the exception you can create many of them. However, you can have only one active at the same time. You will usually create one per execution environment: one for local development, one for staging, one for production.

How to use collections: Teams?

You can create a team in the web dashboard, Teams gives you the ability to collaborate on Insomnia Request Collections with other people. Once a Request Collection is shared with a team, data is made available to everyone on the team once pushed.

• Request Collections

  Request Collections are a way to group and share requests within Insomnia.

  You can create, delete, and switch between Request Collections and Design Documents from the Dashboard

• Share Request Collection

  Sync may only be enabled on a Request Collection established within a Remote Project in the Insomnia client. When you enable sync, your collection is shared with everyone on your team.

  A Request Collection cannot be moved to an other project, however it can be replicated in a separate project and synced. From the Dashboard, you can clone a Collection. When a collection is synced into a remote project, shared request collections display under the Pull button on the Dashboard for team members with access to the project once it is activated.

Import Data

Import data from a file, URL, or Clipboard.

From the Document or Collection name dropdown menu, select Import/Export. Select an option from the Import Data dropdown menu.

Alternatively, in Preferences and under the Data tab, select an option from the Import Data dropdown menu.

Export Data

Export a Document, Collection, or a single request.

From the Document or Collection name dropdown menu, select Import/Export. Select an option from the Export Data dropdown menu.

Alternatively, select an option from the Export Data dropdown menu in Preferences and under the Data tab. If you’re inside a Document or Collection, you’ll have the option to export that specific Document or Collection.

If you’ve selected to export a Document or Collection, choose to export the whole set or individual requests.