Migrate from Postman to Postmate Client (PMC) — Complete Import Guide

Already have a Postman collection? Postmate Client (PMC) lets you import it directly inside VS Code — no rebuilding from scratch, no copy-pasting requests. Your entire collection, folder structure, and requests are ready in seconds.

This guide walks you through the full migration: from exporting your Postman collection to having it live inside PMC.

What Is Postmate Client (PMC)?

Postmate Client — commonly referred to as PMC — is a VS Code extension for testing REST APIs directly inside your editor. If you're already using Postman, PMC is the natural next step: same workflow, same collection format, but without leaving your code.

Prerequisites

• Postmate Client (PMC) installed in VS Code
• Your Postman collection exported as a .json file (Collection v2.1 format)

Step 1: Export Your Collection from Postman

Before importing into PMC, you need to export your collection from Postman:

1. In Postman, right-click your collection in the sidebar.
2. Select Export.
3. Choose Collection v2.1 format.
4. Save the .json file somewhere accessible on your machine.

Tip: Export your Postman environments separately too — PMC supports importing environment variables independently.

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Step 2: Open "From Postman OR postmate..." in PMC

In the Postmate Client sidebar, click the dropdown arrow (▾) on the right side of the New Request split button.

Select "From Postman OR postmate..." from the menu.

The New Request dropdown in Postmate Client — select "From Postman OR postmate..." to begin migration.

All options in the split button:

• From cURL...
• From Swagger...
• From Postman OR postmate... ← Select this

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Step 3: Select the Collection Type

Select "Postman" as the collection type — PMC supports both its own native format and Postman's.

Available types:

• Postmate (native PMC format)
• Postman ← select this for Postman .json collections

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Step 4: Select Your Postman Collection File

A Windows file selector will open. Navigate to the .json file you exported from Postman and click Import Postman Collection.

PMC will immediately parse the file and import everything:

✅ All requests (with method, URL, headers, body)
✅ All folders and collection hierarchy
✅ All pre/post-request scripts and tests
✅ Full collection structure — exactly as it was in Postman

Import confirmation — your Postman collection is now live inside PMC.

Your collection will appear instantly in the PMC sidebar, organized exactly as it was in Postman.

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Handling Duplicate Collection Names

If a collection with the same name already exists in PMC, you'll see a confirmation prompt:

⚠️ Collection "school" already exists. Overwrite?

PMC asks before overwriting — click Yes to replace, or No to keep both.

Choice	Result
Yes	Replaces the existing collection with the newly imported one
No	Cancels the import, leaving the existing collection untouched

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API Differences: Postman → PMC

Most pm.* API calls are compatible, but a few Postman methods have direct PMC equivalents you'll want to update in your scripts:

Postman	PMC Equivalent
pm.environment.set(k, v)	pm.setVariable(k, v)
pm.environment.get(k)	pm.getVariable(k)
pm.environment.unset(k)	pm.clearVariable(k)
pm.variables.get(k)	pm.getVariable(k)
pm.response.to.have.status(n)	pm.expect(RESPONSE.status).to.equal(n)
pm.response.json()	RESPONSE.body
pm.response.code	RESPONSE.status
pm.response.responseTime	RESPONSE.responseTime
pm.response.headers.get(k)	RESPONSE.headers[k]
console.log()	pm.log()

Fast Migration Tip: Run a global find-and-replace on your exported .json file before importing — swap pm.environment.set → pm.setVariable, pm.environment.get → pm.getVariable, and console.log → pm.log in one pass.

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What Transfers Cleanly

• ✅ Request method, URL, headers, body
• ✅ Collection and folder structure
• ✅ Pre/post-request scripts (with API updates above)
• ✅ Tests using pm.test() and pm.expect()
• ✅ Environment variables (imported separately)

What Needs Manual Review

• ⚠️ pm.environment.* calls — update to pm.setVariable / pm.getVariable
• ⚠️ pm.response.* calls — update to RESPONSE.*
• ⚠️ console.log() — update to pm.log()

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Quick Reference Summary

Step	What to Do
1	Export your collection from Postman as Collection v2.1 .json
2	In PMC, click New Request ▾ → From Postman OR postmate...
3	Select Postman as the collection type
4	Browse to your .json file and confirm the import
5	If prompted about duplicates, choose Yes to overwrite or No to keep both

Learn more:

• Collection Runner
• Swagger to PMC in 3 clicks
• Data Tables
• Postmate Client Requests

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import a Postman collection into Postmate Client (PMC) without losing my folder structure?

Yes. PMC preserves the complete collection hierarchy from your Postman export — all folders, sub-folders, and requests appear in the PMC sidebar exactly as they were organized in Postman.

What Postman collection format should I export for PMC import?

Export as Collection v2.1 from Postman. This is the most widely supported format and what PMC expects when importing Postman collections.

What happens if I already have a collection with the same name in PMC?

PMC will detect the conflict and show a confirmation dialog asking if you want to overwrite the existing collection. You can choose Yes to replace it or No to cancel and keep the original.

Do I need to update my Postman scripts after importing into PMC?

Scripts using pm.environment.set(), pm.environment.get(), and console.log() need to be updated to their PMC equivalents (pm.setVariable, pm.getVariable, pm.log). The fastest approach is a global find-and-replace in the .json file before importing.

Can I also import Postmate (PMC) collections using the same flow?

Yes. In Step 3, instead of selecting Postman, choose Postmate to import a native PMC collection file.

Is Postmate Client (PMC) a free alternative to Postman?

Postmate Client (PMC) is a VS Code extension that brings API testing directly into your editor. Install directly in you vscode PMC listing on the VS Code Marketplace.