Postman MCP server

The Postman MCP Server provides access to the Postman API through the Model Context Protocol, allowing AI assistants to interact with Postman collections, environments, and APIs. This server acts as a bridge between AI models and Postman's extensive API capabilities.

Installation Options

Quick Installation via Smithery

For Claude Desktop users, the fastest installation method is using Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install postman-api-server --client claude

Manual Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed on your system

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/delano/postman-api-server.git
   cd postman-api-server
   

2. Install dependencies:

   pnpm install
   

3. Build the server:

   pnpm run build
   

4. Run in development mode:

   pnpm run watch
   

Setting Up API Keys

Before using the server, you'll need to generate and configure a Postman API key:

1. Generate your API Key

   • Visit Postman Account Settings
   • Click "Generate API Key"
   • Save the key securely - it won't be shown again

2. Configure the API Key

   • Add the key to your environment as POSTMAN_API_KEY
   • Include it in your client configuration (see below)
   • Important: Never commit API keys to version control

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

To configure Claude Desktop to use the Postman MCP server:

1. Edit the Claude configuration file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postman": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/postman-api-server/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "POSTMAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop to apply the changes

Important: Claude must be restarted to pick up API changes from the input schema when the MCP server's ToolDefinition elements change.

Cline

For Cline users, use the same configuration format in your Cline MCP Servers settings.

Debugging

Since MCP servers communicate over stdio, debugging can be challenging. The MCP Inspector tool can help:

pnpm run inspector

This will provide a URL (typically http://localhost:5173) to access debugging tools in your browser. You'll need to add your POSTMAN_API_KEY before connecting.

Available Features

Collections

• Create, retrieve, update, and delete Postman collections
• Organize requests into folders within collections
• Manage requests and responses
• Version control with fork, merge, and pull capabilities
• Add and manage comments on collections

Environments

• Create and manage environments for different setups
• Full CRUD operations for environments

APIs

• Create, retrieve, update, and delete APIs
• Manage API schemas with multi-file support
• Add and manage tags and comments for APIs

Additional Capabilities

• API Key Authentication for secure access
• Role-Based Access Control for workspaces and collections
• Manage elements within a private API network
• Create webhooks to trigger collections

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.