How to Effortlessly Install Postman on Ubuntu? [2023 Guide]

What is Postman?

Postman is a powerful, widely-used API (Application Programming Interface) testing and development tool. It simplifies the process of creating, testing and sharing API requests and responses. With Postman, developers can easily collaborate on API projects, automate testing, and streamline documentation. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to install Postman on Ubuntu.

Prerequisites for Installing Postman

Before installing Postman, ensure that your Ubuntu system meets the following requirements:

• Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) or later
• A stable internet connection
• Sudo privileges for the user account

Installation Methods

There are two primary methods for installing Postman on Ubuntu:

1. Using the Snap package
2. Via the official Postman repository

Using the Snap Package

Snap is an all-in-one package manager for Linux distributions, including Ubuntu. It provides an easy way to install and manage software packages. To install Postman using Snap, follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “terminal” in the application launcher.
2. Update the package list and install snapd:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd

3. Install Postman with the following command:

sudo snap install postman

Via Official Postman Repository

Alternatively, you can install Postman through the official Postman repository. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “terminal” in the application launcher.
2. Install the required dependencies:

sudo apt install wget apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common

3. Download and add the GPG key for the official Postman repository:

wget -qO - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -

4. Add the Postman repository to your system:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main"

Finally: Update the package list and install Postman:

Postman is now installed on your Ubuntu system.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postman

Launching Postman

To launch Postman, follow these steps:

1. Open the application launcher by pressing the Super key or clicking the “Show Applications” icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2. Search for “Postman” in the search bar and click on the Postman icon to launch the application.

Alternatively, you can run the following command in the terminal:

postman

Update Postman on Ubuntu

To update Postman on Ubuntu, you can follow these steps:

1. First, open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or searching for “Terminal” in the application menu.
2. If you have installed Postman using Snap, you can update it with the following command:

sudo snap refresh postman

Snap will automatically check for updates and install the latest version of Postman.

3. If you have installed Postman using the native package (AppImage or tar.gz), you can download the latest version from the official website and replace your existing installation:

• Go to the official Postman download page
• Download the appropriate package for Ubuntu (AppImage or tar.gz).
• Locate the downloaded file in your file manager and extract it if it’s a tar.gz archive.
• Remove or rename the old Postman installation directory or AppImage file.
• Move the new Postman directory or AppImage file to the desired location (e.g., /opt or your home folder).
• If you had a desktop entry for Postman, update the path to the new executable.

4. After updating Postman, you can launch it by either double-clicking the AppImage file or running the executable inside the extracted directory.

Remember to always back up your Postman data before updating to ensure you don’t lose any important information. You can do this by exporting your collections, environments, and other data from the Postman application.

Uninstalling Postman on Ubuntu

To uninstall Postman on Ubuntu, follow the instructions according to the installation method you used:

1. If you installed Postman using Snap:

Open a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or searching for “Terminal” in the application menu, and then run the following command:

sudo snap remove postman

2. If you installed Postman using the native package (AppImage or tar.gz):

• Locate the Postman directory or AppImage file in your file manager (e.g., /opt or your home folder) and delete it.
• Remove any shortcuts or desktop entries that you may have created for Postman. If you created a desktop entry in /usr/share/applications or ~/.local/share/applications, delete the corresponding .desktop file.

3. To remove Postman configuration files and data stored in your home directory, run the following commands in the terminal:

rm -rf ~/.config/Postman
rm -rf ~/.cache/Postman

Please note that this will delete all your Postman settings, workspaces, and collections. Make sure to back up any important data before proceeding with the removal.

After following these steps, Postman should be uninstalled from your Ubuntu system.

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