Environments and variables

An environment gives reusable values to a set of requests. Keep the request as {{baseUrl}}/orders/{{orderId}} and change the selected environment when you need another endpoint or account.

Create and select an environment

Open the environments for your space, add an environment and give it a clear name, such as Development. Add a row for each value: baseUrl, orderId or accessToken, for example. The environments editor saves changes automatically.

Select the active environment in the top bar before sending. This global picker lists environments across the current organization and applies the choice to open request tabs. The editor and sidebar still group environments by space. Check the choice after switching workspaces or opening an imported collection.

Reference a variable

Use double braces in URLs, query parameters, headers, authentication settings and text bodies:

{{baseUrl}}/orders/{{orderId}}
Authorization: Bearer {{accessToken}}

Autocomplete suggests names, and the URL editor highlights known and unresolved references. If a name does not resolve, check its spelling, the selected environment and whether it has a value. An unresolved reference can remain in the outgoing request.

Scripts can read and change values through pm.environment and pm.variables. A collection run can also read CSV columns or JSON properties through pm.iterationData. Iteration data takes precedence over a same-named value from the environment. See automation and testing for examples.

Store a secret

Mark a value as secret when it contains a password, token or key. Echo protects secret values in its encrypted storage and masks them in the editor. A request that uses a secret still sends it to the endpoint you chose, so confirm the destination before sending.

Secret values are excluded from linked-folder exports. Supply them separately on another machine instead of committing them to Git. Review other text fields and exported files too; marking one variable as secret does not make unrelated pasted content secret.

Resolve an Azure Key Vault reference

Choose the Key Vault reference kind and enter a secret URI, for example:

https://your-vault.vault.azure.net/secrets/api-token

A version can be appended to pin a particular secret version. Use the test action to check access. The device needs an Azure identity with permission to read that secret; signing in to Gapfy does not grant vault access.

Echo saves and syncs the reference, then resolves its value for execution. The value stays in memory for the configured cache period, five minutes by default. Advanced settings let you change that period or forget Azure credentials. If access is denied, the secret is missing or sign-in fails, resolve that problem before running the request.

Generate test values

Dynamic variables need no environment row. Useful examples include {{$guid}}, {{$randomUUID}}, {{$timestamp}}, {{$isoTimestamp}}, {{$randomInt}}, {{$randomBoolean}} and {{$randomEmail}}. The suggestions also include names, cities, countries, phone numbers, URLs, IP addresses, words, prices and company names.

Use these when fresh sample data is useful. For fixed, repeatable input, load a CSV or JSON data file in the collection runner.

Use an environment with desktop mocks

The environment's mock option provides a managed mock base URL for the space. Use the variable offered by Echo rather than inventing an address. Desktop mocks answer requests inside Echo and do not open a listener that another application can call. See public mock hosting when you need a shared HTTP URL.

Compare responses

Enable compare mode on a request and select up to four environments. Send it once to run the selected variants in parallel. The response panels can scroll together, and the structural JSON diff identifies added, removed and changed values.

Each panel is a real execution. A POST, PATCH or DELETE can change data in every selected environment. Choose suitable test records before sending. Compare mode helps investigate differences; it does not prove that every operation behaves the same.

Continue with collections and sharing or import and export.