Start Using the AerisWeather API With Postman Today

Postman is a collaboration tool designed to help you explore, design, and test APIs. AerisWeather now includes a GitHub repository with the necessary Postman files to get you up and running with common queries. For the more experienced Postman users, feel free to jump right into the repository.

What You Need

• Access to Postman via web or desktop app. We recommend using v2.1 or later.
• An AerisWeather account with your client id and client secret.

Importing and Configuring Variables

Clone the aerisweather/aeriswx-postman repo from GitHub:

Within Postman, select the Import option. Please note, the web based application looks slightly different, but the import button is in the same area.

Import the ./AerisWeather_API.postman_collection.json file from your local project directory. Next, we will need to import the environment. Use the Manage Environments button to import a new environment. Please note, the web application will use the previously mentioned import button.

Import the ./AerisWeather_API.postman_environment.json file and select the environment. Now we need to add a CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, and location variable. The env variable is already setup to hit the AerisWeather API service directly. There is no need to change this value unless you want to use a proxy server or CDN to route your requests to AerisWeather. Verify the AerisWeather_API environment is selected within the Postman application and you’re ready to go!

Request Details

Each request contains a description of what that request will provide, along with a link to the official documentation for that endpoint. The collection also contains a batch request. Batch requests can be helpful when you want to generate a single query to get all your weather data needs. However, the batch feature is not intended to reduce the number of API hits as it pertains to your daily limit.

Of these requests, we explore the following endpoints:

• forecasts
• conditions
• conditions/summary
• airquality
• airquality/forecasts
• phrases/summary
• alerts
• tropicalcyclones
• lightning

Each endpoint has unique features that can be explored further by diving into the official documentation.

Getting the Most Out of Postman

The Pre-request Script is a unique feature that allows you to run JavaScript prior to making a request. This can be utilized to perform any pre-processing that is required before you make a request. Postman also offers code snippets in a variety of languages. Once you’ve nailed down the exact request you’ll be making, select the Code option. The Generate Code Snippets menu will display with several options for adding this query to another application. For more information about making the most out of your Postman experience, check out their Learning Center docs.

Looking Forward

Have you found a unique way to use the AerisWeather API? We’d love to see your use case for weather data. Contribute to the aerisweather/aeriswx-postman repository and share your ideas with the world!

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