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Core Concepts
Boomerang streamlines API testing through a thoughtfully organized structure of Projects, Services, Collections, Variables, and Scripts. Whether you're testing REST endpoints, working with SOAP services, or automating complex API workflows, understanding these core concepts will help you harness Boomerang's full capabilities. This guide walks you through each concept and shows how they work together to create efficient API testing workflows.
Projects
A Project in Boomerang serves as your dedicated workspace for organizing API testing efforts. When you first launch Boomerang, it automatically creates a default project where you can begin testing immediately. As your testing needs expand, you can create additional projects to maintain clear separation between different API testing initiatives.
Creating a new project is straightforward - simply click the project dropdown menu at the top of the interface and select "Create Project." Enter a name for your workspace, and you're ready to start organizing your API tests.
Projects in Boomerang are stored locally in your browser's storage. We recommend regularly exporting your projects to maintain backups and share them with team members when needed. You can export a project using the export feature in the project menu, and team members can then import it into their own Boomerang instance.
Services
Services represent your API definitions within Boomerang. When you import service definitions such as WSDL for SOAP services or OpenAPI/Swagger for REST APIs, they appear in the Services tab. Each service contains operations that map to different API endpoints.
The service definition provides Boomerang with crucial information about your API's structure, including:
- Available endpoints and their HTTP methods
- Expected request and response formats
- Authentication requirements
- Parameter definitions
Double-clicking any operation automatically creates a request with default values based on the service definition.
Related Guides
Collections
Collections help you organize and manage your API requests effectively. Whether you create requests directly or generate them from imported Services, Boomerang automatically saves them in collections for easy access and organization.
Collections support hierarchical organization through folders, allowing you to group related requests together. You can import existing collections from Postman or other Boomerang exports, making it easy to migrate your existing API testing setup.
The Collection Runner enables you to execute sequences of requests, perfect for testing complex workflows or running data-driven tests.
Learn More
Dive deeper into collections with our Collection Runner Guide
Environment Variables
Environment Variables enable you to store and reuse values across your requests, making it easy to switch between different environments (Development, Staging, Production) without modifying individual requests.
Variables are referenced using double curly braces (e.g., {{variableName}}) and can be used throughout your requests, including:
- URLs
- Headers
- Query parameters
- Request bodies
- Scripts
The environment selector in the top right corner allows you to quickly switch between environments, while the environment editor lets you manage variables for each environment.
WARNING
Variable names are case-sensitive, so {{userId}} and {{UserID}} are treated as different variables.
Related Documentation
Learn more about working with variables in our comprehensive Variables Guide
Scripting
Boomerang's scripting capabilities allow you to automate your testing workflow through pre-request and post-response scripts. Scripts can prepare data before sending requests, validate responses, extract information, and create global variables for use across your testing suite.
Pre-request scripts run before sending a request, perfect for:
- Generating dynamic data
- Setting up test conditions
- Preparing request parameters
Post-response scripts execute after receiving a response, enabling you to:
- Validate response data
- Extract information for subsequent requests
- Perform complex assertions
- Capture specific data points for reporting
Scripting Resources
Scripts are a powerful tool for creating sophisticated API tests. They support the full JavaScript ecosystem and include built-in assertion libraries for comprehensive response validation.