Postman

Postman

Postman is a great way to test the API without writing any code. This guide walks through setting up a request from scratch.

Setup

1. Download and install Postman
2. Open Postman and create a new request (+ New → HTTP)

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JSON Request

1. Set the method and URL

Set the method to POST and enter your URL:

https://staging-api.illustrata.io/api/YOUR_PRODUCT_SLUG

2. Add the Authorization header

Go to the Headers tab and add:

Key	Value
Authorization	Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type	application/json

3. Set the request body

Go to the Body tab, select raw, and choose JSON from the dropdown. Paste your inputs:

{
  "inputs": {
    "Owner_FirstName": "Valued",
    "Owner_LastName": "Owner",
    "Owner_DOB": "1980-01-01",
    "Premium": 100000,
    "State": 7
  }
}

Your administrator will provide the exact field names and values for your product.

4. Send the request

Click Send. You should see a JSON response in the panel below:

{
  "status": 200,
  "response_data": {
    "outputs": {
      "result_field": 42500
    }
  }
}

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PDF Download

To receive a PDF, add ?format=pdf to the URL:

https://staging-api.illustrata.io/api/YOUR_PRODUCT_SLUG?format=pdf

Keep the same headers and body as above. After sending:

1. In the response panel, click Save Response → Save to a file
2. Save it as illustration.pdf

---

JSON + PDF Together

To receive JSON outputs with a base64-encoded PDF embedded, add ?format=both:

https://staging-api.illustrata.io/api/YOUR_PRODUCT_SLUG?format=both

The response will include a pdf object alongside your outputs:

{
  "status": 200,
  "response_data": {
    "outputs": {
      "result_field": 42500
    }
  },
  "pdf": {
    "fileName": "illustration_2025-01-15T10-30-00.pdf",
    "data": "JVBERi0xLjQK...",
    "pageCount": 12
  }
}

To save the PDF, copy the data value and decode it from base64 using a tool like base64decode.org.

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Using Environments (Recommended)

Instead of hardcoding your credentials in every request, use a Postman Environment to store them as variables:

1. Click the Environments icon (top-right) → + Create Environment
2. Name it (e.g., Illustrata Production) and add these variables:

Variable	Value
base_url	your base URL
product_slug	your product slug
api_key	your API key

3. In your request, replace hardcoded values with {{variable_name}}:

{{base_url}}/api/{{product_slug}}

Header value:

Bearer {{api_key}}

4. Select your environment from the dropdown in the top-right corner before sending.