Postman vs Swagger Codegen: What are the differences?

Introduction

Postman and Swagger Codegen are both popular tools used in API development. While both tools serve similar purposes, they have key differences that set them apart. In this Markdown code, we will explore and highlight the main differences between Postman and Swagger Codegen.

1. Architecture and Purpose: Postman is primarily used as a collaboration platform for API development. It provides features like API documentation, testing, monitoring, and sharing. On the other hand, Swagger Codegen is a code generation tool that allows developers to generate client libraries, server stubs, and API documentation from OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.

2. User Interface: Postman offers a comprehensive user interface with a visually appealing workspace. It allows users to visually create and edit APIs, set up environments, and execute requests. Swagger Codegen, on the other hand, is a command-line tool that operates through the terminal, making it more suitable for developers comfortable with command-line interfaces.

3. API Design and Collaboration: Postman provides a user-friendly interface for designing APIs and collaborating with team members. It allows users to create collections, define endpoints, and set up parameters and headers easily. Swagger Codegen, on the other hand, focuses more on generating code from existing API specifications and may require additional tools for collaborative API design.

4. Code Generation: Swagger Codegen excels at generating code based on OpenAPI/Swagger specifications. It supports multiple programming languages and can generate client libraries and server stubs, reducing development time. Postman, while offering code snippets for various languages, is not primarily focused on code generation.

5. Testing and Automation: Postman provides extensive testing capabilities with features like assertions, test scripts, and automated test runs. It enables developers to validate API responses and test different scenarios easily. Swagger Codegen, being primarily a code generation tool, does not offer in-built testing features like Postman.

6. Integration with Development Workflow: Postman integrates well with various development workflows and can be seamlessly integrated with popular tools like Git, Jenkins, and CI/CD pipelines. It allows developers to incorporate API testing and monitoring into their existing workflows. Swagger Codegen, being a code generation tool, may require additional steps for integration into development workflows.

In summary, Postman is a versatile collaboration platform that focuses on API design, documentation, and testing, while Swagger Codegen is primarily used for code generation from OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.