JavaScript API Reference

The JavaScript test step runs scripts in the Google V8 engine and exposes three sandbox objects — aethrix, pm, and insomnia. This page documents the complete API surface of each, as implemented in the runtime.

aethrix (Native)

aethrix — Native Aethrix API

The primary API for writing assertions and accessing test context. Prefer this for all new scripts.

aethrix.request

Information about the preceding Send Request step.

Property	Type	Description
url	string | null	The request URL
method	string	The HTTP method (e.g. GET, POST); empty when unavailable

aethrix.response

The response from the preceding Send Request step.

Property / Method	Returns	Description
code	number	HTTP status code (0 if no response)
status	string	HTTP reason phrase
ok	boolean	true if status is 2xx
body	string	Raw response body
text()	string	Raw response body
json()	object | null	Parsed JSON body (via JSON.parse)
headers()	object	Response headers as a key/value dictionary

aethrix.assert.*

Response-targeted and general-purpose assertion methods. All throw an exception on failure, caught by aethrix.check().

assertFor(step)

Creates an assertion helper bound to a specific Send Request step's response instead of the automatically-found preceding step. Useful when the script targets a step that isn't the immediate predecessor.

var sendStep = testStep.findSendStepByName("Get user");
var assert = aethrix.assertFor(sendStep);
assert.statusCode(200);
assert.jsonPath("$.data.name");

testStep.findSendStepByName(name, testCaseName?, testSuiteName?) searches the current test case for a Send Request step by name; pass testCaseName and/or testSuiteName to search another test case or an entire suite.

Response Assertions

Method	Parameters	Description
statusCode(code)	code: number | string	Check HTTP status. Exact: 200, 404. Range: "2xx", "4xx", "5xx"
header(name)	name: string	Check a response header exists
header(name, value)	name: string, value: string	Check a response header equals a value
header(name, value, cm)	name: string, value: string, cm: string	Check with compare mode
jsonPath(path)	path: string	Check a JSON path exists in the response body
jsonPath(path, expected)	path: string, expected: any	Check a JSON path equals a value
jsonPath(path, expected, cm)	path: string, expected: any, cm: string	Check with compare mode
bodyContains(text)	text: string	Check the response body contains text
bodyContains(text, cm)	text: string, cm: string	Check with compare mode

General Assertions

Method	Parameters	Description
equal(actual, expected)	actual: any, expected: any	Check two values are equal
equal(actual, expected, cm)	actual: any, expected: any, cm: string	Check with compare mode
contains(text, substring)	text: string, substring: string	Check text contains a substring
contains(text, substring, cm)	text: string, substring: string, cm: string	Check with compare mode

Compare Modes (cm)

Value	Behavior
"binary" (default)	Case-sensitive, exact comparison
"caseinsensitive"	Case-insensitive and accent-insensitive
"loose"	Case-insensitive, ignores whitespace, letters/digits/symbols only
"regex"	Regular expression match, case-sensitive
"regexignorecase"	Regular expression match, case-insensitive

aethrix.assert.not.*

All assertion methods are also available negated via .not:

aethrix.assert.not.statusCode(500);
aethrix.assert.not.header("X-Error");
aethrix.assert.not.jsonPath("$.error");
aethrix.assert.not.bodyContains("error");
aethrix.assert.not.equal(actual, "bad value");
aethrix.assert.not.contains(text, "forbidden");

not supports statusCode, header, jsonPath, bodyContains, equal, and contains.

aethrix.check(name, fn)

Groups assertions into a named check. Failures are reported with the check name.

aethrix.check("Response validation", () => {
    aethrix.assert.statusCode(200);
    aethrix.assert.jsonPath("$.data.token");
});

Passes appear as ✓ Response validation in diagnostics; failures as ✗ Response validation: reason.

aethrix.variables

Read/write Aethrix test variables across scopes.

Method	Description
get(name): string | null	Read a variable (searches local → test case → suite → project)
set(name, value)	Write a variable to the step's local scope
has(name): boolean	Check if a variable exists in any scope

var userId = aethrix.variables.get("UserId");
aethrix.variables.set("generatedEmail", "test@example.com");
if (aethrix.variables.has("token")) { /* ... */ }

aethrix.environment

Read/write the project's current test environment variables.

Method	Description
get(name): string | null	Read an environment variable
set(name, value)	Write an environment variable
has(name): boolean	Check if an environment variable exists

aethrix Diagnostics

Method / Property	Description
info(message)	Add a diagnostic message to the test report
warn(message)	Add a [WARN]-prefixed diagnostic message
progress (get/set)	Script progress indicator, clamped to 0.0–1.0

aethrix.info("Processing items...");
aethrix.warn("Unexpected empty list");
aethrix.progress = 0.75;

pm (Postman)

pm — Postman Compatibility API

A minimal Postman-compatible API surface for running imported Postman test scripts verbatim. This is a compatibility layer — prefer aethrix.* for new scripts.

pm.test(name, fn)

Runs a function as a named test. If the function throws, the test is marked failed.

pm.test("Status code is 200", () => {
    pm.expect(pm.response.code).to.equal(200);
});

pm.expect(value)

Returns a chainable PmExpect assertion builder. Throws on failure (caught by pm.test()).

Chain Properties (identity — return this)

Property	Description
to	Identity
be	Identity
and	Identity

Assertion Methods

Method	Description
equal(expected)	String equality comparison
eql(expected)	Alias for equal
include(substring)	Check value contains substring
a(type)	Type check: "string", "number", "null", "object"
above(n)	Numeric: value > n
below(n)	Numeric: value < n
oneOf(values)	Check value is in an array

Negation

Property	Returns	Description
not	PmExpectNot	Negated chain with equal and include

pm.expect(200).not.to.equal(404);
pm.expect("hello").not.to.include("error");

pm.response

Response from the preceding Send Request step.

Property / Method	Returns	Description
code	number	HTTP status code
status	string	HTTP reason phrase
ok	boolean	true if 2xx
text()	string	Raw response body
json()	object | null	Parsed JSON body
to.have.status(code)	boolean	Check status code
to.have.header(name)	boolean	Check header exists

pm.environment

Read/write environment variables with get/set/has/unset. Mutations are flushed back to the Aethrix environment after script execution.

pm.environment.set("token", responseJson.token);
var baseUrl = pm.environment.get("BaseUrl");
pm.environment.unset("temp");

pm.globals

Read/write global variables (mapped to Aethrix test parameters).

pm.globals.set("runCount", "1");
var count = pm.globals.get("runCount");
pm.globals.unset("runCount");

pm.variables

Read-only access to test parameters.

var param = pm.variables.get("paramName");
var exists = pm.variables.has("paramName");

Supported vs Unsupported Postman API

Postman API	Status
pm.test(), pm.expect()	Supported
pm.response.*	Supported (subset)
pm.environment.*	Supported (incl. unset)
pm.globals.*	Supported (incl. unset)
pm.variables.*	Supported (read-only)
pm.request.*	Not supported
pm.collectionVariables.*	Mapped to pm.environment
pm.sendRequest()	Not supported
pm.info, pm.cookies	Not supported
pm.visualizer	Not supported

insomnia (Insomnia)

insomnia — Insomnia Compatibility API

A minimal Insomnia-compatible API surface for running imported Insomnia test scripts verbatim. This is a compatibility layer — prefer aethrix.* for new scripts.

insomnia.response

Response from the preceding Send Request step.

Property / Method	Returns	Description
code	number	HTTP status code
status	string	HTTP reason phrase
text()	string	Raw response body
json()	object | null	Parsed JSON body
headers()	object	Response headers as key/value dictionary

var body = insomnia.response.text();
var json = insomnia.response.json();
var code = insomnia.response.code;
var contentType = insomnia.response.headers()["Content-Type"];

insomnia.environment

Read/write environment variables directly to the Aethrix test environment.

Method	Description
get(name)	Read an environment variable
set(name, value)	Write an environment variable
has(name)	Check if an environment variable exists

insomnia.environment.set("authToken", json.access_token);
var url = insomnia.environment.get("baseUrl");

Supported vs Unsupported Insomnia API

Insomnia API	Status
insomnia.response.*	Supported (subset)
insomnia.environment.*	Supported
insomnia.request.*	Not supported
insomnia.test()	Not supported (use pm.test() or aethrix.check())
insomnia.expect()	Not supported (use aethrix.assert.*)
insomnia.sendRequest()	Not supported
insomnia.globals	Not supported
insomnia.collectionVariables	Not supported

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Other exposed globals

In addition to aethrix, pm, and insomnia, the script engine also exposes:

Global	Description
testParameters	The test parameters collection for the run
testStep	The current JavaScript test step object — provides findSendStepByName(name, testCaseName?, testSuiteName?)
project	The containing automation project (when available)
host	ClearScript host functions
console	Postman-style console.log/info/warn/error routed to step diagnostics
Console	The .NET Console type for debugging output

Execution Pass/Fail

After the script runs, the step result is determined by this logic (following the "no error = pass" convention):

Priority	Condition	Result
1	Any pm.test() executed and at least one failed	Failure
2	Any aethrix.check() executed and at least one failed	Failure
3	Script returns true	Success
4	Script returns "OK"	Success
5	All pm.test() executed passed (and at least one ran)	Success
6	All aethrix.check() executed passed (and at least one ran)	Success
7	Script returns false (and no assertions ran)	Failure
8	None of the above (e.g. no assertions, no recognized return)	Success

If both Postman and Aethrix assertions are used in the same script, a failure in either framework fails the step. Thrown exceptions (including syntax errors) fail the step and report the error location.

See Also

• JavaScript Test Step →
• Importing Postman & Insomnia Collections →
• C# Script Step →