Explore
Explore is the browser-side surface for trying, debugging, and running APIs. It feels closer to a shared API workbench than to a repo test suite.
It is the non-developer path into the same API model developers use in code. An Explore collection is the home for saved requests, low-code flows, and code tests. The webapp Agent can help build and edit those pieces, while Environments, Data, Files, and Library modules provide the inputs they consume.
Use Explore when the question starts with “what happens if I call this?” rather than “what source truth should the repo commit?”
A typical Explore loop
- Pick the active Environment, Server, and Auth preset.
- Send a saved request, run a flow, or run a collection code test from the browser.
- Validate the response against a synced Specification or designed API schema when one exists.
- Save useful requests and flows into a collection.
- Ask the webapp Agent to explain failures, suggest missing cases, or turn a useful experiment into a source-side contract or test idea.
What belongs here
- saved requests
- multi-step flows
- response validation against Specifications or APIs
- authenticated browser-side sends through the Chrome extension when needed
- code tests that belong to an Explore collection
- reusable shared modules from Library & Resources
Request, Flow, Code Test
An Explore collection contains three kinds of work:
| Kind | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Request | A saved HTTP request with method, URL, params, headers, body, server/auth/env context, and response inspection. |
| Flow | A low-code multi-step path built from requests, validation, branching/debugging, and reusable inputs. |
| Code test | Browser-side TypeScript for cases where raw code is clearer than the flow editor. |
These are webapp-side assets. They help people investigate and collaborate
quickly, but they do not replace the repo’s durable contracts, workflows,
test() checks, browser checks, or load plans.
How it relates to contracts
Contracts are the durable source of truth. Explore is the fastest browser-side place to inspect, reproduce, and discuss behavior.
When an Explore request becomes important enough to protect, promote it back to
the IDE/source plane as a contract.http.with(), contract.browser.with(),
workflow(), or test(). After that, local and CI runs can upload evidence to
Targets, and the same behavior appears in Specifications.
Current boundary
Explore can already send requests, run flows, and work with collection code tests. The long-term goal is for Explore results to feed Targets as first-class evidence, the same way local and CI uploads do. Until then, treat Explore as an interactive investigation and authoring surface, not the canonical replacement for committed contracts.