Scripts & Automation

Full scripting engine with pre-request and test scripts, Postman-compatible vx/pm API, assertions, variable manipulation, and console output.

Pre-Request Scripts

Scripts that run before the request is sent. Written in JavaScript with a dedicated code editor (syntax highlighting, line numbers, gutter). Use them to:

Set dynamic headers or parameters
Generate timestamps, UUIDs, or random values
Log debug information to the console
Conditionally modify the request

Test / Post-Response Scripts

Scripts that run after the response is received. Use them to:

Extract values from the response and save as cluster variables
Validate response status codes, headers, and body structure
Chain requests by passing data between them via variables
Run assertions — results appear in the Tests tab of the response viewer

The `vx` API Reference

VortexHQ provides a global vx object in all scripts:

Response Access

vx.response.code       // HTTP status code (number)
vx.response.status     // Same as .code
vx.response.headers    // Response headers (object)
vx.response.responseTime  // Time in ms
vx.response.responseSize  // Size in bytes
vx.response.text()     // Raw response body (string)
vx.response.json()     // Parsed JSON body (object)

Response Assertions (Chainable)

// Status assertion
vx.response.to.have.status(200);

// Header assertions
vx.response.to.have.header('Content-Type');
vx.response.to.have.header('Content-Type', 'application/json');

// Body assertions (dot-path)
vx.response.to.have.jsonBody('data.id');
vx.response.to.have.jsonBody('data.name', 'John');

Cluster Variables

// Set a variable (persisted to the cluster)
vx.clusterVariables.set('userId', body.data.id);

// Get a variable
const token = vx.clusterVariables.get('api_token');

// Remove a variable
vx.clusterVariables.unset('temp_value');

// Alias — vx.variables works the same way
vx.variables.set('key', 'value');
vx.variables.get('key');

Test Runner

vx.test('Status is 200', () => {
    vx.expect(vx.response.code).toBe(200);
});

vx.test('Has user data', () => {
    const body = vx.response.json();
    vx.expect(body.data).toBeDefined();
    vx.expect(body.data.name).toBeType('string');
});

Each vx.test() block is tracked as pass/fail. Results appear in the Tests tab of the Response Viewer.

Expect Chain (Full Reference)

The vx.expect(value) function returns a chainable assertion object:

Assertion	Description
`.toBe(expected)`	Strict equality (`===`)
`.toEqual(expected)`	Same as `.toBe()`
`.toBeDefined()`	Value is not `undefined`
`.toBeType(type)`	Checks `typeof` (e.g., `'string'`, `'number'`, `'object'`)
`.to.be.a(type)`	Same as `.toBeType()`
`.to.equal(expected)`	Strict equality
`.to.include(value)`	String includes or array contains
`.to.have.property(key)`	Object has the given key
`.to.not.*`	Negates any assertion (e.g., `.to.not.be.undefined`)

Postman Compatibility

VortexHQ provides a pm alias for seamless migration from Postman:

// These work identically to their vx counterparts
pm.response.code;
pm.response.json();
pm.collectionVariables.set('key', 'value');
pm.collectionVariables.get('key');
pm.test('name', fn);
pm.expect(value).to.equal(expected);

When importing a Postman collection, all pm.* calls in scripts are automatically converted to vx.* equivalents.

Console Output

Use console.log() in scripts — output appears in the response console panel. Useful for debugging variable values and response data.

Script Execution

Scripts are executed in a sandboxed environment via new Function(). The vx (and pm) objects, console, and setTimeout/setInterval are available as globals. Scripts have access to the current request’s resolved variables.