APIRequestContext

API reference for the Playwright APIRequestContext class for making HTTP requests.

The APIRequestContext class provides methods to make HTTP API requests independently of browser pages. It’s useful for API testing, authentication setup, and backend operations.

Creation

const request = await playwright.request.newContext({
  baseURL: 'https://api.example.com',
  extraHTTPHeaders: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer token'
  }
});

Methods

fetch

Makes an HTTP request.

const response = await request.fetch('https://api.example.com/users');
const response = await request.fetch('https://api.example.com/users', {
  method: 'POST',
  data: { name: 'John' }
});

url · string · required

Request URL. Can be relative if baseURL was set.

options.method · string

HTTP method. Defaults to ‘GET’.

options.params · Object | URLSearchParams | string

Query parameters to append to URL.

options.headers · Object

Request headers.

options.data · string | Buffer | object

Request body. Objects will be serialized to JSON.

options.form · Object | FormData

Form-encoded data. Sets content-type to application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

options.multipart · Object | FormData

Multipart form data. Sets content-type to multipart/form-data.

options.timeout · number

Request timeout in milliseconds.

options.failOnStatusCode · boolean

Whether to throw on non-2xx status codes. Defaults to false.

options.ignoreHTTPSErrors · boolean

Whether to ignore HTTPS errors. Defaults to false.

options.maxRedirects · number

Maximum number of redirects to follow. Defaults to 20.

options.maxRetries · number

Maximum number of retries. Defaults to 0.

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

get

Makes a GET request.

const response = await request.get('https://api.example.com/users');
const response = await request.get('users', {
  params: { page: 1, limit: 10 }
});

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

post

Makes a POST request.

const response = await request.post('https://api.example.com/users', {
  data: { name: 'John', email: '[e-mail]' }
});

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

put

Makes a PUT request.

const response = await request.put('https://api.example.com/users/1', {
  data: { name: 'John Doe' }
});

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

patch

Makes a PATCH request.

const response = await request.patch('https://api.example.com/users/1', {
  data: { email: '[e-mail]' }
});

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

delete

Makes a DELETE request.

const response = await request.delete('https://api.example.com/users/1');

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

head

Makes a HEAD request.

const response = await request.head('https://api.example.com/users');

url · string · required

Request URL

options · Object

Same options as fetch() except method

Returns: Promise<APIResponse>

---

storageState

Returns storage state for this context.

const state = await request.storageState();
await request.storageState({ path: 'storage.json' });

options.path · string

File path to save storage state to.

options.indexedDB · boolean

Whether to include IndexedDB data. Defaults to false.

Returns: Promise<Object>

---

dispose

Disposes the request context and closes all resources.

await request.dispose();
await request.dispose({ reason: 'Test completed' });

options.reason · string

Optional reason for disposal.

Example Usage

Create Context with Authentication

const request = await playwright.request.newContext({
  baseURL: 'https://api.example.com',
  extraHTTPHeaders: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer token123'
  }
});

Make API Request

const response = await request.get('/users');
const users = await response.json();
console.log(users);

POST with JSON Data

const response = await request.post('/users', {
  data: {
    name: 'John Doe',
    email: '[e-mail]'
  }
});

if (response.ok()) {
  const user = await response.json();
  console.log('Created user:', user);
}

Upload File

const response = await request.post('/upload', {
  multipart: {
    file: {
      name: 'image.png',
      mimeType: 'image/png',
      buffer: fs.readFileSync('image.png')
    }
  }
});

Handle Query Parameters

const response = await request.get('/search', {
  params: {
    q: 'playwright',
    page: 1,
    limit: 20
  }
});

Setup Authentication Before Tests

const request = await playwright.request.newContext();

const response = await request.post('https://api.example.com/login', {
  data: {
    username: 'user',
    password: 'pass'
  }
});

const token = (await response.json()).token;

// Use token in browser context
const context = await browser.newContext({
  extraHTTPHeaders: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`
  }
});

Save and Restore Storage State

// Save storage state
const request = await playwright.request.newContext();
await request.post('/login', { data: credentials });
await request.storageState({ path: 'auth.json' });

// Restore storage state
const request2 = await playwright.request.newContext({
  storageState: 'auth.json'
});