Technical Documentation: Postman (API Tester)

Architecture

The Postman screen is a self-contained "HTTP Workbench" built into the Flutter app. It uses the Dio or Http packages to perform authenticated network operations.

Technical Details

• File Path: lib/screens/postman_screen.dart
• Component Core: Relies on the PostmanProvider for managing the active request state and history.

Functional Components

• Request Builder:
  • Method Selector: Dropdown for HTTP Verbs.
  • Headers Editor: Key-Value pair list for authentication and metadata.
  • Body Editor: A syntax-highlighted editor for JSON payloads.
• History Engine: Persists the last 50 requests in local storage, allowing for quick recovery and re-execution.
• JSON Renderer: Uses the same deep-viewing engine as the "ROS Topics" explorer to prettify and search through API responses.

Security Controls

• Admin Only: This screen is automatically hidden for non-admin users to prevent unauthorized API manipulation.
• Auth Proxy: Automatically injects the active user's JWT token into requests targeting the local robot_host to ensure developers don't have to manually manage authentication headers.

Developer Utilities

• CURL Export: One-click button to convert the current UI request into a standard curl command for use in external scripts or terminals.
• Status Highlighting: Color-coded markers for response statuses (e.g., 200 OK = Green, 500 Error = Red).