To hit an API endpoint and see the response, you need to specify the URL and other request attributes like method, query parameters, body and headers.
Prequisites
- You need to either use the Requestly Desktop application or install the Requestly extension in the browser to use the API client. (Get installation link)
Steps
- Click API Client link in the left sidebar of the Requestly application.
- Select the request method from dropdown. GET should be selected by default.
- Enter the URL in the input box next to request method dropdown.
- Enter the fields like query parameters, body and headers under the URL.
- Click Send button next to URL.
In the section below the API request fields, you would find all the details of the received response.
Page structure
Let's try to understand each part of the API Client editor.
- On left hand side, we see a history of all API requests triggered so far.
- On right hand side, we have two sections. The top section is for Request attributes and the bottom section is for Response attributes.
Request section
In the Request section, you may select the HTTP method, enter the URL, enter query parameters, define body and specify headers to send in the request.
Select method and enter URL
Select the appropriate HTTP method for the request from the dropdown and enter the URL.
Enter query parameters
In the Query Params tab, you may enter query parameters to send in the request as key-value pairs.
These query parameters will be appended to the entered URL to obtain the final URL used to trigger the request.
For example, if the endpoint URL is https://example.com/api and query parameters are:
- uid = 123
- env = stage
The final request URL will be: https://example.com/api?uid=123&env=stage
Define request body
You may define a request body if the HTTP method is selected as anything other than GET or HEAD.
In the Body tab, you may select one of the 3 options to specify the content type - Raw, JSON or Form.
Enter Raw body
Select Raw option, if you want to send the request body as plain text. Enter the content in the text box.
A header content-type = text/plain will automatically be added in the request. However, you may edit it in Headers tab.
Enter JSON body
Select JSON option, if you want to send a JSON in the request body. Enter the JSON content in the text box.
You may also click Beautify button on the right to format the entered JSON.
A header content-type = application/json will automatically be added in the request. However, you may edit it in Headers tab.
Enter Form data
Select Form option, if you want to send form data in the request body. Enter the form data as key-value pairs.
A header content-type = application/x-www-form-urlencoded will automatically be added in the request. However, you may edit it in Headers tab.
Enter request headers
In the Headers tab, you may enter the headers to send in the request as key-value pairs.
Response section
In the Response section, you may find details like response body, response headers, status code, response time, and the redirected URL.
View response body
The first tab in the Response section shows the response body.
By default, it shows the preview of the response body, but you may also view the raw form of the response body by clicking Raw switch button in Response body tab.
The preview is supported only for response types - text, JSON, HTML and image.
View response headers
Switch to Headers tab in the Response section to view all the response headers.
View response status, time and other information
On the right hand side of the Response section, information like status code, response time and the redirected URL are displayed.
NOTE The API client currently works in the cookie-less mode, i.e., no cookie is sent in the request or set by the response.