API Testing
Testing APIs to ensure they function correctly, handle errors gracefully, perform adequately, and are secure.
In-Depth Explanation
API testing validates that APIs work correctly, handle edge cases, perform acceptably, and are secure. It's faster and more stable than UI testing, making it ideal for CI/CD pipelines.
Testing types:
- Functional: Correct responses for valid requests
- Validation: Input validation, error handling
- Integration: API interactions with other systems
- Performance: Response times, throughput
- Security: Authentication, authorisation, injection
Key test scenarios:
- Happy path (valid inputs → expected outputs)
- Invalid inputs (validation errors)
- Authentication/authorisation failures
- Edge cases (empty, null, maximum values)
- Error conditions (timeouts, failures)
Testing tools:
- Postman (manual and automated)
- REST Assured (Java)
- pytest + requests (Python)
- Jest/Supertest (JavaScript)
- k6, JMeter (performance)
Business Context
API testing catches issues early, before they affect users, and enables confident deployments with automated test suites.
How Clever Ops Uses This
We build comprehensive API test suites for Australian businesses, ensuring reliable APIs through automated testing in CI/CD pipelines.
Example Use Case
"An automated test suite validating all API endpoints: authentication flows, CRUD operations, error responses, and performance benchmarks - running on every commit."