Tools for Testing REST API

There are a couple of tools that I found are very useful when testing Glue and Field REST API calls. As I think it's not just for me and anybody who is using REST API would benefit, I’m going to give a quick summary here. The ones that I'm currently using actively are:

• Postman: https://www.getpostman.com/
• Fiddler: http://www.telerik.com/fiddler
• Online Jason Viewer: http://jsonviewer.stack.hu/

Postman is a HTTP client tool for testing web services calls. It has a very intuitive UI and anybody who has a basic understanding of REST API can instantly make use of it to put together necessary REST request parameters and test them. It also keeps track of what you have already typed, and allows to make a collection to reuse. You can download from chrome web store. You can find a list of features including recording and documentation from the Postman site. There is also a good review on programmable web site, which summarizes the feature nicely. Below shows a sample image from Postman UI. 

 
A sample image from Postman UI. You can simply specify URL, method and parameters to make a REST call. A response can be formatted for easy viewing.

   

Another useful tool is Fiddler. Fiddler can capture HTTP and HTTPS traffic and log them, allowing developers to inspect or “snoop” into activities, which normally happen behind scenes. This tool can be very handy for troubleshooting your web or internet related issues. For example, when a situation like your company’s firewall is prohibiting to access certain website happens, you may be able to spot by reading the activities reported in a log. You can also read request and response in raw, JSON and xml format. Before I encounter Postman, I was using this extensively to read a REST response, too. 

A sample image of Fiddler UI. Fiddler is a powerful tool to examine HTTP(S) traffic. 

The 3^rd one, Online JSON Viewer, as name suggest, is a handy online JSON viewer. While Postman and Fiddler can handle formatting a REST response directly on their tools, if you simply want to validate a JSON string, this tool gets handy. I use this, for example, when composing a JSON string, and comparing the format of strings between what I see against what a developer sends me to troubleshoot.  

A sample image from Online JSON Viewer UI. A handy online tool to convert a JSON string in more human friendly format.  

All of those tools are free. Yet, they may make your life with REST API a bit easier.   

Mikako