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How to do API testing in Boozang

In this example, we use the great json-server from Typicode to demonstrate the API testing functionality of Boozang.

Installing Typicode json server

Start by setting up an mock API by following the instructions here: https://github.com/typicode/json-server. In brief, make sure to install NodeJS and use npm to install json-server globally.

npm install -g json-server

Create an empty data file "db.json" containing some JSON data i.e.

{ "posts": [ { "id": 1, "title": "json-server", "author": "typicode" } ], "comments": [ { "id": 1, "body": "some comment", "postId": 1 } ], "profile": { "name": "typicode" } }

and start the mock API server locally

json-server --watch db.json

The server will be started on "http://localhost:3000"

Creating the API tests in Boozang

Now, go to "https://ai.boozang.com" (or https://eu.boozang.com" for Europe / Asia) and create a Boozang project called "API example" and add "http://localhost:3000" as application URL. Now to get started we want to create the module "Posts" and create the following API tests

  • Validate blog exists
  • Add post
  • Validate post
  • Delete post
  • Validate post doesn't exist

We will later tie them together using a Cucumber test.

Overview of the API tests

Here is a brief overview of the API tests and things to keep in mind.

Validate blog available

Simple validation that check if blog is up and running

Add post

Adds a post using the REST API. Here we use the parameter

{ "author": "Mats Ljunggren", "title": "A banana must rest" }

Note: Remember to send this in the body of the POST request.

Validate post exists

Here we also use the parameter, but in this case we use a GET request to fetch the post and the script section to validate the post content 

{ "author": "Mats Ljunggren", "title": "A banana must rest" }

Note how we use the parameter in the URL, and also in the validation section

vr = v[0].title===$parameter.title && v[0].author===$parameter.author; 

We also save the post ID as project-level data

$project.currentId = v[0].id;

Delete post

The delete post simply uses the post id that was saved previously and deletes it using the DELETE operation. Note: As you can see I add a validation to make sure $project.currentId is set.

Validate post doesn't exist

A simple validation that the post is no longer there. As you can see from the validation section I make sure a status code 404 are being returned.

let vr = $result.status == 404;  

The Cucumber test

Now it's time to tie it all together using a Cucumber test. By going to the Features tab from the root, I create the following feature "Posts Management", where I create the following scenario  

Scenario Outline: Add and delete 

Given I have a blog with posts 
When I add a post with <title> and <author> 
Then the post with <author> and <title> should exist 
When I delete the post with <author> and <title> 
Then the post with <author> and <title> should not exist 

Examples: 
|author|title| 
|Mats Ljunggren|Some title| 
|Wensheng Li|Some other title|

This looks the following way in Boozang

After linking all the tests appropriately the test map looks as follows:

This was a very brief overview that only scratches the surface of what can be done in Boozang for API testing. For instance, this did not cover the following capabilities:

  • Load testing
  • Automated generation of API tests from regular tests
  • Automated authorization token retrieval
  • Auto-mapping of variables

We will try to cover these topics more substantially at some point in the near future. Let us know if you have any comments or suggestions!

Thank you Mats!

Having the possibility to re-use GUI test data into API tests and mix GUI and API tests into a single scenario is very valuable.

We will use this and give you some feedback soon.

ljunggren has reacted to this post.
ljunggren

Great to hear! Let me know if you run into any issues, or if anything is unclear.

Hi Mats,

Can you please specify how to add username and password for api-key authentication?

Thank you.

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