HTTP Task

Use the HTTP task to test APIs that form part of your system architecture.

This involves defining an API endpoint, the method, any relevant body data, headers, query parameters, or authentication required for your API.

When making a request, you can make checks on the response data. Below outlines what you are able to test in regards to the response.

Check Source	Description
Status Code	The HTTP response status, e.g. 200
JSON Body	The response body parsed as JSON
Headers	The response headers (array of key/value pairs)
Response Time	The response time in ms
Response Size	The response size in bytes

Creating an HTTP Task

When inside the editor for a new scenario, select the Scenario Start button and select HTTP Request.

Method & URL

Give the task an appropriate name, then add the URL and method for your HTTP request.

Supported methods:

• GET
• POST
• DELETE
• HEAD
• PUT
• PATCH
• OPTIONS

tip

Pro Tip! If your URL contains query parameters, you can use the Parse query params option to extract the key/value pairs into the query params module.

Body

There are multiple options for appending body content to your request. Depending on the format selected, this will update the Content-Type request header.

Raw

Format your input using the below options:

• JSON
• Text
• HTML
• XML

Form (URL Encoded)

This allows you to input a list of key/value pairs to be appended to your request.

Query Parameters

Expand the query parameters section to add query parameters to your request.

info

You have flexibility to add query parameters automatically in the URL, or use the dedicated module to add them in a structured way.

Headers

Add HTTP header key/value pairs to append to your request.

For example:

• Accept: */*
• Content-Type: application/vnd.kafka.json.v2+json

Authentication

There are multiple options for adding authentication to your HTTP request.

Basic Auth

Add the username and optional password in the provided inputs.

Bearer Token

Add the token in the provided input.

Custom

If your API utilizes a custom authentication header, you can use this option to append it to your request.

Previewing Requests

Before saving your HTTP task, use the Preview button to see if your request is constructed correctly.

It also gives you a chance to preview the response data, which is useful when adding checks.

It will demonstrate the structure of any response data, and give an indication on the status code, response time, and response size.

Combining HTTP & Kafka

It's not uncommon to use a RESTful interface to interact with an Apache Kafka cluster.

In Conduktor Testing, It's possible to chain together HTTP and Kafka tasks. This enables you to cover end-to-end scenarios that involve both protocols.

Common scenarios might include:

• Sending messages to a REST proxy that propagates it into a Kafka topic
• Validating a record via an API after it has been processed in Kafka

Example: REST Proxy & Kafka Consumer

In this example, we will demonstrate how to POST a record using an HTTP task to a REST proxy running on localhost:8082.

Equally, we will use a consumer task to validate that the message is propagated into the web-events topic as expected.

HTTP Task

• Create an HTTP task and provide the URL of your REST proxy
• Set the method to POST
• In the Headers section, set the Content-Type to application/vnd.kafka.json.v2+json
• Add the below record in the Body section, with the JSON option selected

{ "records": [{ "value": { "foo": "bar" } }] }

On the Checks tab, add a validation on the response code.

• Select Status code as the source
• Add 200 as the plain value (200 = OK Success)

Consumer Task

• Chained to the On Response port of the HTTP task, add a Consumer task to the canvas
• Configure the Cluster and Topic that you expect to receive the message
• On the Data tab, choose JSON as the value format
• Leave the default Lifecycle conditions, assuming we only expect to consume 1 record
• Add a Check on the contents of the message, using the below conditions
  • .record.value.foo = bar

Run Scenario

Run your scenario, and observe the execution events.

Preview the HTTP request completed event to see a summary of the event.

Assuming your HTTP request was configured correctly, you should see the status 200 OK and detail about the message in the Body section.

Equally, previewing the Record consumed event will show the JSON message in the Value section under the Data tab.

Finally, navigate to the Checks tab to see the result of the checks we made on:

• The HTTP response status code
• The consumed message content