Debugging Your APIs with Postman and Moesif
Debugging APIs can be a challenge for any developer dealing with RESTful APIs. Trying to create an exact API request, especially for highly complex requests with large API request bodies and multiple headers, is essential but also tough to do. By using a tool like Postman to create a request for debugging purposes and as an API client, you can easily replay an API request with the exact configuration of the original request. This can enable developers to reproduce the scenario they are trying to debug in a consistent manner.
Moesif can also help to make the process of debugging APIs easier as well. Since Moesif receives data around every aspect of a request, it makes it a great platform to export all of the details of a request so it can easily be replayed to assist with debugging. In Moesif, you can easily export all of your API call data into a Postman Collection. This helps developers to replicate the calls in Postman automatically by importing the generated Collection.
Debugging best practices aim to ensure that the conditions in which you are debugging an error, match exactly with the conditions that caused the error. By using Moesif’s export functionalities as part of your debugging method, you’re guaranteed that the API endpoint and debugger are receiving the same request data that caused the error.
Exporting the calls in Moesif
To export calls from Moesif, first, navigate to the Live Event Log screen.
From there, you can select the calls that you want to export into the Postman Collection. Simply select the checkboxes beside the calls you want to export and click Run in Postman to export them.
Exporting the calls into a Postman collection will include everything you need to recreate an API call. This will include the body, headers, params, etc.
Once you click the Run in Postman button, a modal will appear to allow you to download the collection. Click Download Postman Collection to download the collection file to your local machine.
After this, the Postman Collection will be downloaded and ready to load into Postman.
Loading the collection into Postman
In Postman, click the Collections tab on the right side of screen and then click Import.
Next, a modal will appear where you can either pick the Postman Collection file from a file picker or drag-and-drop the file onto the modal to import it. Once the file is selected, you’ll see the contents in the modal.
Now, you’ll click Import to actually bring the collection into Postman. You should now see the collection displayed in the Collections pane in Postman.
Replaying the requests and debugging
With the collection now available in Postman, select one of the requests to replay.
Every detail of the request will be populated including the params, headers, and body. From here, you can click the blue Send button beside the URL to send an exact copy of the web API request you are trying to debug. Now, your debugger will be loaded with the same data as the error call you are currently debugging since it has been loaded from the exported Postman Collection.
Try it out for yourself!
Next time you’re debugging RESTful API code, use Moesif to quickly create a Postman Collection to easily replicate the requests causing your issue. Don’t worry about missing a single detail by manually inputting the request into Postman. By exporting the request from Moesif and replaying the request through Postman, you are debugging your API in the exact conditions that caused the error in the first place. Simply select the requests you need, export, and debug. This ensures that you’ll be hitting your debugger breakpoint with the exact data included in the original request. Debugging errors in your REST API should be easy and consistent. With Postman and Moesif, it is!
To get started today, log in or sign up for Moesif to add this great tool to your debugging arsenal. While you’re at it, also check out other great features like our alerts, embedded templates, and our latest billing features to help you monetize your APIs.
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