HTTP API Smoke Tester

When to invoke

• You need a quick, repeatable smoke test for an HTTP API environment (dev/staging/prod).
• You want a lightweight alternative to full integration tests.
• You want machine-readable pass/fail output for CI.

Inputs needed

• A JSON test plan file with:
  • base_url: string
  • steps: list of HTTP request steps with assertions
• Optional headers (e.g., auth token) inside the plan.

Workflow

1. Read and validate the plan schema.
2. For each step:
   • Build the request URL from base_url + path.
   • Send the HTTP request.
   • Capture status, headers, body (truncated for reporting).
   • Evaluate assertions:
     • status code equals
     • JSON path exists / equals
     • header equals / contains
     • body contains substring
3. Emit a JSON report:
   • overall pass/fail
   • per-step results, assertion failures, timing

Output format

A JSON object written to stdout:

• passed: boolean
• summary: counts and total time
• steps: list with name, passed, status, duration_ms, failures

Guardrails

• Vendor-neutral: uses standard HTTP concepts and a plain JSON plan.
• Do not log secrets: redact Authorization and X-Api-Key header values in output.
• Limit response body captured in the report (default 2000 chars).

Reference code

• http_api_smoke_tester.py