API Inspector User Manual

Welcome to API Inspector, a modular API testing and analysis tool designed for developers and QA engineers.

Installation

Requirements

• .NET 9 runtime
• Windows 11 or later

Installer uses Inno Setup modern wizard style installation. The installer will automatically install the .NET 9 runtime if necessary.

Core Command‑Line Options Sysadmins Commonly Use

Silent / Unattended Installation

Silent install (no UI):

setup.exe /silent

Very silent (no UI, no progress window):

setup.exe /verysilent

Suppress reboot:

setup.exe /norestart

Force reboot if needed:

setup.exe /restart

Exclude desktop icon

setup.exe /TASKS="!desktopicon"

Override installation directory:

setup.exe /DIR="C:\Tools\API_Inspector"

Override Start Menu folder:

setup.exe /GROUP="API Tools"

Log installation

setup.exe /LOG="C:\Logs\api_inspector_install.log"

Silent uninstall:

"C:\Program Files\API_Inspector\unins000.exe" /silent

This example installs API Inspector silently, adds it to PATH, and logs the process:

API_Inspector_Setup.exe /verysilent /norestart 
 /TASKS=addtopath /LOG="C:\Logs\api_inspector.log"

Quick Start

1. Create a new project folder.
2. Launch API Inspector.
3. Enter your credentials.
4. Send an example request.
5. Add assertions for the request.
6. Set the working folder.
7. Save your tests.
8. You should now have test1.json and credentials.json in the working folder.

Application Sections

Request Editor

The Request Editor includes:

• A dropdown for selecting the HTTP method
• A textbox for the URL
• A Send button
• A result panel showing the returned content or any error
• A body textbox for requests that require a payload (e.g., POST)

The Request view contains a dropdown for selecting the HTTP method, a textbox for the URL, and a Send button.
The result textbox shows the returned content or any error message.
The body textbox is used for requests that include a payload, such as POST.

HTTP Methods Summary

• GET
  Retrieve a resource. No body. Safe and idempotent.

• POST
  Create a new resource or trigger an action. Request body usually required.

• PUT
  Replace an existing resource entirely. Idempotent.

• PATCH
  Partially update an existing resource. Not necessarily idempotent.

• DELETE
  Remove a resource. Idempotent in practice.

An operation is idempotent if applying it multiple times has the same effect as applying it once.

Log View

The Log View contains:

• A grep‑style search box
• The log output panel

Logs can grow large and difficult to navigate, so several features help keep them manageable:

• Each request is tagged with an Activity ID, a random number that helps you distinguish between requests.
• Fast scrolling with ALT + mouse wheel lets you move quickly through long logs.
• The grep‑style search allows you to filter and focus on specific entries.

Assertions

You can create simple assertion tests without coding.
To test a JSON value, use:

$.value equals expectedValue

Authorisation

You can change authorisation settings here.
Settings are saved in the working folder in a file called credentials.json.

Settings

The Settings view allows you to customise the behaviour of the application.

API Inspector Command Line Tool

A command-line version of the API Inspector that allows you to execute API tests from .api files.

Features

1. Search for API files - Recursively searches for *.api files in a directory
2. Load credentials - Loads credentials from credentials.json in the search directory or AppData
3. Execute tests - Runs tests defined in each API file
4. Log output - Writes detailed logs to the current directory with timestamps
5. Display results - Shows test execution summary and returns appropriate exit codes
6. Exit codes:
   • 0 - All tests passed
   • 125 - One or more tests failed
   • 1 - Fatal error

Usage

Inspector [searchPath]

Arguments

• searchPath (optional): Directory to search for *.api files. Defaults to the current directory.