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API Testing

REST API Test Case Templates

Generate a structured REST API test checklist for an endpoint.

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Endpoint

Use {id} or :id for path parameters.

Used in titles.

Endpoint characteristics

Test cases · 25

  1. TC-001PositiveP1

    POST order succeeds with valid input

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with a valid token and a valid request body.
    2. Capture status, headers and body.

    Expected

    201 Created (or 200/202 if documented). Response body matches the documented schema; Content-Type is correct (e.g. application/json).

  2. TC-002PositiveP1

    Created order is persisted and retrievable

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with a valid body.
    2. Read the Location header or returned id.
    3. GET the created order.

    Expected

    Location (if returned) points to the new order; GET returns the same field values that were sent, plus server-generated fields (id, timestamps).

  3. TC-003NegativeP2

    Unsupported method returns 405

    Steps

    1. Send an HTTP method the endpoint does not support to /api/v1/orders.

    Expected

    405 Method Not Allowed with an Allow header listing the supported methods.

  4. TC-004NegativeP1

    Malformed JSON body is rejected

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with invalid JSON (e.g. a trailing comma).

    Expected

    400 Bad Request with a clear parse error. Never 500.

  5. TC-005NegativeP2

    Wrong Content-Type is rejected

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with a valid body but Content-Type: text/plain.

    Expected

    415 Unsupported Media Type (or 400 if documented).

  6. TC-006NegativeP3

    Unacceptable Accept header

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with Accept: application/xml (if only JSON is supported).

    Expected

    406 Not Acceptable, or JSON returned anyway if the API ignores Accept. Behaviour should be consistent and documented.

  7. TC-007AuthP1

    Missing credentials returns 401

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders without an Authorization header.

    Expected

    401 Unauthorized with a WWW-Authenticate header. No data leaked in the body.

  8. TC-008AuthP1

    Invalid or expired token returns 401

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with a malformed token, then with an expired token.

    Expected

    401 Unauthorized in both cases.

  9. TC-009AuthP1

    Insufficient permissions return 403

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders as a user without the required role or scope.

    Expected

    403 Forbidden. No side effects (nothing created, changed or deleted).

  10. TC-010ValidationP1

    Each required field is enforced

    Steps

    1. For each required field, send the body with that field removed.

    Expected

    400 Bad Request (or 422) naming the missing field. One case per field.

  11. TC-011ValidationP1

    Wrong data types are rejected

    Steps

    1. For each field, send a value of the wrong type (string for number, number for string, object for array).

    Expected

    400/422 naming the field. Values are not silently coerced unless documented.

  12. TC-012ValidationP2

    Null and empty values

    Steps

    1. Send null, "" and whitespace-only strings for required fields.

    Expected

    400/422 for required fields; optional fields accept null only if documented.

  13. TC-013ValidationP2

    Unknown properties are handled

    Steps

    1. Add an unexpected property to the body.

    Expected

    Either rejected with 400 or ignored, matching the API contract. Never stored or echoed back.

  14. TC-014ValidationP2

    Mass assignment of protected fields

    Steps

    1. Send server-controlled fields such as id, role, isAdmin, createdAt or balance in the body.

    Expected

    Values are ignored or rejected; protected fields keep their server-side values.

  15. TC-015BoundaryP2

    String length limits

    Steps

    1. For each length-limited field, send min-1, min, max and max+1 characters.

    Expected

    min and max accepted; min-1 and max+1 rejected with 400/422.

  16. TC-016BoundaryP2

    Numeric range limits

    Steps

    1. For each numeric field, send minimum-1, minimum, maximum, maximum+1, 0 and a negative value.

    Expected

    Values inside the range accepted; outside rejected with 400/422. No overflow or 500.

  17. TC-017BoundaryP3

    Unicode and special characters

    Steps

    1. Send names containing accents, emoji, RTL text, quotes and <script> tags.

    Expected

    Stored and returned unchanged (correct UTF-8), and never executed or reflected unescaped.

  18. TC-018BoundaryP3

    Oversized payload

    Steps

    1. Send a body larger than the documented limit.

    Expected

    413 Content Too Large, not a timeout or 500.

  19. TC-019IdempotencyP2

    Duplicate submission behaviour

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders twice quickly with the same body.

    Expected

    Behaviour matches the contract: either two records, or a 409 Conflict on a unique field. No partial or corrupted record.

  20. TC-020Rate limitP2

    Exceeding the rate limit returns 429

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders repeatedly until the documented limit is exceeded.

    Expected

    429 Too Many Requests with a Retry-After header; requests succeed again after waiting.

  21. TC-021Rate limitP3

    Rate limit headers are accurate

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders and read the rate limit headers (RateLimit / X-RateLimit-*).

    Expected

    Remaining count decreases by one per request and resets at the advertised time.

  22. TC-022Security headersP2

    Security and cache headers are present

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with a valid token and inspect response headers.

    Expected

    Strict-Transport-Security and X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff are present; Cache-Control: no-store on authenticated responses; no Server/X-Powered-By version disclosure.

  23. TC-023Security headersP3

    CORS policy is restrictive

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders with Origin: https://evil.example.

    Expected

    Access-Control-Allow-Origin is absent or not reflecting the untrusted origin; never "*" together with credentials.

  24. TC-024Security headersP2

    Errors do not leak internals

    Steps

    1. Trigger a 4xx and (if possible) a 5xx response.

    Expected

    Error bodies contain no stack traces, SQL, file paths or framework versions.

  25. TC-025Performance smokeP3

    Response time within budget

    Steps

    1. Send POST /api/v1/orders 10 times sequentially and record durations.

    Expected

    p95 under the agreed budget (for example 500 ms); no request times out.

About this tool

Most API test plans miss the same things: object-level authorisation, idempotent retries, pagination edges, rate limit headers and error bodies that leak internals. Describe an endpoint (method, path, whether it needs auth, takes a body, is paginated, accepts an Idempotency-Key or is rate limited) and this tool applies a fixed set of rules to produce a numbered checklist with priority, steps and expected result for each case. The output is deterministic, so the same endpoint always yields the same IDs, which keeps exported test cases stable when you regenerate them. Treat it as a starting point: add the business rules only you know.

How to use it

  1. Choose the method and enter the path. Use {id} or :id for path parameters so not-found and access-control cases are added.
  2. Tick the characteristics that apply to the endpoint.
  3. Review the checklist, filter by category if needed, and copy or download it as a Markdown table or CSV for your test management tool.

REST API Test Case Templates FAQ

What is BOLA (or IDOR) and why is it P1?

Broken Object Level Authorisation means a user can access another user’s object by changing an id in the request. It is the top risk in the OWASP API Security Top 10 because it is common and easy to exploit, so every endpoint with a path id should have this test.

Why are there no idempotency key cases for PUT or DELETE?

RFC 9110 defines PUT and DELETE (and GET) as idempotent, so repeating them must have the same effect without a key. The tool adds a “repeat the request” case for them instead. Idempotency-Key matters for POST and PATCH.

Can I import the CSV into Jira, TestRail or Xray?

The CSV has ID, Category, Priority, Title, Steps and Expected result columns with standard quoting, so most import wizards can map it. You will need to map the columns to your tool’s fields during import.

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