Request workbench / Reading notes
Test the edges of an API contract
A focused checklist for request and response validation.
Missing is not empty
Test absent fields, null values and empty strings separately. Their meaning should follow the contract rather than an accidental parser default.
Exercise collections
Check empty and single-item lists as well as the documented maximum. Verify pagination boundaries so an exact page-size result does not hide a missing final page.
Inspect error responses
Validate a stable error code and safe explanation. A stack trace or internal database detail does not belong in a public API response.