API Automation in Robot Framework

API Testing using Robot Framework

Welcome to Phase 5 of Robot Framework Tutorial Series. In this tutorial, we will learn API Automation using Robot Framework with detailed practical examples.

API Automation is one of the most important skills in modern automation testing. Many companies use Robot Framework for both UI and API automation.

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Topics Covered

• What is API Testing?
• Install RequestsLibrary
• GET API Request
• POST API Request
• Headers & Authentication
• Status Code Validation
• Response Validation
• JSON Handling
• Nested JSON Validation

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19. API Testing using Robot Framework

What is API Testing?

API Testing is used to validate backend services without using UI. Instead of clicking buttons on browser, API automation directly sends requests to server and validates response.

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Advantages of API Automation

• Faster execution
• No browser dependency
• Easy backend validation
• Supports CI/CD pipelines
• Better test coverage

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Common HTTP Methods

Method	Purpose
GET	Fetch data from server
POST	Create new data
PUT	Update existing data
DELETE	Delete data

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Install RequestsLibrary

Robot Framework uses RequestsLibrary for API automation.

Installation Command

pip install robotframework-requests

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Import RequestsLibrary

*** Settings ***
Library    RequestsLibrary

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GET API Request Example

GET request is used to fetch data from API server.

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Sample GET API Test

*** Settings ***
Library    RequestsLibrary

*** Variables ***
${BASE_URL}    https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com

*** Test Cases ***
Get User Details

    Create Session    mysession    ${BASE_URL}

    ${response}=    GET On Session    mysession    /users/1

    Log    ${response.status_code}

    Log    ${response.text}

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Explanation

Keyword	Purpose
Create Session	Create API session
GET On Session	Send GET request
response.status_code	Fetch status code
response.text	Fetch response body

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Validate Status Code

Status code validation is one of the most important validations in API testing.

Status Code Validation Example

Should Be Equal As Strings    ${response.status_code}    200

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Common Status Codes

Status Code	Meaning
200	Success
201	Data Created
400	Bad Request
401	Unauthorized
404	Resource Not Found
500	Server Error

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POST API Request Example

POST request is used to create new data in server.

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POST Request Example

*** Settings ***
Library    RequestsLibrary

*** Variables ***
${BASE_URL}    https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com

*** Test Cases ***
Create User

    Create Session    mysession    ${BASE_URL}

    ${body}=    Create Dictionary
    ...    name=Chandan
    ...    job=Automation Tester

    ${headers}=    Create Dictionary
    ...    Content-Type=application/json

    ${response}=    POST On Session
    ...    mysession
    ...    /posts
    ...    json=${body}
    ...    headers=${headers}

    Log    ${response.text}

    Should Be Equal As Strings    ${response.status_code}    201

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Explanation of POST Request

• Create request body using dictionary
• Pass headers
• Send POST request
• Validate response

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Headers in API Testing

Headers provide additional information to API server.

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Common Headers

Header	Purpose
Content-Type	Data format type
Authorization	Authentication token
Accept	Expected response format

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Authentication Example

Many APIs require authentication token.

Bearer Token Example

${headers}=    Create Dictionary
...    Authorization=Bearer mytoken123
...    Content-Type=application/json

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20. JSON Handling in Robot Framework

Most modern APIs return response in JSON format. Therefore JSON handling is extremely important in API automation.

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Sample JSON Response

{
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Leanne Graham",
    "email": "leanne@example.com"
}

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Convert Response to JSON

${json_response}=    Set Variable    ${response.json()}

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Validate JSON Values

Example

Should Be Equal As Strings
...    ${json_response}[name]
...    Leanne Graham

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Validate Email

Should Contain
...    ${json_response}[email]
...    example.com

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Complete JSON Validation Example

*** Settings ***
Library    RequestsLibrary

*** Variables ***
${BASE_URL}    https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com

*** Test Cases ***
Validate User API

    Create Session    mysession    ${BASE_URL}

    ${response}=    GET On Session    mysession    /users/1

    Should Be Equal As Strings
    ...    ${response.status_code}
    ...    200

    ${json_data}=    Set Variable    ${response.json()}

    Log    ${json_data}

    Should Be Equal
    ...    ${json_data}[id]
    ...    ${1}

    Should Be Equal As Strings
    ...    ${json_data}[name]
    ...    Leanne Graham

    Should Contain
    ...    ${json_data}[email]
    ...    @

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Nested JSON Handling

Many APIs return nested JSON structures.

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Nested JSON Example

{
    "company": {
        "name": "Way2Testing",
        "city": "Noida"
    }
}

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Validate Nested JSON

Should Be Equal As Strings
...    ${json_data}[company][name]
...    Way2Testing

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JSON Array Example

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "Chandan"
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "name": "Amit"
    }
]

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Access JSON Array Data

${json_data}=    Set Variable    ${response.json()}

Log    ${json_data}[0][name]

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Response Validation Techniques

• Status code validation
• Response body validation
• JSON key validation
• Schema validation
• Response time validation

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Validate Response Time

Should Be True    ${response.elapsed.total_seconds()} < 5

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Real-Time API Automation Flow

Send Request
    ↓

Receive Response
    ↓

Validate Status Code
    ↓

Validate JSON Data
    ↓

Generate Report

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Best Practices for API Automation

• Use reusable API keywords
• Store base URLs separately
• Validate status codes properly
• Avoid hardcoded tokens
• Handle dynamic JSON responses

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Advantages of API Automation

• Fast execution
• Backend validation
• Stable automation
• Supports CI/CD
• Easy integration with frameworks

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Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned:

• API Testing using Robot Framework
• RequestsLibrary
• GET and POST requests
• Headers and Authentication
• JSON Handling
• Nested JSON Validation

API automation is one of the most important skills for automation testers. Combining UI and API automation makes your framework more powerful and industry-ready.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which library is used for API testing in Robot Framework?

RequestsLibrary is commonly used for API automation in Robot Framework.

What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data format used in APIs.

Why is API automation important?

API automation is faster, stable and validates backend functionality directly.

Can Robot Framework validate JSON responses?

Yes, Robot Framework can easily validate JSON keys and values.