Final Project: Complete API Testing Portfolio

This is your capstone project. You will apply every skill from this course to test three real APIs using both cURL and Postman. By the end, you will have a complete API testing portfolio that demonstrates your competence.

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1. Project Overview

You will work with three APIs:

API	URL	Auth	Focus
JSONPlaceholder	jsonplaceholder.typicode.com	None	CRUD operations
GitHub	api.github.com	Optional token	Authentication & query params
ReqRes	reqres.in	None	Auth simulation & pagination

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2. Part 1: JSONPlaceholder — Full CRUD

Complete all operations and record the status codes.

1.1 Create (POST)

curl -s -i -X POST https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "REST API Course Final Project",
    "body": "Demonstrating CRUD mastery with real API calls.",
    "userId": 1
  }'

Record: Status code, the assigned ID, and the Location header (if present).

1.2 Read (GET)

# Read all posts
curl -s https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts | jq length

# Read a specific post
curl -s https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1 | jq '{title, userId}'

# Read with filtering
curl -s "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts?userId=1" | jq length

# Read nested resources
curl -s https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1/comments | jq '.[0].email'

1.3 Update (PUT and PATCH)

# Full replacement
curl -s -X PUT https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id":1,"title":"Complete Replacement","body":"New body","userId":1}' | jq .

# Partial update
curl -s -X PATCH https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"Only Title Changed"}' | jq .

1.4 Delete (DELETE)

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "Status: %{http_code}\n" \
  -X DELETE https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1

1.5 Error Handling

# Trigger a 404
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "404 Test: %{http_code}\n" \
  https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/99999

# Check all status codes at once
for method_url in \
  "GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1" \
  "GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/99999" \
  "DELETE https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1"; do
  METHOD=$(echo $method_url | cut -d' ' -f1)
  URL=$(echo $method_url | cut -d' ' -f2)
  CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X $METHOD "$URL")
  echo "$METHOD $URL → $CODE"
done

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3. Part 2: GitHub API — Real-World Testing

2.1 Public Endpoints (No Auth)

# Get a user profile
curl -s https://api.github.com/users/octocat | jq '{login, name, public_repos, followers}'

# Search repositories
curl -s "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=rest+api&sort=stars&order=desc&per_page=5" \
  | jq '.items[] | {name: .full_name, stars: .stargazers_count, language}'

# Get repository details
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/typicode/json-server \
  | jq '{name, description, stars: .stargazers_count, language, license: .license.name}'

2.2 Rate Limit Awareness

# Check current rate limits
curl -s https://api.github.com/rate_limit | jq '.rate'

# Monitor remaining requests
curl -sI https://api.github.com/users/octocat | grep -i "x-ratelimit"

2.3 Response Timing

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "\
GitHub API Performance:\n\
  DNS:        %{time_namelookup}s\n\
  Connect:    %{time_connect}s\n\
  TLS:        %{time_appconnect}s\n\
  First Byte: %{time_starttransfer}s\n\
  Total:      %{time_total}s\n" \
  https://api.github.com/users/octocat

2.4 Complex Query Building

# Find JavaScript repos with 1000+ stars, created in 2026
curl -s "https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=language:javascript+stars:>1000+created:>2026-01-01&sort=stars&per_page=3" \
  | jq '.items[] | {name: .full_name, stars: .stargazers_count, description}'

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4. Part 3: ReqRes — Authentication Simulation

ReqRes simulates real authentication flows.

3.1 User Registration

curl -s -X POST https://reqres.in/api/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "eve.holt@reqres.in", "password": "pistol"}' | jq .

3.2 User Login

curl -s -X POST https://reqres.in/api/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "eve.holt@reqres.in", "password": "cityslicka"}' | jq .

3.3 Pagination

# Page 1
curl -s "https://reqres.in/api/users?page=1" | jq '.page, .total_pages, (.data | length)'

# Page 2
curl -s "https://reqres.in/api/users?page=2" | jq '.page, .total_pages, (.data | length)'

3.4 CRUD on ReqRes

# Create
curl -s -X POST https://reqres.in/api/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Final Project User", "job": "API Tester"}' | jq .

# Update
curl -s -X PATCH https://reqres.in/api/users/2 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Updated Name"}' | jq .

# Delete
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "Delete Status: %{http_code}\n" \
  -X DELETE https://reqres.in/api/users/2

3.5 Error Testing

# Login with missing password (should fail)
curl -s -X POST https://reqres.in/api/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "peter@klaven"}' | jq .

# Get non-existent user
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "Status: %{http_code}\n" \
  https://reqres.in/api/users/23

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5. Part 4: Postman Collection

Build a Postman collection that includes everything above.

Collection Structure

📁 REST API Course - Final Project
├── 📁 JSONPlaceholder
│   ├── GET All Posts
│   ├── GET Single Post
│   ├── GET Posts by User
│   ├── GET Post Comments
│   ├── POST Create Post
│   ├── PUT Update Post
│   ├── PATCH Update Post Title
│   ├── DELETE Post
│   └── GET Non-Existent (404 test)
├── 📁 GitHub API
│   ├── GET User Profile
│   ├── GET Search Repos
│   ├── GET Repo Details
│   └── GET Rate Limit
├── 📁 ReqRes
│   ├── POST Register
│   ├── POST Login
│   ├── GET Users Page 1
│   ├── GET Users Page 2
│   ├── POST Create User
│   ├── PATCH Update User
│   ├── DELETE User
│   └── POST Invalid Login (error test)

Collection Variables

Variable	Value
jsonPlaceholderUrl	https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com
githubUrl	https://api.github.com
reqresUrl	https://reqres.in/api

Test Scripts to Add

Add test scripts to key requests:

// For all GET requests
pm.test("Status is 200", () => pm.response.to.have.status(200));
pm.test("Response is JSON", () => pm.response.to.have.header("Content-Type", /json/));
pm.test("Response time < 2s", () => pm.expect(pm.response.responseTime).to.be.below(2000));

// For POST requests
pm.test("Status is 201", () => pm.response.to.have.status(201));
pm.test("Response has id", () => pm.expect(pm.response.json()).to.have.property("id"));

// For DELETE requests
pm.test("Status is 200 or 204", () => {
    pm.expect(pm.response.code).to.be.oneOf([200, 204]);
});

Export the Collection

1. Right-click the collection → Export → v2.1
2. Save as rest-api-final-project.postman_collection.json

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6. Grading Yourself

Skill	Test	Pass if...
GET requests	Retrieve data from 3 APIs	All return 200
POST requests	Create resources on all 3 APIs	All return 201
PUT/PATCH	Update resources	Return 200 with updated data
DELETE	Remove resources	Return 200 or 204
Query params	Filter and paginate	Correct filtered results
Error handling	Trigger 404 and 400 errors	Recognize and explain
Auth	Login on ReqRes	Token received
JSON parsing	Use jq for extraction	Correct field values
Postman	Complete collection	All requests organized
Performance	Measure response times	Under 2 seconds

Score:

• 8-10 skills: Expert level — you are ready for professional API work
• 6-7 skills: Proficient — review the weaker areas
• 4-5 skills: Developing — re-do the relevant modules
• Below 4: Keep practicing — this is a skill that improves with repetition

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7. What to Do Next

You have completed the Understanding REST APIs course! Here is your roadmap:

graph TD
    A["You Are Here<br/>REST API Consumer"] --> B["Build Your Own API<br/>Python FastAPI / Node Express"]
    A --> C["Explore GraphQL<br/>Modern alternative to REST"]
    A --> D["API Integration<br/>Build apps that connect APIs"]
    A --> E["Advanced Testing<br/>Automated API testing suites"]

    B --> F["Full Stack Developer"]
    C --> F
    D --> F
    E --> F

    style A fill:#059669,color:#fff
    style F fill:#4f46e5,color:#fff

Congratulations! You now have the knowledge and practical skills to work with any REST API in the world. Keep practicing, keep building, and keep exploring.

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Lesson Review Quiz