Visual API Response Navigation & Comparison

API Tree Path allows users to visually explore API responses and select exact fields for validation without writing paths or JSON expressions manually.

Why it matters

• API responses are often large and deeply nested

• Writing JSON paths manually is error-prone

• Testers should focus on validation, not syntax

When to use it

• When working with complex or nested API responses

• When validating specific values inside large JSON payloads

• When comparing API responses without manual path writing

Core concepts

• API Tree – A structured view of the API response

• Path Selection – Click-based field selection

• Comparison Engine – Automatically compares selected values

How it works

1. API is executed (Server or Smart Agent)

2. AXQA builds a structured tree from the response

3. User selects fields directly from the tree

4. Selected paths are used for validation and comparison

How to use it

Step 1: Link an API to a test step
Select an Action API or Expected API in the test step.

Step 2: Preview API response tree
Run the API preview to load the response structure.

Step 3: Select fields visually
Click on any node in the tree to choose the exact field.

Step 4: Define comparison
Choose how the selected value should be validated (equals, range, regex, etc.).

Best practices

• Use the tree preview before writing comparisons

• Validate only relevant fields, not full responses

• Combine tree paths with flexible comparison types

Common mistakes

❌ Manually typing complex response paths
✔ Use the API Tree Path selector

❌ Comparing entire responses unnecessarily
✔ Select only the fields that matter

Security & permissions

• Tree preview respects execution source rules

• Internal APIs can be previewed via Smart Agent only

• Response data is sanitized and size-limited

Related documentation

• API Manager Overview

• Comparison Types

• Smart Agent Execution