Ask HN: What you use for quick API checks?

1 pointsigtumt1mo ago5 comments

I often find myself needing to quickly check an API response — just to see what it returns or grab a specific field.

For more complex stuff, tools like Postman are great, but for quick checks they sometimes feel a bit heavy. On the other hand, using curl or writing a quick script also breaks the flow a bit.

Curious what others here use for this kind of “quick inspection” workflow.

Do you have a go-to tool or habit for this?

5 comments

dhruv30061mo ago

Yeah, I know what you mean. I still use curl sometimes,but for anything beyond a basic GET, the monolithic nature of tools like Postman feels way too heavy. I recommend checking out Voiden, - all Markdown files and uses composable blocks, this makes it easy for quick, version-controlled tests. Good for the "quick checks" but also for more advanced workflows (collection runner, scripting etc).

igtumtOP1mo ago

That looks interesting, I like the Markdown idea.

I usually try to avoid installing tools just for quick checks, so I tend to prefer things that work instantly without setup.

Do you use it more for repeatable workflows, or also for quick “check and move on” stuff?

igtumtOP1mo ago

For daily use any advise?

nikolasdimi1mo ago

postman is great for complex stuff - what kind of complex stuff?

igtumtOP1mo ago

I was thinking about things like POST/PUT requests, adding headers or auth, maybe testing flows.

For that, tools like Postman make sense.

But for quick checks like “what does this return?”, I usually just want to check and move on.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

5 comments

dhruv30061mo ago

igtumtOP1mo ago

That looks interesting, I like the Markdown idea.

I usually try to avoid installing tools just for quick checks, so I tend to prefer things that work instantly without setup.

Do you use it more for repeatable workflows, or also for quick “check and move on” stuff?

igtumtOP1mo ago

For daily use any advise?

nikolasdimi1mo ago

postman is great for complex stuff - what kind of complex stuff?

igtumtOP1mo ago

I was thinking about things like POST/PUT requests, adding headers or auth, maybe testing flows.

For that, tools like Postman make sense.

But for quick checks like “what does this return?”, I usually just want to check and move on.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse