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Our loop is always the same: A UI flow breaks → backend says “spec is outdated” → someone spends 30–60 minutes in Devtools figuring out what the server actually returned → then we argue whether backend/spec/frontend should change.
I want drift to be caught during normal dev/staging usage while clicking through the app. Real traffic, real accounts, real data. Not just CI tests validating what we already expect.
If your team handles this well, what works?
Do you do runtime validation (client/proxy) that logs schema mismatches with enough context to fix fast (operationId, request id, response body/diff)? Gateway enforcement? Contract tests that actually reflect reality? Something else boring but reliable?
Also, what’s the slow part for you when drift happens, mapping to the right operation, getting a repro across envs/accounts, or turning Devtools into a clean ticket/PR?