How do you monitor API endpoints?

Direct answer

To monitor API endpoints, configure synthetic HTTP requests that mirror critical client behavior: correct method, headers, auth, expected status codes, and key JSON fields or schema checks. Run from external networks on a schedule, alert on sustained failures or latency SLO breaches, and keep tests stable to avoid alert noise.

Steps

1. Choose endpoints that represent user-critical flows (health, login/token, checkout-equivalent).
2. Secrets: Use short-lived tokens or dedicated synthetic credentials with least privilege.
3. Assertions: Status + required JSON paths; optionally schema validation for contracts.
4. Load awareness: Rate-limit synthetic traffic; do not load-test unintentionally via aggressive intervals.
5. Ownership: Tag checks by team and dependency.

Pitfalls

Flaky tests from shared test data; mutating production without safeguards; monitoring only happy-path GETs while POST paths fail.

Frequently asked questions

GraphQL?

Send a minimal query/mutation that proves schema availability; avoid enormous payloads.

Auth rotation?

Automate token refresh in the check definition; alert when auth itself breaks.