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HTTP REQUESTS

Headers and Cookies

Set HTTP headers and cookies using individual or bulk assignment methods with automatic cookie management and authentication pattern support.

Core Keywords​

  • header - Set individual HTTP headers for requests
  • headers - Set multiple headers at once using JSON
  • cookie - Set individual cookies for requests
  • cookies - Set multiple cookies at once using JSON
  • configure headers - Set headers globally for all requests in a feature

Keywords​

header - HTTP Headers​

Set individual headers for API requests:

Gherkin
Feature: HTTP headers

Background:
  * url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'

Scenario: Basic authentication header
  Given path 'users'
  And header Authorization = 'Bearer abc123token'
  And header Accept = 'application/json'
  When method get
  Then status 200
Content-Type Auto-Setting

Karate automatically sets the Content-Type header based on your request data type (JSON, XML, form data). You rarely need to set it manually.

cookie - HTTP Cookies​

Set individual cookies for requests:

Gherkin
Scenario: Basic cookie usage
  Given url 'https://httpbin.org'
  And path 'cookies'
  And cookie sessionId = 'abc123'
  And cookie theme = 'dark'
  When method get
  Then status 200
Automatic Cookie Management

Cookies returned in HTTP responses are automatically included in all subsequent requests. To disable this behavior:

* configure cookies = null

See the responseCookies variable for assertions on cookie values.

Authentication Headers​

Gherkin
Scenario: Bearer token authentication
  * def authToken = 'my-secret-token'
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users'
  And header Authorization = 'Bearer ' + authToken
  When method get
  Then status 200

Content Negotiation​

Gherkin
Scenario: Accept header
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'posts'
  And header Accept = 'application/json'
  And request { title: 'New Post', body: 'Content', userId: 1 }
  When method post
  Then status 201

Custom Headers​

Gherkin
Scenario: Custom application headers
  * def requestId = karate.uuid()
  Given url 'https://httpbin.org'
  And path 'get'
  And header X-Client-Version = '2.1.0'
  And header X-Request-ID = requestId
  When method get
  Then status 200

Multi-Value Headers​

Gherkin
Scenario: Headers with multiple values
  Given url 'https://httpbin.org'
  And path 'get'
  And header Accept = ['application/json', 'application/xml']
  When method get
  Then status 200
Gherkin
Feature: HTTP cookies

Background:
  * url 'https://httpbin.org'

Scenario: Multiple cookies
  Given path 'cookies'
  And cookie sessionId = 'abc123'
  And cookie theme = 'dark'
  And cookie language = 'en-US'
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: Cookies with variables
  * def userId = 123
  * def timestamp = new Date().getTime()
  Given path 'cookies'
  And cookie userId = userId
  And cookie lastVisit = timestamp
  When method get
  Then status 200

headers - Multiple Headers​

Set multiple headers using JSON for cleaner syntax:

Gherkin
Feature: Multiple headers

Background:
  * url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  * def authToken = 'abc123token'
  * def clientId = 'client-456'

Scenario: Bulk header assignment
  Given path 'users'
  And headers { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + authToken, Accept: 'application/json', 'X-Client-ID': clientId }
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: Merge headers
  * def commonHeaders = { Accept: 'application/json', 'User-Agent': 'Karate-Test' }
  * def authHeaders = { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + authToken }
  * def allHeaders = karate.merge(commonHeaders, authHeaders)
  Given path 'users'
  And headers allHeaders
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: Conditional headers
  * def requestHeaders = { Accept: 'application/json', 'User-Agent': 'Karate-Test' }
  * def env = karate.env || 'dev'
  * if (env == 'dev') requestHeaders['X-Debug'] = 'true'
  Given path 'users'
  And headers requestHeaders
  When method get
  Then status 200
Important
  • Local headers override global configure headers settings
  • Use headers (plural) for bulk assignment
  • JSON keys with hyphens must be quoted

cookies - Multiple Cookies​

Set multiple cookies using JSON:

Gherkin
Scenario: Bulk cookie assignment
  Given url 'https://httpbin.org'
  And path 'cookies'
  And cookies { sessionId: 'sess_abc123', theme: 'dark', language: 'en-US' }
  When method get
  Then status 200

Global Headers with Configure​

Set headers once for all requests in a feature using configure headers:

Gherkin
Feature: Global header configuration

Background:
  * url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  * configure headers = { 'User-Agent': 'Karate Test', Accept: 'application/json' }

Scenario: Headers applied automatically
  Given path 'users'
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: Override specific header
  Given path 'posts'
  And header Accept = 'application/xml'
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: Combine global and local headers
  * def additionalHeaders = { 'X-Request-ID': karate.uuid() }
  Given path 'users'
  And headers additionalHeaders
  When method get
  Then status 200

Dynamic Header Functions​

Use JavaScript functions with configure headers to generate headers dynamically for each request:

Gherkin
Feature: Dynamic headers

Background:
  * url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  * def getAuthHeaders =
  """
  function() {
    var token = karate.get('authToken') || 'default-token-123';
    return { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + token, 'X-Request-ID': karate.uuid() };
  }
  """
  * configure headers = getAuthHeaders

Scenario: Auto-generated headers
  Given path 'users'
  When method get
  Then status 200
When to Use Header Functions
  • Authentication tokens that need refresh
  • Headers that change per request (timestamps, UUIDs)
  • Dynamic authorization based on request context

Functions are called automatically before each HTTP request.

Authentication Patterns​

Bearer Token​

Gherkin
Feature: Bearer token authentication

Scenario: Use bearer token
  * def token = 'my-access-token-123'
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users'
  And header Authorization = 'Bearer ' + token
  When method get
  Then status 200

API Key Authentication​

Gherkin
Feature: API key authentication

Background:
  * url 'https://httpbin.org'
  * def apiKey = 'sk-test-key-123'

Scenario: API key in header
  Given path 'get'
  And header X-API-Key = apiKey
  When method get
  Then status 200

Scenario: API key as query parameter
  Given path 'get'
  And param api_key = apiKey
  And param format = 'json'
  When method get
  Then status 200

Next Steps​

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