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HTTP RESPONSES

Response Time

Monitor and validate API response times for performance testing and SLA compliance using the responseTime variable.

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Basic Response Time​

Access response time after any HTTP request using the responseTime variable:

Gherkin
Feature: Response time monitoring

Scenario: Simple response time check
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  And assert responseTime < 2000
  * karate.log('Response time:', responseTime, 'ms')

The responseTime variable contains the response time in milliseconds and is available immediately after each HTTP request completes.

Response Time Assertions​

Validate API performance against SLA requirements:

Gherkin
Feature: SLA compliance

Scenario: SLA compliance check
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'posts'
  And param userId = 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  And assert responseTime < 2000
  * match response == '#[_ > 0]'
  * karate.log('Search completed in', responseTime, 'ms')

Use assertions to enforce performance requirements and fail tests when APIs respond too slowly.

Performance Categorization​

Categorize API performance using conditional logic:

Gherkin
Feature: Performance categories

Scenario: Performance category validation
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users'
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * def category = responseTime < 500 ? 'excellent' : responseTime < 1000 ? 'good' : responseTime < 2000 ? 'acceptable' : 'poor'
  * karate.log('Performance category:', category)
  * assert category != 'poor'

Ternary operators provide concise performance categorization for different response time thresholds.

Tracking Multiple Endpoints​

Monitor performance across different API endpoints:

Gherkin
Feature: Multi-endpoint monitoring

Scenario: Track timing across endpoints
  * def timings = []

  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * timings.push({ endpoint: 'users', time: responseTime })

  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'posts', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * timings.push({ endpoint: 'posts', time: responseTime })

  * karate.log('Timings:', timings)

Store timing data in arrays to analyze performance across multiple endpoints.

Request Timestamp​

The requestTimeStamp variable captures the Java system time when the request was initiated. Use it for correlating with external timing measurements:

Gherkin
Feature: Request timestamp tracking

Scenario: Timing correlation analysis
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * karate.log('Request initiated at:', requestTimeStamp)
  * karate.log('Response time:', responseTime, 'ms')
Key Points
  • responseTime measures network round-trip time in milliseconds
  • Timing variables reset after each HTTP request
  • Store values in custom variables if you need them after subsequent requests
  • Use requestTimeStamp for detailed timing correlation with external systems

Common Gotchas​

Timing includes network latency: The responseTime variable measures total round-trip time (network latency + server processing), not just server processing time.

Variables reset after requests: Store timing values in variables before making new requests if you need to compare them:

Gherkin
Feature: Preserve timing values

Scenario: Store timing before next request
  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'users', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * def firstTiming = responseTime

  Given url 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com'
  And path 'posts', 1
  When method get
  Then status 200
  * karate.log('First request:', firstTiming, 'ms')
  * karate.log('Second request:', responseTime, 'ms')

Next Steps​

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