API Request Tips For Beginners 🔧

One common mistake beginners make is using GET to send data in the request body. GET requests should never have bodies because all data must be included in the URL parameters. If you need to send complex data such as customer details or file uploads, you should use POST or PUT requests instead. Platforms like n8n will warn you if you try to add a body to a GET request.

Another frequent issue is confusing POST with PUT. Using POST when you mean PUT can create duplicate records. For example, if you POST the same customer data five times, you will end up with five different customer entries. In contrast, PUT is intended to update an existing customer at a specific ID. Before choosing the method, always verify whether you want to create new records or update existing ones.

Be very cautious when using DELETE requests because they are permanent with no undo option. Accidentally sending a DELETE request instead of GET could result in data loss. To safeguard against this in tools like n8n, it’s best to add confirmation steps before executing DELETE operations. Using conditional nodes such as IF can help you enforce rules like requiring specific values or user confirmations before allowing deletion.

Many APIs use PATCH to handle updates, but beginners often treat PATCH just like PUT by sending the entire object. PATCH actually means sending only the fields that have changed. For example, if you only updated the email address, send {"email": "new@email.com"} instead of the complete user object. This approach prevents unintentionally overwriting other data fields with empty values and also reduces bandwidth usage.

Видео API Request Tips For Beginners 🔧 канала Gareth B. Davies | Automation Archeologist