> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://easyaf.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Web & API Testing

> Test HTTP APIs and web services with in-memory servers, request snapshots, and response snapshots.

Breakdance provides multiple approaches for testing web APIs, each suited to different scenarios.
Choose based on your testing needs:

## Choose Your Approach

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="In-Memory Testing" icon="server" href="/breakdance/guides/web/aspnet-core-rest">
    **Best for:** Unit testing HTTP APIs you're building without deploying infra

    Fast, no network overhead, great for CI/CD
  </Card>

  <Card title="Request Snapshots" icon="arrow-up" href="/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/requests">
    **Best for:** Replicating requests from 3rd party APIs

    `.http` files with variables, request chaining
  </Card>

  <Card title="Response Snapshots" icon="arrow-down" href="/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/responses">
    **Best for:** Replicating responses from 3rd party APIs

    Capture once, replay everywhere
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Quick Comparison

| Feature             | In-Memory | Request Snapshots | Response Snapshots |
| ------------------- | --------- | ----------------- | ------------------ |
| Network calls       | None      | Optional          | Captured           |
| Test speed          | Fastest   | Fast              | Fast (cached)      |
| Real API testing    | No        | Yes               | Initial capture    |
| Offline capable     | Yes       | With snapshots    | Yes                |
| Request chaining    | Manual    | Built-in          | N/A                |
| Environment configs | N/A       | Yes               | Per-folder         |

## Combining Approaches

These techniques work well together. See the [Snapshots Overview](/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/index) for the full philosophy.

```csharp theme={"dark"}
// Use .http file format with captured response snapshots
public class ApiTests : DotHttpTestBase
{
    protected override HttpMessageHandler CreateHttpMessageHandler()
    {
        // Serve responses from snapshot files
        return new ResponseSnapshotReplayHandler("ResponseSnapshots");
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public async Task GetUsers_Test()
    {
        SetVariable("baseUrl", "https://api.example.com");

        var response = await SendRequestAsync(new DotHttpRequest
        {
            Method = "GET",
            Url = "{{baseUrl}}/users"
        });

        await DotHttpAssertions.AssertValidResponseAsync(response);
    }
}
```

## Guides

<Cards>
  <Card title="ASP.NET Core Testing" icon="bolt" href="/breakdance/guides/web/aspnet-core-rest">
    Test ASP.NET Core APIs with the built-in TestServer. Fast, in-memory testing
    with full dependency injection support.
  </Card>

  <Card title="ASP.NET Classic Testing" icon="landmark" href="/breakdance/guides/web/aspnet-classic-rest">
    Test ASP.NET Web API 2 controllers on .NET Framework without a real HTTP server.
    Create an HttpClient wired directly to your API's routing pipeline.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Snapshots Overview" icon="camera" href="/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/index">
    Learn about Breakdance's "Test Real Things" philosophy and how snapshots
    replace traditional mocking for API tests.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Request Snapshots" icon="arrow-up" href="/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/requests">
    Write API tests using Visual Studio's `.http` file format. Supports variables,
    environment files, and request chaining with response extraction.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Response Snapshots" icon="arrow-down" href="/breakdance/guides/web/snapshots/responses">
    Capture HTTP responses from real APIs and replay them in tests. Perfect for
    testing against external services without network dependencies.
  </Card>
</Cards>

## Related Packages

| Package                 | Purpose                                        |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `Breakdance.WebApi`     | In-memory Web API 2 testing on .NET Framework  |
| `Breakdance.AspNetCore` | In-memory ASP.NET Core testing with TestServer |
| `Breakdance.DotHttp`    | `.http` file parsing and test base class       |
| `Breakdance.Assemblies` | Response snapshot handlers                     |