Debugging failed requests

When requests fail, systematic debugging helps identify the issue quickly.

Enable detailed logging

async function debugRequest(url, options) {
  console.log('=== API Request ===");
  console.log('URL:', url);
  console.log('Method:', options.method);
  console.log('Headers:', {
    ...options.headers,
    'x-api-key': options.headers['x-api-key']?.substring(0, 10) + '...'
  });
  console.log('Body:', options.body);
  
  const startTime = Date.now();
  
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);
    const duration = Date.now() - startTime;
    
    console.log('=== API Response ===");
    console.log('Status:', response.status, response.statusText);
    console.log('Duration:', duration + 'ms');
    console.log('Headers:', Object.fromEntries(response.headers));
    
    const data = await response.json();
    console.log('Body:', data);
    
    return { response, data };
    
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('=== Request Failed ===");
    console.error('Error:', error.message);
    console.error('Duration:', Date.now() - startTime + 'ms');
    throw error;
  }
}

Check these first

1. API key is correct:

console.log('API key starts with:', apiKey.substring(0, 10));
console.log('API key length:', apiKey.length);

2. Header name is exact:

// Must be lowercase 'x-api-key'
headers: {
  'x-api-key': apiKey,  // ✓ Correct
  'X-API-Key': apiKey,  // ✗ Wrong
  'api-key': apiKey,    // ✗ Wrong
}

3. JSON is valid:

try {
  const body = JSON.stringify({ query: 'test' });
  console.log('Valid JSON:', body);
} catch (e) {
  console.error('Invalid JSON:', e);
}

4. Request reaches the server:

// Use browser DevTools Network tab or
curl -v -X POST https://api.cathopic.com/resources \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "test"}'

Common mistakes

Wrong Content-Type:

// ✗ Wrong
headers: {
  'Content-Type': 'text/plain'
}
// ✓ Correct
headers: {
  'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

Not stringifying body:

// ✗ Wrong
body: { query: 'test' }
// ✓ Correct
body: JSON.stringify({ query: 'test' })

Using GET instead of POST:

// ✗ All endpoints require POST
method: 'GET'
// ✓ Correct
method: 'POST'

Test with minimal request

Strip down to bare minimum to isolate the problem:

const response = await fetch('https://api.cathopic.com/resources', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_ACTUAL_KEY_HERE',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: '{}'  // Empty object
});
console.log(response.status);
console.log(await response.json());

If this works, gradually add back parameters until it fails.

Compare with working example

Test with curl to verify your implementation:

curl -X POST https://api.cathopic.com/resources \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "Jesus", "page": 1, "page_size": 5}'

If curl works but your code doesn't, compare the exact headers and body.

Still stuck?

Contact developer support with:

• Full error message

• Request headers (hide your full API key)

• Request body

• Response status and body

• Programming language and HTTP library

• Code snippet (without exposing credentials)