#DAY 10:Adding an API JSON Query Monitor in Uptime Kuma

Validating API Health & Content

Introduction

Applications may react, but they may still not provide accurate or useful data; therefore, availability monitoring alone is not always sufficient. I filled this need by adding an API JSON Query monitor in Uptime Kuma, which verifies the integrity of an API's content as well as its overall health. This method made sure the monitored API was accessible and returned the desired results. I increased the overall accuracy of my monitoring framework, reinforced dependability, and improved early detection of functional faults by combining content validation with availability checks.

Objective
Implementing monitors that verified functioning rather than merely availability was my aim. This required setting up monitors that checked API endpoints for expected values, confirmed application replies, and made sure services were operating as intended from the end-user's point of view, going beyond basic uptime checks.

Procedure: Validating API Health & Content
I selected a public API endpoint from JSONPlaceholder:
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1

I navigated to Uptime Kuma → Add New Monitor. I chose HTTP(s) – JSON Query as the monitor type.I entered the following details:

Method: GET
URL: https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1
JSON Path: $.title
Expected Value: "delectus aut autem"

This configuration ensured that the monitor only stayed UP if the JSON response matched the expected value, validating both the API response format and content integrity.

Conclusion & Success Goal Achieved

I was able to successfully expand my monitoring strategy beyond basic availability checks to include content validation by setting up the API JSON Query monitor in Uptime Kuma. In order to reinforce accuracy and dependability, the system now makes sure that APIs not only react but also provide the anticipated values.

This method lowers the possibility of silent failures, which occur when a service is operational but provides inaccurate or insufficient information. This improvement allowed me to verify that my monitoring system can record both functional correctness and operational health.

Success Goal Achieved:
The goal of validating the response content and API health on day nine was successfully completed. Stronger assurances of service quality and more insightful data are now provided by the monitoring system.

Lessons Learned

• Availability ≠ Reliability: This gap is filled by content checking; a service being "up" does not imply that it is operating properly.
• Monitoring JSON Queries Is Effective: It is possible to promptly identify functional problems that might otherwise go overlooked by doing even basic tests on response fields.
• Be Proactive Rather Than Reactive: Data validation at the API layer aids in the early detection of problems before they become user-facing malfunctions.
• JSON pathways and anticipated values must be configured precisely because incorrect setups can result in false positives or negatives.