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I spent six hours on a 400 error. My payload matched the spec. Headers were right. The token was fresh. I tried new libraries. I tried raw requests. Nothing worked.
I used tcpdump. I saw the raw bytes. The API needed a trailing comma. The spec missed this. Docs lied. The wire format told the truth.
Treat API docs as a sketch. Do not treat them as a contract. SDKs give you false security. They check schemas. They do not check implementation.
Change your workflow:
- Start with contract tests.
- Hit a staging environment first.
- Use recorded cassettes.
- Write these before business logic.
Catch API drifts in your CI pipeline. Avoid production logs at 2 AM.