Headers

Headers carry extra information with a request: the format you accept, the format you send, who you are. This page shows how to add your own and explains the ones ApiWorkbench adds for you.

New to headers? HTTP basics explains them.

Add a header

Open the Headers tab of the request.
Select Add header.
Type the name in Header and the value in Value.
Header Value
Accept application/json

Header	Value
`Accept`	`application/json`

The tab label counts the headers that will be sent: Headers (1).

Switch a header off or remove it

Untick the box at the start of a row to keep the header without sending it.
Select the × at the end of a row to remove it.

Use variables in headers

Names and values can contain {{variables}}. They are filled in when you send.

Header	Value	What is sent
`X-Tenant`	`{{tenant}}`	The value of the `tenant` variable
`X-Request-Id`	`{{$guid}}`	A new random ID on every send
`X-Sent-At`	`{{$isoTimestamp}}`	The current time

See Variables and environments and Dynamic variables.

Headers added for you

You do not need to type every header. ApiWorkbench adds these when you send.

Header	Added when	Value
`Content-Type`	The request has a body	Depends on the body type
`Authorization`	The Auth tab has a type that uses it	Built from your auth settings
`Cookie`	The cookie jar holds cookies for the address	The matching cookies

Content-Type

Body type	Content-Type
JSON, GraphQL	`application/json`
Text	`text/plain`
XML	`application/xml`
Form URL-encoded	`application/x-www-form-urlencoded`
Form data	`multipart/form-data` with a boundary
Binary file	`application/octet-stream`

To send a different value, add your own Content-Type row on the Headers tab. Yours is used instead. For example, send a JSON body as application/vnd.api+json, or a binary file as image/png.

Form data is the exception: its Content-Type is always written by the app, because the boundary in it has to match the body.

Authorization

Bearer Token, Basic Auth and most other auth types send their result in the Authorization header. Auth is applied last. If you also typed an Authorization row on the Headers tab, the value from the Auth tab replaces it.

To write the header entirely by hand, set Auth type to No Auth and add the row yourself.

See what was really sent

The Headers tab shows what you typed. To see the final headers, with variables filled in and the added ones included, open the Console from the rail and look at the entry for the request. See Console.

Edit many headers at once

Bulk edit turns the table into text with one Header: Value per line. This is the quickest way to paste headers copied from documentation or browser developer tools.

Select Bulk edit above the rows.
Paste or type the headers.
text
```
Accept: application/json
Accept-Language: en
// X-Debug: 1
```
A line that starts with // is a header that is switched off.
Select Key-value edit to return to the table.

The full format is described under Bulk edit.

Common headers

Header	Example	Purpose
`Accept`	`application/json`	The format you want back
`Content-Type`	`application/json`	The format of the body you send
`Authorization`	`Bearer eyJhbGci…`	Who you are. Use the Auth tab.
`Accept-Language`	`en`	The language you prefer
`If-None-Match`	`"33a64df5"`	Only send the body if it changed
`X-Request-Id`	`{{$guid}}`	An ID to find this request in server logs

Headers ​

Add a header ​

Switch a header off or remove it ​

Use variables in headers ​

Headers added for you ​

Content-Type ​

Authorization ​

See what was really sent ​

Edit many headers at once ​

Common headers ​

Next steps ​