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Syncano Relies on Runscope for Fully-Automated API Testing
When it comes to building apps, Syncano lets developers focus on what they care about most — the user experience. The New York-based startup powers the backend for mobile and web apps. Developers focus on the front end, while Syncano ensures that complex data models sync across devices and servers in real time.
Because Syncano's clients rely on its service to power their own mission-critical apps, "It is crucial to make sure our API is running smoothly at all times," explains Maciej Kucharz, Syncano's head of engineering.
Like a lot of web apps, the Syncano API gets updated almost daily. Syncano's development and operations team needs to ensure updates do not break any part of the API, so Syncano has to test its frequent builds before they go into a production environment.
Because Syncano has a small distributed team of developers, it needed a way to automate API tests. Testing API methods manually proved to be time consuming and not scalable. Syncano searched the web for API testing solutions, discovered Runscope, and decided to give it a try.
Set Up In No Time
After setting up a list of requests and parameters using Runscope's ready-made test templates and easy-to-use web user interface, Syncano had Runscope up and running in just a few hours. With Runscope integrated into its system, Syncano can quickly and easily test API calls, without having to write any code.
Runscope verifies that the Syncano service is working reliably. Tests are based on real requests made from apps for high fidelity recreations of real-world situations. And the team receives notifications on the completion or failure of any test, so if something is not working, they can find and solve the problem right away.
"It was important for us to find a cloud-based tool that was also easy to use and could integrate with CircleCI and Slack. With Runscope, we were able to quickly create tests for our API, and just a few days after testing, we were confident in our choice to use Runscope as a part of our stack. Now, we can't imagine our day-to-day without it," says Kucharz.
Syncano uses CircleCI for deployment and the popular Slack for real-time messaging, archiving and search. Runscope integrates automatically with those apps, as well as a host of others, making setup easy.
Baked Into the Workflow
Today, Syncano has Runscope baked directly into its deploy and build workflow, so its developers and testers don't have to do anything manually. Everything is scheduled and fully automated. The team also uses Runscope for continuous production monitoring, to ensure its service always runs smoothly.
"Runscope saves me from going through all the endpoints and checking them manually. I just click on the tests, and I have an overview of what is happening," says Adam Wardecki, a tester at Syncano.
Runscope ensures that Syncano provides a high quality, reliable API product to its customers. "Being that we are a real-time engine, our uptime and performance are vital to us," said Sara Cowie, Syncano's head of customer acquisition. "Runscope reduces our development and testing timelines and ensures optimal performance of our API at all times."
Headquarters
New York, New York
Industry
Backend as a Service (BaaS)
Runscope Customer Since
2013
Challenge
Ensuring API quality and uptime with low overhead
Solution
Fully automated API monitoring and testing