Integrations

Question

I'm new to integrations and what to know about headers in it. Someone can explain the purpose of it? 
 Thank you in advance

Varun Teja Gurrapu · Answer

Hi sravanic669344 , Headers are part of the metadata in an API request or response. Think of them as little notes or instructions you send along with your data. They tell the receiving system how to handle the request , what kind of data is being sent, and who&rsquo;s sending it. 
 Common Types of Headers :

Header 
 Purpose

Authorization 
 Used to send credentials like API keys, tokens, etc. This proves your identity.

Content-Type 
 Tells the server what format the data is in. Common values: application/json , application/xml , text/plain .

Accept 
 Tells the server what format you want the response in.

User-Agent 
 Identifies the application or tool making the request (like a browser or tool name).

Custom Headers 
 APIs can define their own headers if needed (e.g., X-Custom-Header ).

Why Are Headers Important?

Security : Authentication and authorization are handled in headers.

Data handling : Tells the server how to process your request.

Communication rules : Both systems agree on the "language" and structure via headers.

have a look onto these,

https://blog.postman.com/what-are-http-headers/

https://budibase.com/blog/inside-it/api-headers/#:~:text=API%20headers%20are%20a%20section,extra%20information%20about%20the%20request.

Hope this helps you!!

Header	Purpose
Authorization	Used to send credentials like API keys, tokens, etc. This proves your identity.
Content-Type	Tells the server what format the data is in. Common values: `application/json`, `application/xml`, `text/plain`.
Accept	Tells the server what format you want the response in.
User-Agent	Identifies the application or tool making the request (like a browser or tool name).
Custom Headers	APIs can define their own headers if needed (e.g., `X-Custom-Header`).