Adding a Request Body to a Monitor

Adding a Request Body to a Monitor

When you monitor a POST, PUT, or PATCH endpoint, you may need to send a request body for the endpoint to respond correctly. This article explains how to configure a request body on a monitor.

When You Need a Request Body

Most health check endpoints don't require a body — a simple GET or POST with no body is enough to verify the endpoint is up. You need a request body when:

  • The endpoint returns an error (400, 422) without a specific payload
  • You're monitoring an API that validates input before processing
  • The endpoint logic depends on request data to reach the code path you want to verify

Adding a Body During Monitor Creation

  1. Open the New Monitor form (Monitors → New Monitor).
  2. Set the HTTP Method to POST (or PUT/PATCH).
  3. Scroll to the Advanced section and look for the Request Body field.
  4. Enter the body content.
  5. Set the Content-Type header to match the body format (e.g., application/json).
  6. Complete the form and click Create Monitor.

Adding a Body to an Existing Monitor

  1. Go to Monitors and click the monitor to edit.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Scroll to Request Body.
  4. Enter the body and confirm the Content-Type header is set correctly.
  5. Click Save.

Example: JSON Body

If the endpoint expects a JSON payload:

Request Body:

{
  "action": "health_check",
  "source": "pulseapi"
}

Content-Type Header:

Content-Type: application/json

Example: Form Data

If the endpoint expects application/x-www-form-urlencoded (HTML form submission format):

Request Body:

action=health_check&source=pulseapi

Content-Type Header:

Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

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