Headers Tab

The Headers tab configures HTTP headers sent with your request. Headers provide metadata about the request, including content type, authentication tokens, caching preferences, and custom application-specific data.

What Are HTTP Headers?

HTTP headers are key-value pairs sent at the beginning of a request (and response). They communicate information that is separate from the request body.

Raw HTTP Request Example

POST /api/users HTTP/1.1 Host: api.example.com Content-Type: application/json Authorization: Bearer token123 Accept: application/json{"name": "John"}

The lines between the request line and the body are headers.

Header Categories

The Headers tab organizes headers into two sections:

Auto-generated Headers

Headers that Tigrister manages automatically based on your request configuration:

  • Content-Type — Set based on the selected body type. You cannot manually edit this; change the body type to change Content-Type.
  • Default Headers — Pre-configured headers like Accept and User-Agent. These can be enabled/disabled and their values can be edited.

Custom Headers

Headers you add manually. You have full control over the key, value, and enabled state. This is where you add application-specific headers, API keys, or any custom requirements.

Content-Type Header

The Content-Type header tells the server the format of your request body. It is set automatically based on your body type selection.

Body TypeContent-Type Header
noneNot sent
JSONapplication/json
XMLapplication/xml
Texttext/plain
form-datamultipart/form-data; boundary=...
x-www-form-urlencodedapplication/x-www-form-urlencoded
BinaryAuto-detected from file (e.g., image/png)
Note: The Content-Type row in Auto-generated is read-only and appears dimmed. To change it, select a different body type in the Body tab.

Default Headers

Tigrister includes default headers that are commonly needed for API requests. You can enable/disable them and edit their values.

HeaderDefault ValuePurpose
Accept*/*Tells the server what response formats you accept
User-AgentTigrister/1.0Identifies the client making the request
Accept-Encodinggzip, deflate, brSpecifies supported compression methods
Connectionkeep-aliveKeeps the connection open for multiple requests

Editing Default Headers

  • Checkbox: Uncheck to disable a default header without deleting it
  • Value: Click the value field to edit (e.g., change Accept to "application/json")
  • Key: Cannot be changed for default headers (shown as dimmed)

Custom Headers

Add your own headers for authentication, API versioning, tracing, or any application-specific requirements.

ColumnDescription
CheckboxEnable or disable the header
KeyHeader name (e.g., "X-API-Key"). Supports autocomplete.
ValueHeader value. Can include environment variables.
Delete (X)Remove the header

Header Autocomplete

When typing in the Key field, Tigrister shows suggestions for common HTTP headers organized by category.

Categories

  • Authentication — Authorization, WWW-Authenticate
  • Caching — Cache-Control, If-None-Match, ETag
  • Content — Content-Type, Content-Length, Content-Encoding
  • CORS — Origin, Access-Control-Request-Method
  • Request — Accept, Accept-Language, Accept-Encoding
  • Custom — X-Request-ID, X-Correlation-ID, X-API-Key

Using Autocomplete

  1. Click in the Key field
  2. Start typing or leave empty to see all suggestions
  3. Click a suggestion to select it
  4. The key and a default value are filled in automatically

Common Headers

Authentication

AuthorizationBearer {{token}}

Most common authentication header. The Auth tab sets this automatically based on your auth configuration.

API Versioning

X-API-Version2024-01-01
Acceptapplication/vnd.api+json; version=2

Different APIs use different versioning schemes in headers.

Request Tracing

X-Request-ID{{random.uuid}}
X-Correlation-ID{{correlationId}}

Used for tracking requests through distributed systems.

Caching

Cache-Controlno-cache
If-None-Match"etag-value"

Control caching behavior and conditional requests.

Using Variables in Headers

Header values can include environment variables and random variables.

Example

KeyValue
AuthorizationBearer {{authToken}}
X-Tenant-ID{{tenantId}}
X-Request-ID{{random.uuid}}
X-Timestamp{{random.timestamp}}

Header Precedence

If the same header is defined in multiple places, custom headers take precedence over auto-generated ones.

Priority Order (highest to lowest)

  1. Custom headers you add manually
  2. Authentication headers (from Auth tab)
  3. Default headers
  4. Content-Type (from Body type)
Example: If you add a custom "Authorization" header while also using Bearer auth from the Auth tab, the custom header value is used.
VarsAuth