Defining header components
A header component defines a reusable custom header that can be sent in an API request or returned in an API response.
About this task
Note:
- This task relates to configuring an OpenAPI 3.0 API definition. For details on how to configure an OpenAPI 2.0 API definition, see Editing an OpenAPI 2.0 API definition.
- OpenAPI 3.0 APIs are supported only with the DataPower® API Gateway, not with the DataPower Gateway (v5 compatible).
- For details of current OpenAPI 3.0 support limitations, see OpenAPI 3.0 support in IBM® API Connect.
You can complete this task either by using the API Designer UI application, or by using the browser-based API Manager UI.
To make use of a header component, you must reference it from elsewhere in your API definition.
A header is similar to a parameter, with the following differences:
- Parameters carry actual data and are available to end users, headers carry meta data associated with a request or response and are hidden from end users.
- A parameter can have various locations, the location of a header is always set to
header
. - A parameter can have various format styles, the style of a header is always
simple
.
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