Given our experience that tests are the only API specifications that really matter, we're always on the lookout for new tools that might help. Karate is an API testing framework whose unique feature is that tests are written directly in Gherkin without relying on a general-purpose programming language to implement test behavior. Karate is really a domain-specific language for describing HTTP-based API tests. Although this approach is interesting and makes for some very readable specifications for simple tests, the special-purpose language for matching and validating payloads can become quite syntax-heavy and difficult to understand. It remains to be seen if more complex tests written in this style will be readable and maintainable over the long haul.
