opensafely-core / opensafely-core/opencodelists

Make API client requests easily categorizable

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deck-scrubbing
Dominant language
Python
Stars
60
Forks
16
Avg merge
4d 12h
Merged PRs (30d)
17

Description

Make API clients embed something in their request that makes them easily identifiable. This can make it easier to monitor through Honeycomb and verify we understand the clients or distinguish those we do not understand.

Suggestion: insert something into HTTP user-agent request header.

We can use Honeycomb to analyse requests to the OpenCodelists API endpoints (here for example). However it's not obvious (to me) that we can easily identify which of these originate from the automated clients that we understand.

See #2131 for an outline of currently known clients.

Some of these clients are not owned by Team REX and we might need to liaise with their owner (probably Team RAP).

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Review #2131 and the API client request entry points, then inspect how HTTP user-agent headers are set. Use the Honeycomb example in the issue to verify that known automated clients can be distinguished from other requests, and check whether affected client owners need coordination.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
api, observability
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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