# Using Oh Dear to monitor your API responses

Oh Dear can now better tell whether your API is actually up. On top of checking the status code, it inspects the JSON your API returns and makes sure the right values are in there.

A `200` only means the server answered, not that the answer was any good. Your API can return a `200` with an empty list or a `"status": "maintenance"` body, and a plain uptime check stays green. For an API, the body is the product, so we added response body assertions.

On the new body assertions tab in the uptime check settings, you pick a path to a field in the JSON, choose a condition, and give us a value. 

Let's demonstrate how you can  the [Star Wars API](https://swapi.info/api/films). To check that the first film is still A New Hope, set the path to `0.title`, the condition to `equals`, and the value to `A New Hope`.

![Configuring a body assertion on the Star Wars API: path 0.title equals A New Hope, with the live response shown below](/media/blog/8YUpr1zvtfIQWoAWmtSOwzqqRWUW4gUST34jI5nK.png)


You don't have to guess at your paths. The "Test against your URL" button runs your assertions against the live response right in the form. 

When the body assertions doesn't match what you expect, we fail the uptime check and show you the reason in the report (and all notifications)

![A failing body assertion: the live response shows the assertion did not pass because 0.title is A New Hope, not A Bad Hope](/media/blog/nsPjrst022JdwIRmTYk8Xejhq9WmpqSMBzWO26MM.png)

Hope you'll like this new feature!