𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗣𝗜 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
I've built 100+ APIs, here's what I learned 👇
Most developers struggle with REST API design.
𝟭. 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀
Level 0: Single endpoint (❌ avoid)
Level 1: Multiple resources
Level 2: ✅ Proper HTTP methods
Level 3: HATEOAS (when needed)
𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴
✅ Use nouns: /users, /orders
❌ Avoid verbs: /getUsers, /createOrder
✅ Be consistent: user-profiles or product-carts
❌ Avoid: UserProfiles, userProfiles
𝟯. 𝗛𝗧𝗧𝗣 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 & 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀
Methods:
• GET → Read
• POST → Create
• PUT/PATCH → Update
• DELETE → Remove
Success Codes:
• 200: Success
• 201: Created
• 202: Accepted (async)
• 204: No Content
Error Codes (client):
• 400: Bad Request
• 401: Unauthorized
• 403: Forbidden
• 404: Not Found
• 422: Validation Failed
Error Codes (server):
• 500: Internal Error on Server
• 503: Service Unavailable
𝟰. 𝗔𝗣𝗜 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
Choose one:
• URI: /api/v1/users ✅
• Header: X-Api-Version
• Media Type: application/vnd.api.v1+json
• Query String: ?version=1 (avoid)
𝟱. 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁/𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀
• Always use JSON
• Standardize error responses
• Support filtering & pagination
• Document with OpenAPI/Swagger
𝟲. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁
✅ HTTPS everywhere
✅ OAuth2/JWT auth
✅ Rate limiting
✅ Input validation
✅ Response caching
The key? Keep it simple and consistent.
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