API Integration Architect

Expert skill for integrating APIs in React applications. Specializes in React Query, SWR, GraphQL, WebSockets, caching strategies, and optimistic updates.

Core Capabilities

1. Data Fetching Libraries

React Query (TanStack Query): Powerful async state management
SWR: Stale-while-revalidate strategy
RTK Query: Redux Toolkit integration
Apollo Client: GraphQL client
Axios/Fetch: HTTP clients

2. REST API Integration

GET Requests: Fetch data
POST/PUT/PATCH: Create/update data
DELETE: Remove data
Query Parameters: Filtering, pagination
Headers: Authentication, content-type
Error Handling: Network errors, HTTP errors

3. GraphQL Integration

Queries: Fetch data with GraphQL
Mutations: Modify data
Subscriptions: Real-time updates
Fragments: Reusable query parts
Code Generation: Type-safe queries
Caching: Normalized cache

4. Real-Time Communication

WebSocket: Bidirectional communication
Server-Sent Events: One-way server push
Polling: Interval-based updates
Long Polling: Efficient polling
Socket.io: WebSocket library

5. Caching & Optimization

Cache Strategies: Fresh, stale, refetch
Background Refetch: Update in background
Cache Invalidation: Smart cache updates
Prefetching: Load before needed
Pagination: Infinite scroll, load more
Deduplication: Avoid duplicate requests

6. Optimistic Updates

Immediate UI: Update before server response
Rollback: Undo on error
Pessimistic Updates: Wait for server
Concurrent Updates: Handle conflicts
Offline Support: Queue mutations

React Query Setup

typescript

// queryClient.ts
import { QueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'

export const queryClient = new QueryClient({
  defaultOptions: {
    queries: {
      staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes
      cacheTime: 10 * 60 * 1000, // 10 minutes
      refetchOnWindowFocus: false,
      retry: 1,
    },
  },
})

// App.tsx
import { QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import { ReactQueryDevtools } from '@tanstack/react-query-devtools'

function App() {
  return (
    <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
      <YourApp />
      <ReactQueryDevtools initialIsOpen={false} />
    </QueryClientProvider>
  )
}

API Client

typescript

// api/client.ts
import axios from 'axios'

const apiClient = axios.create({
  baseURL: process.env.REACT_APP_API_URL,
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
})

// Request interceptor
apiClient.interceptors.request.use(
  (config) => {
    const token = localStorage.getItem('token')
    if (token) {
      config.headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${token}`
    }
    return config
  },
  (error) => Promise.reject(error)
)

// Response interceptor
apiClient.interceptors.response.use(
  (response) => response.data,
  (error) => {
    if (error.response?.status === 401) {
      // Handle unauthorized
      window.location.href = '/login'
    }
    return Promise.reject(error)
  }
)

export default apiClient

React Query Patterns

typescript

// hooks/useUser.ts
import { useQuery, useMutation, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import apiClient from '@/api/client'

interface User {
  id: string
  name: string
  email: string
}

// Fetch user
export function useUser(userId: string) {
  return useQuery({
    queryKey: ['user', userId],
    queryFn: () => apiClient.get<User>(`/users/${userId}`),
    enabled: !!userId,
  })
}

// Update user
export function useUpdateUser() {
  const queryClient = useQueryClient()

  return useMutation({
    mutationFn: (data: Partial<User> & { id: string }) =>
      apiClient.put(`/users/${data.id}`, data),

    // Optimistic update
    onMutate: async (newUser) => {
      await queryClient.cancelQueries({ queryKey: ['user', newUser.id] })
      const previousUser = queryClient.getQueryData(['user', newUser.id])
      queryClient.setQueryData(['user', newUser.id], newUser)
      return { previousUser }
    },

    onError: (err, newUser, context) => {
      queryClient.setQueryData(['user', newUser.id], context?.previousUser)
    },

    onSettled: (data, error, variables) => {
      queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['user', variables.id] })
    },
  })
}

GraphQL with Apollo

typescript

// apollo-client.ts
import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, createHttpLink } from '@apollo/client'
import { setContext } from '@apollo/client/link/context'

const httpLink = createHttpLink({
  uri: process.env.REACT_APP_GRAPHQL_URL,
})

const authLink = setContext((_, { headers }) => {
  const token = localStorage.getItem('token')
  return {
    headers: {
      ...headers,
      authorization: token ? `Bearer ${token}` : '',
    },
  }
})

export const apolloClient = new ApolloClient({
  link: authLink.concat(httpLink),
  cache: new InMemoryCache(),
})

// Usage
import { useQuery, useMutation, gql } from '@apollo/client'

const GET_USER = gql`
  query GetUser($id: ID!) {
    user(id: $id) {
      id
      name
      email
    }
  }
`

function UserProfile({ userId }: { userId: string }) {
  const { data, loading, error } = useQuery(GET_USER, {
    variables: { id: userId },
  })

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error.message}</div>

  return <div>{data.user.name}</div>
}

WebSocket Integration

typescript

// hooks/useWebSocket.ts
import { useEffect, useState, useRef } from 'react'

export function useWebSocket<T>(url: string) {
  const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null)
  const [error, setError] = useState<Event | null>(null)
  const ws = useRef<WebSocket | null>(null)

  useEffect(() => {
    ws.current = new WebSocket(url)

    ws.current.onmessage = (event) => {
      setData(JSON.parse(event.data))
    }

    ws.current.onerror = (error) => {
      setError(error)
    }

    return () => {
      ws.current?.close()
    }
  }, [url])

  const send = (message: any) => {
    ws.current?.send(JSON.stringify(message))
  }

  return { data, error, send }
}

Infinite Scroll

typescript

// hooks/useInfiniteScroll.ts
import { useInfiniteQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
import apiClient from '@/api/client'

export function useInfinitePosts() {
  return useInfiniteQuery({
    queryKey: ['posts'],
    queryFn: ({ pageParam = 1 }) =>
      apiClient.get(`/posts?page=${pageParam}`),
    getNextPageParam: (lastPage, pages) => {
      return lastPage.hasMore ? pages.length + 1 : undefined
    },
  })
}

// Component
function PostList() {
  const { data, fetchNextPage, hasNextPage, isFetchingNextPage } = useInfinitePosts()

  return (
    <div>
      {data?.pages.map((page) =>
        page.posts.map((post) => <Post key={post.id} {...post} />)
      )}

      {hasNextPage && (
        <button onClick={() => fetchNextPage()} disabled={isFetchingNextPage}>
          {isFetchingNextPage ? 'Loading...' : 'Load More'}
        </button>
      )}
    </div>
  )
}

Best Practices

Type-safe APIs with TypeScript
Error boundaries for API errors
Loading and error states
Optimistic updates for better UX
Cache invalidation strategies
Request deduplication
Retry failed requests
Authentication handling

When to Use This Skill

Use when you need to:

Integrate REST or GraphQL APIs
Set up React Query or SWR
Implement real-time updates
Add optimistic updates
Handle pagination/infinite scroll
Manage API caching
Build offline-capable apps

Output Format

Provide:

API Client Setup: Axios/Fetch configuration
Query Hooks: Type-safe data fetching
Mutation Hooks: Data modification
Caching Strategy: How data is cached
Error Handling: Error boundaries and fallbacks
Testing: API mocking and tests

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SKILL.md

API Integration Architect

Core Capabilities

1. Data Fetching Libraries

2. REST API Integration

3. GraphQL Integration

4. Real-Time Communication

5. Caching & Optimization

6. Optimistic Updates

React Query Setup

API Client

React Query Patterns

GraphQL with Apollo

WebSocket Integration

Infinite Scroll

Best Practices

When to Use This Skill

Output Format