Agent skill
api-patterns
REST API and GraphQL design patterns, authentication, error handling, and best practices. Use when building APIs, designing endpoints, or implementing backend services.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/api-patterns-wania-kazmi-claude-code-autonomo
SKILL.md
API Design Patterns & Best Practices
REST API Principles
1. Resource-Based URLs
# GOOD: Resource-oriented
GET /users # List users
GET /users/123 # Get specific user
POST /users # Create user
PUT /users/123 # Update user (full)
PATCH /users/123 # Update user (partial)
DELETE /users/123 # Delete user
# BAD: Action-oriented
GET /getUsers
POST /createUser
POST /updateUser/123
2. Use Proper HTTP Methods
- GET: Read (idempotent, cacheable)
- POST: Create (not idempotent)
- PUT: Replace (idempotent)
- PATCH: Partial update (not idempotent)
- DELETE: Remove (idempotent)
3. Use Proper HTTP Status Codes
// Success
200 OK // General success
201 Created // Resource created (POST)
204 No Content // Success with no body (DELETE)
// Client Errors
400 Bad Request // Invalid input
401 Unauthorized // No/invalid auth
403 Forbidden // Auth valid but not allowed
404 Not Found // Resource doesn't exist
409 Conflict // Resource state conflict
422 Unprocessable // Validation failed
// Server Errors
500 Internal // Unexpected error
503 Unavailable // Service temporarily down
Response Format
Standard Response Structure
interface ApiResponse<T> {
success: boolean
data?: T
error?: {
code: string
message: string
details?: Record<string, string[]>
}
meta?: {
total: number
page: number
limit: number
hasMore: boolean
}
}
// Success response
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"id": "123",
"name": "John Doe",
"email": "[email protected]"
}
}
// List response with pagination
{
"success": true,
"data": [
{ "id": "1", "name": "User 1" },
{ "id": "2", "name": "User 2" }
],
"meta": {
"total": 100,
"page": 1,
"limit": 20,
"hasMore": true
}
}
// Error response
{
"success": false,
"error": {
"code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
"message": "Invalid input data",
"details": {
"email": ["Invalid email format"],
"age": ["Must be at least 18"]
}
}
}
Request Validation
Zod Schema Validation
import { z } from 'zod'
const CreateUserSchema = z.object({
name: z.string().min(1).max(100),
email: z.string().email(),
age: z.number().int().min(18).max(150).optional(),
role: z.enum(['user', 'admin']).default('user')
})
type CreateUserInput = z.infer<typeof CreateUserSchema>
// Usage in endpoint
export async function POST(request: Request) {
try {
const body = await request.json()
const data = CreateUserSchema.parse(body)
const user = await createUser(data)
return Response.json({ success: true, data: user }, { status: 201 })
} catch (error) {
if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
return Response.json({
success: false,
error: {
code: 'VALIDATION_ERROR',
message: 'Invalid input',
details: formatZodErrors(error)
}
}, { status: 422 })
}
throw error
}
}
Error Handling
Custom Error Classes
export class AppError extends Error {
constructor(
public message: string,
public statusCode: number = 500,
public code: string = 'INTERNAL_ERROR'
) {
super(message)
this.name = 'AppError'
}
}
export class NotFoundError extends AppError {
constructor(resource: string) {
super(`${resource} not found`, 404, 'NOT_FOUND')
}
}
export class UnauthorizedError extends AppError {
constructor(message = 'Unauthorized') {
super(message, 401, 'UNAUTHORIZED')
}
}
export class ValidationError extends AppError {
constructor(
message: string,
public details?: Record<string, string[]>
) {
super(message, 422, 'VALIDATION_ERROR')
}
}
// Usage
throw new NotFoundError('User')
throw new UnauthorizedError('Invalid token')
throw new ValidationError('Invalid input', { email: ['Required'] })
Global Error Handler
// Express middleware
export function errorHandler(
error: Error,
req: Request,
res: Response,
next: NextFunction
) {
console.error('Error:', error)
if (error instanceof AppError) {
return res.status(error.statusCode).json({
success: false,
error: {
code: error.code,
message: error.message,
details: error instanceof ValidationError ? error.details : undefined
}
})
}
// Don't leak internal errors
return res.status(500).json({
success: false,
error: {
code: 'INTERNAL_ERROR',
message: 'An unexpected error occurred'
}
})
}
Authentication Patterns
JWT Authentication
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken'
const JWT_SECRET = process.env.JWT_SECRET!
const JWT_EXPIRES_IN = '7d'
export function generateToken(user: User): string {
return jwt.sign(
{ userId: user.id, role: user.role },
JWT_SECRET,
{ expiresIn: JWT_EXPIRES_IN }
)
}
export function verifyToken(token: string): JwtPayload {
try {
return jwt.verify(token, JWT_SECRET) as JwtPayload
} catch {
throw new UnauthorizedError('Invalid token')
}
}
// Auth middleware
export async function authMiddleware(req: Request) {
const authHeader = req.headers.get('authorization')
if (!authHeader?.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
throw new UnauthorizedError('Missing token')
}
const token = authHeader.slice(7)
const payload = verifyToken(token)
return payload
}
API Key Authentication
export async function apiKeyAuth(req: Request) {
const apiKey = req.headers.get('x-api-key')
if (!apiKey) {
throw new UnauthorizedError('Missing API key')
}
const hashedKey = hashApiKey(apiKey)
const keyRecord = await db.apiKeys.findUnique({
where: { hashedKey }
})
if (!keyRecord || keyRecord.revokedAt) {
throw new UnauthorizedError('Invalid API key')
}
// Update last used
await db.apiKeys.update({
where: { id: keyRecord.id },
data: { lastUsedAt: new Date() }
})
return keyRecord
}
Rate Limiting
Token Bucket Implementation
import { Ratelimit } from '@upstash/ratelimit'
import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis'
const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
redis: Redis.fromEnv(),
limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(100, '1 m'), // 100 requests per minute
analytics: true
})
export async function rateLimitMiddleware(req: Request) {
const ip = req.headers.get('x-forwarded-for') ?? 'anonymous'
const { success, limit, remaining, reset } = await ratelimit.limit(ip)
if (!success) {
return Response.json(
{
success: false,
error: {
code: 'RATE_LIMITED',
message: 'Too many requests'
}
},
{
status: 429,
headers: {
'X-RateLimit-Limit': limit.toString(),
'X-RateLimit-Remaining': remaining.toString(),
'X-RateLimit-Reset': reset.toString()
}
}
)
}
}
Pagination
Cursor-Based (Recommended)
interface PaginationParams {
cursor?: string
limit?: number
}
async function getUsers(params: PaginationParams) {
const limit = Math.min(params.limit ?? 20, 100)
const users = await db.users.findMany({
take: limit + 1, // Fetch one extra to check hasMore
cursor: params.cursor ? { id: params.cursor } : undefined,
orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' }
})
const hasMore = users.length > limit
const data = hasMore ? users.slice(0, -1) : users
const nextCursor = hasMore ? data[data.length - 1].id : null
return {
data,
meta: {
hasMore,
nextCursor
}
}
}
Offset-Based
async function getUsers(page: number = 1, limit: number = 20) {
const offset = (page - 1) * limit
const [users, total] = await Promise.all([
db.users.findMany({ skip: offset, take: limit }),
db.users.count()
])
return {
data: users,
meta: {
total,
page,
limit,
totalPages: Math.ceil(total / limit),
hasMore: offset + users.length < total
}
}
}
Versioning
URL Versioning (Recommended)
/api/v1/users
/api/v2/users
Header Versioning
const version = req.headers.get('api-version') ?? 'v1'
switch (version) {
case 'v1':
return handleV1(req)
case 'v2':
return handleV2(req)
default:
throw new AppError('Unsupported API version', 400)
}
CORS Configuration
const corsHeaders = {
'Access-Control-Allow-Origin': process.env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS ?? '*',
'Access-Control-Allow-Methods': 'GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS',
'Access-Control-Allow-Headers': 'Content-Type, Authorization, X-API-Key',
'Access-Control-Max-Age': '86400' // 24 hours
}
// Handle preflight
export function OPTIONS() {
return new Response(null, { headers: corsHeaders })
}
// Add to responses
export function withCors(response: Response) {
Object.entries(corsHeaders).forEach(([key, value]) => {
response.headers.set(key, value)
})
return response
}
Security Headers
const securityHeaders = {
'X-Content-Type-Options': 'nosniff',
'X-Frame-Options': 'DENY',
'X-XSS-Protection': '1; mode=block',
'Strict-Transport-Security': 'max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains',
'Content-Security-Policy': "default-src 'self'",
'Referrer-Policy': 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin'
}
OpenAPI Documentation
/**
* @openapi
* /api/users:
* get:
* summary: List users
* tags: [Users]
* parameters:
* - in: query
* name: page
* schema:
* type: integer
* description: Page number
* responses:
* 200:
* description: List of users
* content:
* application/json:
* schema:
* $ref: '#/components/schemas/UsersResponse'
*/
GraphQL Patterns
Schema Design
type User {
id: ID!
name: String!
email: String!
posts: [Post!]!
createdAt: DateTime!
}
type Query {
user(id: ID!): User
users(first: Int, after: String): UserConnection!
}
type Mutation {
createUser(input: CreateUserInput!): User!
updateUser(id: ID!, input: UpdateUserInput!): User!
deleteUser(id: ID!): Boolean!
}
input CreateUserInput {
name: String!
email: String!
}
Resolver Pattern
const resolvers = {
Query: {
user: async (_, { id }, context) => {
return context.dataSources.users.findById(id)
},
users: async (_, { first, after }, context) => {
return context.dataSources.users.findMany({ first, after })
}
},
User: {
posts: async (user, _, context) => {
return context.dataSources.posts.findByUserId(user.id)
}
}
}
Checklist
- RESTful resource naming
- Proper HTTP methods and status codes
- Consistent response format
- Input validation (Zod)
- Error handling (custom errors)
- Authentication (JWT/API key)
- Rate limiting
- Pagination (cursor-based)
- CORS configured
- Security headers set
- API documentation (OpenAPI)
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