API Design

Overview

This skill guides the design of well-structured APIs that are intuitive, consistent, and scalable. It covers REST, GraphQL, and gRPC patterns with focus on developer experience and long-term maintainability.

Instructions

1. Understand Requirements

Identify API consumers and use cases
Define resource models and relationships
Determine authentication/authorization needs
Plan for versioning strategy

2. Design Resource Structure

Define clear resource hierarchies
Establish naming conventions
Plan URL patterns
Design request/response schemas

3. Define Operations

Map CRUD operations to HTTP methods
Design query parameters for filtering/sorting
Plan pagination approach
Define error response formats

4. Document the API

Create OpenAPI/Swagger specification
Include examples for all endpoints
Document authentication flows
Provide SDK usage examples

Best Practices

RESTful API Design

Use Nouns for Resources: /users, not /getUsers
Consistent Naming: Use snake_case or camelCase consistently across all endpoints
Proper HTTP Methods:
- GET (read/fetch), POST (create), PUT (full update), PATCH (partial update), DELETE (remove)
Meaningful Status Codes:
- 200 (OK), 201 (Created), 204 (No Content)
- 400 (Bad Request), 401 (Unauthorized), 403 (Forbidden), 404 (Not Found)
- 409 (Conflict), 422 (Unprocessable Entity)
- 500 (Internal Server Error), 503 (Service Unavailable)
Idempotency: PUT and DELETE should be idempotent; consider idempotency keys for POST
HATEOAS: Include links to related resources in responses
Filtering & Sorting: Use query parameters (?status=active&sort=-created_at)
Pagination: Cursor-based for large datasets, offset for simpler cases

GraphQL Schema Design

Use Descriptive Types: Clear, self-documenting type and field names
Connection Pattern: Use relay-style connections for paginated lists
Input Objects: Separate input types for mutations (CreateUserInput, UpdateUserInput)
Error Handling: Return errors as part of payload, not just top-level exceptions
Nullability: Be explicit about nullable vs non-nullable fields
Mutations Return Payloads: Include both data and errors in mutation responses
Avoid Over-fetching: Design fragments and fields for common query patterns

gRPC Service Design

Service Naming: Use verbs for RPC methods (CreateUser, GetUser, ListUsers)
Message Reuse: Define shared message types for common patterns
Pagination: Use page_token pattern for cursor-based pagination
Errors: Use google.rpc.Status for rich error details
Versioning: Use package versioning (myapi.v1, myapi.v2)
Streaming: Leverage server/client/bidirectional streaming where appropriate

API Versioning Strategies

URL Path Versioning: /v1/users, /v2/users (explicit, simple, cacheable)
Header Versioning: API-Version: 2 or Accept: application/vnd.api.v2+json (cleaner URLs)
Query Parameter: ?version=2 (fallback option, less recommended)
Semantic Versioning: Major versions for breaking changes, minor for features, patch for fixes
Deprecation Policy: Announce sunset dates, support N-1 versions minimum

Examples

Example 1: RESTful Resource Design

yaml

# OpenAPI 3.0 Specification
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  title: E-Commerce API
  version: 1.0.0

paths:
  /products:
    get:
      summary: List all products
      parameters:
        - name: category
          in: query
          schema:
            type: string
        - name: min_price
          in: query
          schema:
            type: number
        - name: page
          in: query
          schema:
            type: integer
            default: 1
        - name: per_page
          in: query
          schema:
            type: integer
            default: 20
            maximum: 100
      responses:
        "200":
          description: Paginated list of products
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  data:
                    type: array
                    items:
                      $ref: "#/components/schemas/Product"
                  pagination:
                    $ref: "#/components/schemas/Pagination"

    post:
      summary: Create a new product
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: "#/components/schemas/ProductInput"
      responses:
        "201":
          description: Product created
        "400":
          description: Validation error

  /products/{id}:
    get:
      summary: Get a specific product
      parameters:
        - name: id
          in: path
          required: true
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        "200":
          description: Product details
        "404":
          description: Product not found

Example 2: GraphQL Schema Design

graphql

type Query {
  """
  Fetch a user by ID
  """
  user(id: ID!): User

  """
  List users with optional filtering
  """
  users(filter: UserFilter, first: Int = 20, after: String): UserConnection!
}

type Mutation {
  """
  Create a new user account
  """
  createUser(input: CreateUserInput!): CreateUserPayload!

  """
  Update an existing user
  """
  updateUser(id: ID!, input: UpdateUserInput!): UpdateUserPayload!
}

type User {
  id: ID!
  email: String!
  name: String!
  createdAt: DateTime!
  orders(first: Int, after: String): OrderConnection!
}

input CreateUserInput {
  email: String!
  name: String!
  password: String!
}

type CreateUserPayload {
  user: User
  errors: [UserError!]!
}

type UserError {
  field: String
  message: String!
  code: UserErrorCode!
}

Example 3: gRPC Service Definition

protobuf

syntax = "proto3";

package ecommerce.v1;

import "google/protobuf/timestamp.proto";

service ProductService {
  // Fetch a single product by ID
  rpc GetProduct(GetProductRequest) returns (GetProductResponse);

  // List products with filtering and pagination
  rpc ListProducts(ListProductsRequest) returns (ListProductsResponse);

  // Create a new product
  rpc CreateProduct(CreateProductRequest) returns (CreateProductResponse);

  // Update an existing product
  rpc UpdateProduct(UpdateProductRequest) returns (UpdateProductResponse);

  // Delete a product
  rpc DeleteProduct(DeleteProductRequest) returns (DeleteProductResponse);
}

message Product {
  string id = 1;
  string name = 2;
  string description = 3;
  int64 price_cents = 4;
  string category = 5;
  google.protobuf.Timestamp created_at = 6;
  google.protobuf.Timestamp updated_at = 7;
}

message ListProductsRequest {
  // Optional category filter
  string category = 1;

  // Minimum price filter (in cents)
  optional int64 min_price_cents = 2;

  // Maximum number of items to return
  int32 page_size = 3;

  // Page token from previous response
  string page_token = 4;
}

message ListProductsResponse {
  repeated Product products = 1;
  string next_page_token = 2;
  int32 total_count = 3;
}

message CreateProductRequest {
  string name = 1;
  string description = 2;
  int64 price_cents = 3;
  string category = 4;
}

message CreateProductResponse {
  Product product = 1;
}

Example 4: Error Response Design (REST)

json

{
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Request validation failed",
    "details": [
      {
        "field": "email",
        "code": "INVALID_FORMAT",
        "message": "Email must be a valid email address"
      },
      {
        "field": "age",
        "code": "OUT_OF_RANGE",
        "message": "Age must be between 18 and 120"
      }
    ],
    "request_id": "req_abc123xyz",
    "documentation_url": "https://api.example.com/docs/errors#VALIDATION_ERROR"
  }
}

Example 5: API Versioning with Header

http

# Request with API version header
GET /users/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Accept: application/vnd.api.v2+json
Authorization: Bearer eyJ...

# Response includes deprecation warning
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/vnd.api.v2+json
Sunset: Sat, 31 Dec 2026 23:59:59 GMT
Deprecation: true
Link: <https://api.example.com/v3/users/123>; rel="successor-version"

{
  "id": "123",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "name": "John Doe"
}

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