REST API Endpoint Best Practices
REST API Endpoint Best Practices
1. Use Nouns instead of Verbs in the Endpoints When designing REST API endpoints, use nouns instead of verbs, as it’s more interpretable and self-explanatory. For example, /articles is a better endpoint than /get_articles. Nouns make it easier for developers to understand the purpose of the endpoint.
2. Use Plural Nouns for Collection Resources When returning collections of resources in the REST API, use plural nouns. For example, /articles returns a list of articles. If you need to return a single article, use the article ID in the URL, like /articles/1.
3. Use HTTP Verbs to Indicate the Operation Use HTTP verbs to indicate the operation to be performed on the API resource. For example, GET to retrieve data, POST to create data, PUT to update data, and DELETE to delete data.
4. Keep Endpoints Short and Simple Keep the REST API endpoint as simple and short as possible. The URL should be easily readable and interpreted by the developers.
5. Use Consistent URL Structure Use a consistent URL structure throughout the API. Implement a standard URL structure for parameters, headers, and responses.
6. Separate API Version into the URL Separate the API version from the URL to avoid conflicts with the previous API versions. It also allows developers to access previous versions of the API when required.
7. Use Caching to Optimize API Performance Use caching to improve API performance. The long-term efficiency of the API should be ensured by caching more frequently accessed responses.
8. Use HTTP Status Codes to Deliver Responses Use HTTP status codes to deliver responses. Use the most appropriate status code depending on the returned data. For example, 200 for OK, 401 for unauthorized access and 404 for not found.
9. Use JSON Format for Payload Use JSON format to transmit payload data. JSON is the most popular and accepted format which is also easy to read and parse.
10. Use Consistent Naming Conventions Use consistent naming and structure conventions to make it easier for developers to understand and access your APIs. Make sure your APIs follow the standards so that they can be easily integrated into other applications.