An API (Application Programming Interface) is the core bridge connecting frontend clients (React, Angular, Mobile Apps) with backend data services. Designing clean, well-structured REST APIs ensures long-term system scalability, developer productivity, and easy third-party integration.

1. Resource Naming Conventions

RESTful APIs are resource-centric. URIs should use plural nouns rather than verbs or actions.

HTTP Method URI Pattern Good RESTful Naming Bad / Anti-Pattern
GET /api/v1/users Fetch list of users /api/v1/getUsers
POST /api/v1/users Create a new user /api/v1/createNewUser
PUT /api/v1/users/42 Replace entire user object /api/v1/updateUser?id=42
DELETE /api/v1/users/42 Delete user #42 /api/v1/deleteUser/42

2. Standard HTTP Status Codes

Always return appropriate HTTP status codes so clients can immediately understand response status without parsing body strings.

  • 200 OK: Request succeeded.
  • 201 Created: Resource successfully created via POST.
  • 204 No Content: Successful request with no return body (e.g., DELETE).
  • 400 Bad Request: Client sent invalid JSON or failed payload validation.
  • 401 Unauthorized: Missing or invalid JWT authentication token.
  • 403 Forbidden: Authenticated user lacks permission to access resource.
  • 404 Not Found: Resource URI does not exist.
  • 500 Internal Server Error: Unhandled backend server exception.

3. Standard Error Response JSON Structure

{
  "status": 400,
  "error": "Bad Request",
  "message": "Validation failed for field 'email'",
  "timestamp": "2026-09-13T10:30:00Z",
  "path": "/api/v1/users"
}

4. Security & Authentication (JWT & Rate Limiting)

Use JSON Web Tokens (JWT) passed in the Authorization: Bearer <token> header for stateless user sessions. Protect API endpoints against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks using Redis-based Token Bucket Rate Limiting (e.g., max 100 requests per minute per IP address).

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