- name
- rest-api-design
- description
- REST API design patterns: resource naming, HTTP methods, status codes, pagination, filtering, authentication, rate limiting, versioning, and response formats. Use when designing new endpoints, reviewing API contracts, or planning API strategies. Trigger phrases: API design, endpoint design, REST API, API versioning, schema design. Adapted from everything-claude-code by @affaan-m (MIT)
- metadata
- {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔌","requires":{"bins":[],"env":[]},"os":["darwin","linux","win32"]}}
API Design Patterns
Design consistent, developer-friendly REST APIs with resource naming, HTTP semantics, and versioning.
When to Activate
- Designing new API endpoints
- Reviewing existing API contracts
- Adding pagination, filtering, or authentication
- Planning API versioning strategy
- Building public or partner-facing APIs
Quick Start
- Use nouns (plural, kebab-case) for resource URLs, not verbs
- Apply correct HTTP method (GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE)
- Return appropriate status codes (200/201/400/401/403/404/429)
- Use consistent response format (data + metadata + error structure)
- Implement pagination (cursor-based preferred) and filtering
- Require authentication and check authorization per resource
Key Concepts
- Resource naming — Plural nouns in kebab-case; use verbs sparingly for actions
- HTTP semantics — Each method has idempotency/safety properties; honor them
- Status codes — Signal intent precisely (400 for validation, 422 for semantic error)
- Error format — Consistent structure with codes, messages, and field details
- Versioning — URL path versioning (v1, v2); non-breaking changes don't need new version
Common Usage
Most frequent patterns:
- CRUD endpoints (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE)
- List endpoints with pagination and filtering
- Sub-resources for relationships (users/:id/orders)
- Authentication headers and permission checks
- Rate limiting headers and strategies
References
references/resource-design.md— URL structure, naming rules, HTTP methods, status codes, response formatsreferences/pagination-filtering-auth.md— Pagination strategies, filtering, sorting, authentication, rate limiting, versioning, and checklist