REST Patterns
Quick reference for RESTful API design patterns and HTTP semantics.
HTTP Methods
| Method | Purpose | Idempotent | Cacheable |
|---|
| GET | Retrieve resource(s) | Yes | Yes |
| POST | Create new resource | No | No |
| PUT | Replace entire resource | Yes | No |
| PATCH | Partial update | Maybe | No |
| DELETE | Remove resource | Yes | No |
Essential Status Codes
| Code | Name | Use |
|---|
| 200 | OK | Success with body |
| 201 | Created | POST success (add Location header) |
| 204 | No Content | Success, no body |
| 400 | Bad Request | Invalid syntax |
| 401 | Unauthorized | Not authenticated |
| 403 | Forbidden | Not authorized |
| 404 | Not Found | Resource doesn't exist |
| 422 | Unprocessable | Validation error |
| 429 | Too Many Requests | Rate limited |
| 500 | Server Error | Internal failure |
Resource Design
GET /users # List
POST /users # Create
GET /users/{id} # Get one
PUT /users/{id} # Replace
PATCH /users/{id} # Update
DELETE /users/{id} # Delete
# Query parameters
GET /users?page=2&limit=20 # Pagination
GET /users?sort=created_at:desc # Sorting
GET /users?role=admin # Filtering
Security Checklist
- HTTPS/TLS only
- OAuth 2.0 or JWT for auth
- Validate all inputs
- Rate limit per client
- CORS headers configured
- No sensitive data in URLs
- Use
no-store for sensitive responses
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|
| Verbs in URLs | /getUsers → /users |
| Deep nesting | Flatten or use query params |
| 200 for errors | Use proper 4xx/5xx |
| No pagination | Always paginate collections |
| Missing rate limits | Protect against abuse |
Quick Reference
| Task | Pattern |
|---|
| Paginate | ?page=2&limit=20 |
| Sort | ?sort=field:asc |
| Filter | ?status=active |
| Sparse fields | ?fields=id,name |
| Include related | ?include=orders |
When to Use
- Designing new API endpoints
- Choosing HTTP methods and status codes
- Implementing caching headers
- Setting up rate limiting
- Structuring error responses
Additional Resources
For detailed patterns, load:
./references/status-codes.md - Complete status code reference with examples./references/caching-patterns.md - Cache-Control, ETag, CDN patterns./references/rate-limiting.md - Rate limiting strategies and headers./references/response-formats.md - Errors, versioning, bulk ops, HATEOAS
