Designing a good REST API requires understanding core principles and best practices.

REST Principles

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style for distributed systems.

Best Practices

  1. Use proper HTTP methods
  2. Implement meaningful resource URIs
  3. Handle errors gracefully
  4. Version your API
  5. Use pagination for collections

Example

GET /api/v1/users
POST /api/v1/users
GET /api/v1/users/{id}