@jetrabbits/agentic 0.0.1

package/areas/software/full-stack/skills/api-design-principles/references/rest-best-practices.md

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+# REST API Best Practices
+
+## URL Structure
+
+### Resource Naming
+
+```
+# Good - Plural nouns
+GET /api/users
+GET /api/orders
+GET /api/products
+
+# Bad - Verbs or mixed conventions
+GET /api/getUser
+GET /api/user  (inconsistent singular)
+POST /api/createOrder
+```
+
+### Nested Resources
+
+```
+# Shallow nesting (preferred)
+GET /api/users/{id}/orders
+GET /api/orders/{id}
+
+# Deep nesting (avoid)
+GET /api/users/{id}/orders/{orderId}/items/{itemId}/reviews
+# Better:
+GET /api/order-items/{id}/reviews
+```
+
+## HTTP Methods and Status Codes
+
+### GET - Retrieve Resources
+
+```
+GET /api/users              → 200 OK (with list)
+GET /api/users/{id}         → 200 OK or 404 Not Found
+GET /api/users?page=2       → 200 OK (paginated)
+```
+
+### POST - Create Resources
+
+```
+POST /api/users
+  Body: {"name": "John", "email": "john@example.com"}
+  → 201 Created
+  Location: /api/users/123
+  Body: {"id": "123", "name": "John", ...}
+
+POST /api/users (validation error)
+  → 422 Unprocessable Entity
+  Body: {"errors": [...]}
+```
+
+### PUT - Replace Resources
+
+```
+PUT /api/users/{id}
+  Body: {complete user object}
+  → 200 OK (updated)
+  → 404 Not Found (doesn't exist)
+
+# Must include ALL fields
+```
+
+### PATCH - Partial Update
+
+```
+PATCH /api/users/{id}
+  Body: {"name": "Jane"}  (only changed fields)
+  → 200 OK
+  → 404 Not Found
+```
+
+### DELETE - Remove Resources
+
+```
+DELETE /api/users/{id}
+  → 204 No Content (deleted)
+  → 404 Not Found
+  → 409 Conflict (can't delete due to references)
+```
+
+## Filtering, Sorting, and Searching
+
+### Query Parameters
+
+```
+# Filtering
+GET /api/users?status=active
+GET /api/users?role=admin&status=active
+
+# Sorting
+GET /api/users?sort=created_at
+GET /api/users?sort=-created_at  (descending)
+GET /api/users?sort=name,created_at
+
+# Searching
+GET /api/users?search=john
+GET /api/users?q=john
+
+# Field selection (sparse fieldsets)
+GET /api/users?fields=id,name,email
+```
+
+## Pagination Patterns
+
+### Offset-Based Pagination
+
+```python
+GET /api/users?page=2&page_size=20
+
+Response:
+{
+  "items": [...],
+  "page": 2,
+  "page_size": 20,
+  "total": 150,
+  "pages": 8
+}
+```
+
+### Cursor-Based Pagination (for large datasets)
+
+```python
+GET /api/users?limit=20&cursor=eyJpZCI6MTIzfQ
+
+Response:
+{
+  "items": [...],
+  "next_cursor": "eyJpZCI6MTQzfQ",
+  "has_more": true
+}
+```
+
+### Link Header Pagination (RESTful)
+
+```
+GET /api/users?page=2
+
+Response Headers:
+Link: <https://api.example.com/users?page=3>; rel="next",
+      <https://api.example.com/users?page=1>; rel="prev",
+      <https://api.example.com/users?page=1>; rel="first",
+      <https://api.example.com/users?page=8>; rel="last"
+```
+
+## Versioning Strategies
+
+### URL Versioning (Recommended)
+
+```
+/api/v1/users
+/api/v2/users
+
+Pros: Clear, easy to route
+Cons: Multiple URLs for same resource
+```
+
+### Header Versioning
+
+```
+GET /api/users
+Accept: application/vnd.api+json; version=2
+
+Pros: Clean URLs
+Cons: Less visible, harder to test
+```
+
+### Query Parameter
+
+```
+GET /api/users?version=2
+
+Pros: Easy to test
+Cons: Optional parameter can be forgotten
+```
+
+## Rate Limiting
+
+### Headers
+
+```
+X-RateLimit-Limit: 1000
+X-RateLimit-Remaining: 742
+X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640000000
+
+Response when limited:
+429 Too Many Requests
+Retry-After: 3600
+```
+
+### Implementation Pattern
+
+```python
+from fastapi import HTTPException, Request
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+
+class RateLimiter:
+    def __init__(self, calls: int, period: int):
+        self.calls = calls
+        self.period = period
+        self.cache = {}
+
+    def check(self, key: str) -> bool:
+        now = datetime.now()
+        if key not in self.cache:
+            self.cache[key] = []
+
+        # Remove old requests
+        self.cache[key] = [
+            ts for ts in self.cache[key]
+            if now - ts < timedelta(seconds=self.period)
+        ]
+
+        if len(self.cache[key]) >= self.calls:
+            return False
+
+        self.cache[key].append(now)
+        return True
+
+limiter = RateLimiter(calls=100, period=60)
+
+@app.get("/api/users")
+async def get_users(request: Request):
+    if not limiter.check(request.client.host):
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=429,
+            headers={"Retry-After": "60"}
+        )
+    return {"users": [...]}
+```
+
+## Authentication and Authorization
+
+### Bearer Token
+
+```
+Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs...
+
+401 Unauthorized - Missing/invalid token
+403 Forbidden - Valid token, insufficient permissions
+```
+
+### API Keys
+
+```
+X-API-Key: your-api-key-here
+```
+
+## Error Response Format
+
+### Consistent Structure
+
+```json
+{
+  "error": {
+    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
+    "message": "Request validation failed",
+    "details": [
+      {
+        "field": "email",
+        "message": "Invalid email format",
+        "value": "not-an-email"
+      }
+    ],
+    "timestamp": "2025-10-16T12:00:00Z",
+    "path": "/api/users"
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### Status Code Guidelines
+
+- `200 OK`: Successful GET, PATCH, PUT
+- `201 Created`: Successful POST
+- `204 No Content`: Successful DELETE
+- `400 Bad Request`: Malformed request
+- `401 Unauthorized`: Authentication required
+- `403 Forbidden`: Authenticated but not authorized
+- `404 Not Found`: Resource doesn't exist
+- `409 Conflict`: State conflict (duplicate email, etc.)
+- `422 Unprocessable Entity`: Validation errors
+- `429 Too Many Requests`: Rate limited
+- `500 Internal Server Error`: Server error
+- `503 Service Unavailable`: Temporary downtime
+
+## Caching
+
+### Cache Headers
+
+```
+# Client caching
+Cache-Control: public, max-age=3600
+
+# No caching
+Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate
+
+# Conditional requests
+ETag: "33a64df551425fcc55e4d42a148795d9f25f89d4"
+If-None-Match: "33a64df551425fcc55e4d42a148795d9f25f89d4"
+→ 304 Not Modified
+```
+
+## Bulk Operations
+
+### Batch Endpoints
+
+```python
+POST /api/users/batch
+{
+  "items": [
+    {"name": "User1", "email": "user1@example.com"},
+    {"name": "User2", "email": "user2@example.com"}
+  ]
+}
+
+Response:
+{
+  "results": [
+    {"id": "1", "status": "created"},
+    {"id": null, "status": "failed", "error": "Email already exists"}
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+## Idempotency
+
+### Idempotency Keys
+
+```
+POST /api/orders
+Idempotency-Key: unique-key-123
+
+If duplicate request:
+→ 200 OK (return cached response)
+```
+
+## CORS Configuration
+
+```python
+from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
+
+app.add_middleware(
+    CORSMiddleware,
+    allow_origins=["https://example.com"],
+    allow_credentials=True,
+    allow_methods=["*"],
+    allow_headers=["*"],
+)
+```
+
+## Documentation with OpenAPI
+
+```python
+from fastapi import FastAPI
+
+app = FastAPI(
+    title="My API",
+    description="API for managing users",
+    version="1.0.0",
+    docs_url="/docs",
+    redoc_url="/redoc"
+)
+
+@app.get(
+    "/api/users/{user_id}",
+    summary="Get user by ID",
+    response_description="User details",
+    tags=["Users"]
+)
+async def get_user(
+    user_id: str = Path(..., description="The user ID")
+):
+    """
+    Retrieve user by ID.
+
+    Returns full user profile including:
+    - Basic information
+    - Contact details
+    - Account status
+    """
+    pass
+```
+
+## Health and Monitoring Endpoints
+
+```python
+@app.get("/health")
+async def health_check():
+    return {
+        "status": "healthy",
+        "version": "1.0.0",
+        "timestamp": datetime.now().isoformat()
+    }
+
+@app.get("/health/detailed")
+async def detailed_health():
+    return {
+        "status": "healthy",
+        "checks": {
+            "database": await check_database(),
+            "redis": await check_redis(),
+            "external_api": await check_external_api()
+        }
+    }
+```