Stop shipping “just-works” endpoints that barely function and leave developers frustrated. Many APIs are built quickly without fully considering how users interact with them, how they scale, or how they evolve over time. What if you could design APIs that developers praise for their clarity, users trust for their consistency, and businesses rely on for growth? By following proven methods for requirement analysis, security, and usability, you can build interfaces that are easier to adopt, maintain, and expand without costly rewrites.
- Requirement analysis framework: turns fuzzy feature lists into clear, testable API capabilities.
- HTTP-based patterns: apply CRUD, batch, and long-running operations without performance surprises.
- Consumer-first mindset: design flows that feel intuitive, boosting adoption and support metrics.
- Security and efficiency checks: catch vulnerabilities early, protect data, and control latency.
- Compatibility toolkit: modify APIs confidently while avoiding painful breaking changes.
- Future-proof versioning strategies: evolve services, keep clients happy, and cut rewrite costs.
The Design of Web APIs by renowned API expert Arnaud Lauret offers a proven, step-by-step playbook for REST API success. It distills years of real-world governance experience into practical guidance any developer can use.
Through an engaging Online Shopping case study and banking scenarios, Lauret shows how to balance business goals with technical constraints. Each chapter layers new design tools—requirement gathering, interoperability checks, security controls—building a complete, reusable workflow.
Finish the book able to architect APIs that are clear, consistent, and adaptable. Your endpoints will be easier to document, simpler to test, and far cheaper to maintain.
Ideal for developers who have consumed or built basic APIs and now must design robust, long-lived services.
Table of Contents:
1 WHAT IS API DESIGN?
PART 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF API DESIGN
2 IDENTIFYING API CAPABILITIES
3 OBSERVING OPERATIONS FROM THE REST ANGLE
4 REPRESENTING OPERATIONS WITH HTTP
5 MODELING DATA
6 DESCRIBING HTTP OPERATIONS WITH OPENAPI
7 DESCRIBING DATA WITH JSON SCHEMA IN OPENAPI
PART 2 USER-FRIENDLY, INTEROPERABLE API DESIGN
8 DESIGNING USER-FRIENDLY, INTEROPERABLE DATA
9 DESIGNING USER-FRIENDLY, INTEROPERABLE OPERATIONS
10 DESIGNING USER-FRIENDLY, INTEROPERABLE OPERATION FLOWS
11 DESIGNING USER-FRIENDLY, INTEROPERABLE APIS
PART 3 CONSTRAINED API DESIGN
12 DESIGNING A SECURE API
13 DESIGNING AN EFFICIENT API
14 ADAPTING THE API DESIGN TO THE CONTEXT
15 MODIFYING AN API
PART 4 SCALED AND SIMPLIFIED API DESIGN
16 FACILITATING API DESIGN DECISION-MAKING
17 OPTIMIZING AN OPENAPI DOCUMENT
18 AUTOMATING API DESIGN GUIDELINES
19 ENRICHING API DESIGN ARTIFACTS
APPENDIX
APPENDIX A: SOLUTIONS TO THE EXERCISES
About the Author :
Arnaud Lauret is an internationally recognized API expert and the voice behind the API Handyman blog. With two decades in architecture and governance, Arnaud brings clarity, pragmatism, and real-world war stories to every page. He distills complex design principles into actionable steps that help developers create APIs people love.
Review :
- Brings together excellent knowledge, experience, and practices. Two thumbs up!
Mike Amundsen, Amundsen.com, Inc
- Distills API design into a clear and understandable approach that will stand the test of time.
James Higginbotham, APICoach.io
- You need this book on your bookshelf! Clear, informative, and practical.
Lorna Mitchell, OpenAPI Initiative
