REST API Design Patterns

URL Structure

• Use nouns, not verbs: /users not /getUsers
• Use plural: /users not /user
• Nest for relationships: /users/:id/posts
• Keep URLs shallow (max 2 levels deep)

HTTP Methods

• GET — read (idempotent)
• POST — create
• PUT — full update (idempotent)
• PATCH — partial update
• DELETE — remove (idempotent)

Status Codes

• 200 OK — successful GET/PUT/PATCH
• 201 Created — successful POST
• 204 No Content — successful DELETE
• 400 Bad Request — validation error
• 401 Unauthorized — not authenticated
• 403 Forbidden — not authorized
• 404 Not Found — resource doesn't exist
• 409 Conflict — duplicate resource
• 422 Unprocessable Entity — semantic error
• 500 Internal Server Error — unexpected

Pagination

{
  "data": [...],
  "pagination": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 20,
    "total": 150,
    "hasMore": true
  }
}

Error Response

{
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Email is required",
    "details": [{"field": "email", "message": "Required"}]
  }
}