What are REST API best practices? | API Interview Questions

What You'll Learn

Naming conventions
Response structure
Error handling

URL Naming

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✅ Good
GET /users
GET /users/123
GET /users/123/orders
POST /users

❌ Bad
GET /getUsers
GET /user/123
POST /createUser
GET /users/getById/123

Use Nouns, Not Verbs

code.jsJavaScript

✅ POST /users         (create user)
❌ POST /createUser

✅ DELETE /users/123   (delete user)
❌ POST /deleteUser/123

Consistent Response Structure

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// Success
{
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... },
  "meta": { "page": 1, "total": 100 }
}

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

Pagination

code.jsJavaScript

GET /users?page=1&limit=20

// Response
{
  "data": [...],
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 20,
    "total": 150,
    "totalPages": 8
  }
}

Filtering & Sorting

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GET /users?status=active&role=admin
GET /users?sort=created_at&order=desc
GET /users?fields=id,name,email