When it comes to building a RESTful API, naming your routes is a critical part of creating a well-designed and easily understood API. In this article, we will explore the best practices for naming RESTful API routes, and look at some common ways people can mess up their API route names. We will also use emojis to make our examples more fun and memorable.
🔑 Best Practices for Naming API Routes
👉 1️⃣ Use Nouns to Represent Resources
One of the most important principles of RESTful API design is to use nouns to represent resources. This means that your routes should describe the things that your API is responsible for managing.
👍 Good:
GET /users: Retrieve a list of users
POST /users: Create a new user
GET /users/:id: Retrieve a specific user
👎 Bad:
GET /get-users: ❌ This route includes a verb that is unnecessary and doesn't describe the resource being managed.
👉 2️⃣ Use Plural Form for Collections and Singular Form for Single Resources
When dealing with collections, it's best to use the plural form for the route. When dealing with a single resource, it's best to use the singular form.
👍 Good:
GET /users: Retrieve a list of users
GET /users/:id: Retrieve a specific user
👎 Bad:
GET /user: ❌ This route doesn't indicate whether it's for a single user or a collection of users.
👉 3️⃣ Use HTTP Methods for Actions
HTTP methods are the primary way to describe what action you want to perform on a resource. You should use them whenever possible, as it makes your API more intuitive to use.
👍 Good:
GET /users: Retrieve a list of users
POST /users: Create a new user
PUT /users/:id: Update a specific user
DELETE /users/:id: Delete a specific user
👎 Bad:
GET /create-user: ❌ This route includes a verb that describes the action being performed, which should be indicated by the HTTP method.
👉 4️⃣ Use Nouns or Adjectives in the Path for Filters or Sorting
Sometimes, you need to filter or sort your data. In these cases, you should use nouns or adjectives in the path to indicate what you're filtering or sorting by.
👍 Good:
GET /users?active=true: Retrieve a list of active users
GET /users?sort=name: Retrieve a list of users sorted by name
👎 Bad:
GET /users/sortByName: ❌ This route includes a verb that describes the action being performed, which should be indicated by the HTTP method.
👉 5️⃣ Use Hyphens to Separate Words in the URL Path
It's a best practice to use hyphens to separate words in your URL path. This makes your URLs more readable and easier to understand.
👍 Good:
GET /user-profile: Retrieve a user profile
POST /post-comment: Create a new comment on a post
👎 Bad:
GET /user_profile: ❌ This route uses underscores instead of hyphens, which can make it harder to read and understand.
In brief, following these five best practices for naming API routes can greatly improve the clarity and intuitiveness of your API design. By using nouns to represent resources, using HTTP methods for actions, and using hyphens to separate words in the URL path, you can make your API easier to understand and use for both developers and end-users. Conversely, violating these best practices can make your API confusing and difficult to work with.
Top comments (0)