Drew Marshall

Posted on May 8

Stop Writing Endpoints. Start Defining Systems.

#webdev #programming #opensource #architecture

For a long time, I thought building APIs meant writing endpoints.

You know the pattern:

Define a route
Validate input
Query the database
Transform the result
Send a response

Do that over and over again.

Different routes. Same structure.

The Illusion of Control

Writing endpoints feels productive.

You’re in control of everything:

The logic
The validation
The data flow

But after a while, something becomes obvious:

You’re not building systems.

You’re repeating patterns.

The Real Problem

Most APIs look like this:

app.get('/users/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const id = req.params.id;

  if (!id) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Missing id' });
  }

  const user = await db.users.findById(id);

  if (!user) {
    return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
  }

  return res.json(user);
});

Now multiply that by:

Dozens of endpoints
Multiple resources
Different validation rules
Slight variations in logic

You end up with:

Repeated code
Inconsistent patterns
Hard-to-maintain systems

You’re Not Writing Logic. You’re Rewriting Structure.

Look closer at most endpoints.

They follow the same shape:

Extract input
Validate input
Execute query
Handle errors
Return response

The structure doesn’t change.

Only the details do.

So why are we rewriting the structure every time?

The Shift: Define, Don’t Rewrite

Instead of writing endpoints…

Define them.

What if your API looked like this instead?

get:
  user:
    GetUserById:
      input:
        id: number
      where:
        id: $param.id
      response:
        id: number
        name: string
        email: string

No route handler.

No repeated boilerplate.

Just a definition.

What This Changes

When you define systems instead of writing endpoints:

Structure becomes consistent
Validation becomes automatic
Queries become predictable
Behavior becomes visible

You’re no longer guessing how something works.

You can read it directly.

From Endpoints to Systems

Traditional approach:

Every endpoint is custom
Logic is scattered
Behavior is implicit

System-driven approach:

Endpoints follow a pattern
Logic is structured
Behavior is explicit

You move from “code-first” to “contract-first.”

Where the Code Goes

This doesn’t eliminate code.

It moves it.

Instead of writing endpoint logic repeatedly…

You write:

A compiler that reads definitions
A pipeline that executes them
A system that enforces rules

Code becomes the engine.

Not the repetition.

Example Flow

With a system-driven approach, a request might flow like this:

Request → Parse Definition → Validate → Build Query → Execute → Format Response

The difference is:

The flow is constant
The behavior is defined in configuration

Why This Matters

Without this approach:

Every developer writes endpoints differently
Bugs are repeated across routes
Refactoring becomes painful

With this approach:

Patterns are enforced
Behavior is predictable
Systems scale cleanly

“Isn’t This Less Flexible?”

Yes.

And that’s the point.

Unlimited flexibility leads to:

Inconsistency
Complexity
Fragile systems

Constraints lead to:

Clarity
Stability
Speed

Where This Fits

This kind of system works best when:

You have repeated CRUD patterns
You want consistent APIs
You care about long-term maintainability

It doesn’t replace every use case.

But it replaces most of the boring, repetitive ones.

The Bigger Idea

This isn’t just about APIs.

It’s about how we build software.

Instead of:

Writing everything manually
Repeating patterns
Hoping for consistency

We can:

Define systems
Enforce structure
Let the engine handle execution

Final Thought

Writing endpoints feels like control.

But it’s often just repetition.

Defining systems feels restrictive at first.

But it leads to something better:

Clarity.

Consistency.

Scalability.

That’s why I stopped writing endpoints…

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