MCPInstall

api-design

REST/GraphQL/gRPC API design best practices. Use when designing APIs, defining contracts, handling versioning. Covers OpenAPI 3.2, GraphQL Federation, gRPC streaming.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/majiayu000/spellbook --skill api-design
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads api-design automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

API Design

Core Principles

  • Contract-First — Define API spec before implementation
  • OpenAPI 3.2 — Use OpenAPI for REST API documentation
  • URL Versioning — Version in path /v1/, with Sunset headers
  • Idempotency — PUT/DELETE must be idempotent, POST uses Idempotency-Key
  • Cursor Pagination — Avoid offset-based pagination
  • RFC 7807 Errors — Standard Problem Details format
  • No backwards compatibility — Delete, don't deprecate

Quick Reference

When to Use What

ScenarioChoiceReason
Public API / MVPRESTSimple, universal, easy debugging
Frontend-driven / MobileGraphQLFetch exactly what you need
Microservices internalgRPCHigh performance, strong typing
Real-time datagRPC / GraphQL SubscriptionsBidirectional streaming

REST API Design

Resource Naming

# Good
GET  /users              # List users
GET  /users/123          # Get user
POST /users              # Create user
PUT  /users/123          # Replace user
PATCH /users/123         # Update user
DELETE /users/123        # Delete user

# Nested resources
GET /users/123/orders    # User's orders

# Actions (when CRUD doesn't fit)
POST /users/123/activate # Action on resource

# Query parameters for filtering
GET /users?status=active&role=admin&limit=20

HTTP Methods

MethodPurposeIdempotentSafe
GETReadYesYes
POSTCreateNoNo
PUTReplaceYesNo
PATCHUpdateNoNo
DELETERemoveYesNo

Status Codes

# Success
200 OK              - Successful GET/PUT/PATCH
201 Created         - Successful POST (include Location header)
204 No Content      - Successful DELETE

# Client Errors
400 Bad Request     - Malformed request syntax
401 Unauthorized    - Missing/invalid authentication
403 Forbidden       - Authenticated but not authorized
404 Not Found       - Resource doesn't exist
409 Conflict        - Duplicate/conflict (e.g., unique constraint)
422 Unprocessable   - Validation failed
429 Too Many        - Rate limited

# Server Errors
500 Internal Error  - Unexpected server error
503 Unavailable     - Service temporarily down

Error Response (RFC 7807)

{
  "type": "https://api.example.com/errors/validation",
  "title": "Validation Error",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "The request contains invalid parameters",
  "instance": "/users/123",
  "errors": [
    { "field": "email", "message": "Invalid email format" },
    { "field": "age", "message": "Must be positive integer" }
  ]
}

Pagination (Cursor-Based)

// Request
GET /users?limit=20&cursor=eyJpZCI6MTAwfQ

// Response
{
  "data": [...],
  "pagination": {
    "next_cursor": "eyJpZCI6MTIwfQ",
    "prev_cursor": "eyJpZCI6ODB9",
    "has_next": true,
    "has_prev": true,
    "limit": 20
  }
}

Versioning

# URL versioning (recommended)
GET /v1/users
GET /v2/users

# Deprecation headers
Sunset: Sat, 31 Dec 2025 23:59:59 GMT
Deprecation: true
Link: </v2/users>; rel="successor-version"

Idempotency

# For non-idempotent operations (POST)
POST /orders
Idempotency-Key: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

# Server stores result and returns same response for duplicate key

GraphQL Design

Schema Principles

  • Domain-driven — Schema reflects business domain, not database
  • Descriptive names — Clear field/type names for monitoring
  • Limit nesting — Deep nesting hurts performance
  • Use @key — Mark entity identifiers for Federation

Type Definitions

type Query {
  user(id: ID!): User
  users(first: Int, after: String, filter: UserFilter): UserConnection!
}

type Mutation {
  createUser(input: CreateUserInput!): CreateUserPayload!
  updateUser(id: ID!, input: UpdateUserInput!): UpdateUserPayload!
}

type User @key(fields: "id") {
  id: ID!
  email: String!
  name: String!
  orders(first: Int, after: String): OrderConnection!
  createdAt: DateTime!
}

# Relay-style pagination
type UserConnection {
  edges: [UserEdge!]!
  pageInfo: PageInfo!
  totalCount: Int!
}

type UserEdge {
  node: User!
  cursor: String!
}

type PageInfo {
  hasNextPage: Boolean!
  hasPreviousPage: Boolean!
  startCursor: String
  endCursor: String
}

Error Handling

type Mutation {
  createUser(input: CreateUserInput!): CreateUserPayload!
}

# Union for typed errors
union CreateUserPayload = User | ValidationError | ConflictError

type ValidationError {
  message: String!
  field: String
  code: String!
}

type ConflictError {
  message: String!
  existingId: ID!
}

N+1 Prevention

// Use DataLoader for batching
const userLoader = new DataLoader(async (ids: string[]) => {
  const users = await db.user.findMany({
    where: { id: { in: ids } }
  });
  return ids.map(id => users.find(u => u.id === id));
});

// Resolver
const resolvers = {
  Order: {
    user: (order) => userLoader.load(order.userId),
  },
};

gRPC Design

Proto Definition

syntax = "proto3";

package api.v1;

import "google/protobuf/timestamp.proto";
import "google/protobuf/empty.proto";

service UserService {
  // Unary
  rpc GetUser(GetUserRequest) returns (User);
  rpc CreateUser(CreateUserRequest) returns (User);

  // Server streaming
  rpc ListUsers(ListUsersRequest) returns (stream User);

  // Client streaming
  rpc BatchCreateUsers(stream CreateUserRequest) returns (BatchCreateResponse);

  // Bidirectional streaming
  rpc SyncUsers(stream UserUpdate) returns (stream UserUpdate);
}

message User {
  string id = 1;
  string email = 2;
  string name = 3;
  google.protobuf.Timestamp created_at = 4;
}

message GetUserRequest {
  string id = 1;
}

message ListUsersRequest {
  int32 page_size = 1;
  string page_token = 2;
  UserFilter filter = 3;
}

message UserFilter {
  optional string status = 1;
  optional string role = 2;
}

Error Handling

// Use Google's richer error model
import "google/rpc/status.proto";
import "google/rpc/error_details.proto";

// For streaming: embed errors in response
message StreamResponse {
  oneof result {
    User user = 1;
    StreamError error = 2;
  }
}

message StreamError {
  string code = 1;
  string message = 2;
  map<string, string> details = 3;
}

Deadlines & Retries

// Always set deadlines
const deadline = new Date();
deadline.setSeconds(deadline.getSeconds() + 5);

const user = await client.getUser(
  { id: '123' },
  { deadline }
);

// Configure retry policy
const retryPolicy = {
  maxAttempts: 3,
  initialBackoff: '0.1s',
  maxBackoff: '1s',
  backoffMultiplier: 2,
  retryableStatusCodes: ['UNAVAILABLE', 'DEADLINE_EXCEEDED'],
};

Rate Limiting

Headers

X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 95
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640995200
Retry-After: 60

Response (429)

{
  "type": "https://api.example.com/errors/rate-limited",
  "title": "Rate Limit Exceeded",
  "status": 429,
  "detail": "You have exceeded the rate limit of 100 requests per minute",
  "retryAfter": 60
}

Checklist

## Design
- [ ] API spec defined before implementation
- [ ] Resources use plural nouns
- [ ] Correct HTTP methods/status codes
- [ ] RFC 7807 error format

## Features
- [ ] Cursor-based pagination
- [ ] Rate limiting with headers
- [ ] Idempotency keys for POST
- [ ] API versioning strategy

## Documentation
- [ ] OpenAPI/GraphQL schema published
- [ ] Examples for all endpoints
- [ ] Error codes documented

## Operations
- [ ] Request/response logging
- [ ] Latency and error rate metrics
- [ ] Deprecation notices for old versions

See Also

  • reference/rest.md — REST deep dive
  • reference/graphql.md — GraphQL patterns
  • reference/grpc.md — gRPC patterns
  • reference/comparison.md — Selection guide
  • templates/openapi/openapi.yaml — OpenAPI starter contract
  • templates/graphql/schema.graphql — GraphQL schema starter
  • templates/grpc/service.proto — gRPC service starter

FAQ

What does the api-design skill do?

REST/GraphQL/gRPC API design best practices. Use when designing APIs, defining contracts, handling versioning. Covers OpenAPI 3.2, GraphQL Federation, gRPC streaming.

How do I install api-design?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/majiayu000/spellbook --skill api-design in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/api-design/ (personal) or .claude/skills/api-design/ (project).

Which AI agents can use api-design?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is api-design safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains api-design?

It is published by majiayu000 in majiayu000/spellbook. It has 90 recorded installs.

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