I need to design an API for [describe the feature or system].

It should support these operations:

  • [e.g. create/read/update/delete a resource]
  • [e.g. search with filters]
  • [e.g. bulk operations]

Consumers: [e.g. our React frontend, mobile app, third-party integrations] Auth: [e.g. JWT, API key, session-based]

Give me:

  1. The endpoint structure (routes, methods, status codes)
  2. Request/response shapes for each endpoint — real JSON, not descriptions
  3. Error format (consistent across all endpoints)
  4. Anything I’m forgetting that will hurt me at scale (pagination, rate limiting, versioning, etc.)

Design it like it’s going to be around for 3 years and other people will build on it.