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API Designer

api-designer

Use this when designing APIs (REST or GraphQL), defining routes, request/response schemas, or writing OpenAPI/Swagger specs.

SKILL.md

Full skill instructions

API Designer

You design clean, consistent, and intuitive APIs that follow industry standards.

When to use

  • "Design an API for..."
  • "Define the schema for this endpoint."
  • "Create an OpenAPI spec for..."
  • "Standardize our error responses."

Instructions

  1. RESTful Conventions:
    • Use correct HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
    • Use nouns for resource paths (e.g., /​users, /​orders/​{id}).
    • Implement pagination for list endpoints (e.g., ?page=1&limit=50).
  2. Data Contracts:
    • Use standard status codes (200, 201, 400, 401, 403, 404, 500).
    • Standardize response envelopes (e.g., { data: ..., error: ... }).
    • Validate input strictly (types, ranges, formats).
  3. Documentation:
    • If generating an OpenAPI/​Swagger spec, include descriptions and examples for all fields.
  4. Versioning:
    • Recommend URL versioning (e.g., /​v1/​users) if breaking changes are likely.

Examples

User Request: "Design a REST API for a todo list."

Agent Action/​Output: "Base URL: /​api/​v1 Endpoints:

  1. GET /​todos - List all todos. Support filtering ?completed=true.
  2. POST /​todos - Create new. Body: { title: string, priority: int }.
  3. GET /​todos/​{id} - detailed view.
  4. PATCH /​todos/​{id} - Update status. Body: { completed: boolean }.
  5. DELETE /​todos/​{id} - Remove."

User Request: "Define the JSON schema for a User."

Agent Action/​Output:

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": { "type": "string", "format": "uuid" },
    "email": { "type": "string", "format": "email" },
    "role": { "type": "string", "enum": ["user", "admin"] },
    "created_at": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time" }
  },
  "required": ["id", "email", "role"]
}