Unique identifier, name, description, tags, and other metadata for the contract that defines the purpose of the API Contract, and how it benefits API producer and consumers, establishing the base of the agreement.
Metadata for APIs.json Contracts
Strategies
APIs are Defined as API Contracts
I think of API contracts as the thing that bridges the business and technology sides of what we do. When you define APIs as contracts and manage them in source control, you can track not just the t...
APIs Are Discoverable Through a Central Catalog
If people can't find your APIs, they will build their own--and that is how duplication spirals out of control. A central catalog with consistent metadata, tags, and descriptions is one of the most ...
Experiences
Alignment
I see product and engineering teams talking past each other constantly when it comes to APIs. Without alignment on the why behind each API, you end up with technically sound resources that nobody a...
Products
I keep pushing teams to think of their APIs as products. When you treat an API like a product, you start thinking about who uses it, what they need, and how to make the whole thing sustainable.
Communication
I struggle with how little communication happens between the teams producing APIs and the people consuming them. Blogs, changelogs, roadmaps -- these are building blocks that most teams just skip, ...
Discovery
Discovery is the dark matter of the API landscape. Teams build APIs that already exist somewhere else, and consumers can't find the APIs they need. Without a catalog and proper metadata, you're jus...
Onboarding
I see teams dealing with massive friction during onboarding. If a consumer can't get from zero to their first successful API call in minutes, you've already lost them. Getting started guides, sandb...