Require that any API delivering events to consumers describes its webhooks as first-class citizens in the contract, using the OpenAPI webhooks object to define the payloads, headers, and callbacks a subscriber should expect. I have chased too many undocumented webhooks that only lived in a provider's head or a support thread, and that opacity erodes trust fast. When we treat outbound events with the same rigor as inbound requests, consumers can build resilient, event-driven integrations without guessing, and we can version and evolve those events responsibly. Async is not an excuse to skip the contract, it is a reason to be more explicit about it.
Async Webhooks (Design)
Strategies
APIs Support Event-Driven and Asynchronous Patterns
APIs that require event-driven or asynchronous communication must follow consistent standards for webhook registration, payload formats, retry policies, and delivery guarantees, enabling reliable a...
Experiences
Integration
Integrating digital resources and capabilities into other systems using HTTP APIs is commonplace in any enterprise. However, the experience, skills, time, and cost required for successful integrati...
Contracts
Every API is a contract, and the contract experience is about how clearly the promises between provider and consumer are expressed. Technical contracts like OpenAPI and AsyncAPI describe what the A...
Reliability
If an API isn’t reliable, consumers will eventually look for alternatives. Reliability starts with the platform and infrastructure where the API is deployed, but it also depends heavily on the pace...
Lifecycle
design_services Design Design
Design is where the human experience of an API is won or lost. I work design-first, shaping the paths, schema, errors, and naming in the contract before development begins, so that consistency is b...
