Require that every API returns standardized, informative errors, so I want a consistent error envelope, a correct HTTP status code, a machine-readable code, and a human-readable message on every failure path. I treat errors as part of the interface, not an afterthought, because the moment something goes wrong is exactly when a developer needs your API to be clear and honest with them. Vague, inconsistent, or leaky errors are where integrations die and support tickets are born. I like Problem Details for HTTP APIs as the baseline, never leak stack traces or internal details, and I enforce the shape at the gateway so it holds across every team and endpoint.
Error Handling (Operations)
Strategies
API Errors Are Standardized and Informative
All API error responses must follow standardized formats like RFC 7807 Problem Details, providing consistent error codes, human-readable messages, and correlation IDs that enable consumers to progr...
APIs Follow Consistent Design Patterns
All APIs must follow consistent design patterns for naming conventions, media types, pagination, filtering, sorting, and error handling, ensuring that consumers can learn patterns once and apply th...
Experiences
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...
Developer Experience
Developer experience is the sum of every interaction a developer has with an API, from the first time they land on the portal to the hundredth time they call an endpoint in production. It covers do...
Consistency
Achieving consistency in the design, delivery, and maintenance of HTTP APIs across an enterprise is a significant challenge—one that often complicates API operations. Small differences, such as var...
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...
tune Management Production
Management is the day-to-day operation of an API in production. Plans, rate limits, keys, and access all get administered here, usually through a gateway. Solid management is what lets me offer an ...
