Lesson 1 of 3•Building & Deploying APIs with AI0 of 3 complete (0%)
API Design: REST Principles & Route Architecture
13 min
What you will learn
- Design a RESTful API with consistent URL patterns and HTTP methods
- Build CRUD API routes using Next.js App Router Route Handlers
- Implement proper request validation with Zod schemas
- Structure API responses consistently with proper status codes
# API Design: REST Principles & Route Architecture
REST in 60 Seconds
REST APIs use HTTP methods as verbs and URLs as nouns:
| Action | Method | URL | Example | |--------|--------|-----|---------| | List all | GET | /api/users | Get all users | | Get one | GET | /api/users/[id] | Get user by ID | | Create | POST | /api/users | Create a user | | Update | PUT/PATCH | /api/users/[id] | Update a user | | Delete | DELETE | /api/users/[id] | Delete a user |
The rule: URLs identify resources (nouns), HTTP methods define actions (verbs). Never use URLs like /api/deleteUser or /api/getUsers.
Building Route Handlers in Next.js
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What you'll learn:
- Design a RESTful API with consistent URL patterns and HTTP methods
- Build CRUD API routes using Next.js App Router Route Handlers
- Implement proper request validation with Zod schemas