Build complete, production-ready REST API endpoints with proper validation, error handling, authentication, and documentation.
When to Use This Skill
- -User asks to "create an API endpoint" or "build a REST API"
- -Building new backend features
- -Adding endpoints to existing APIs
- -User mentions "API", "endpoint", "route", or "REST"
- -Creating CRUD operations
What You'll Build
For each endpoint, you create:
- -Route handler with proper HTTP method
- -Input validation (request body, params, query)
- -Authentication/authorization checks
- -Business logic
- -Error handling
- -Response formatting
- -API documentation
- -Tests (if requested)
Endpoint Structure
1. Route Definition
// Express example
router.post('/api/users', authenticate, validateUser, createUser);
// Fastify example
fastify.post('/api/users', {
preHandler: [authenticate],
schema: userSchema
}, createUser);2. Input Validation
Always validate before processing:
const validateUser = (req, res, next) => {
const { email, name, password } = req.body;
if (!email || !email.includes('@')) {
return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Valid email required' });
}
if (!name || name.length < 2) {
return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Name must be at least 2 characters' });
}
if (!password || password.length < 8) {
return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Password must be at least 8 characters' });
}
next();
};3. Handler Implementation
const createUser = async (req, res) => {
try {
const { email, name, password } = req.body;
// Check if user exists
const existing = await db.users.findOne({ email });
if (existing) {
return res.status(409).json({ error: 'User already exists' });
}
// Hash password
const hashedPassword = await bcrypt.hash(password, 10);
// Create user
const user = await db.users.create({
email,
name,
password: hashedPassword,
createdAt: new Date()
});
// Don't return password
const { password: _, ...userWithoutPassword } = user;
res.status(201).json({
success: true,
data: userWithoutPassword
});
} catch (error) {
console.error('Create user error:', error);
res.status(500).json({ error: 'Internal server error' });
}
};Best Practices
HTTP Status Codes
- -
200 - Success (GET, PUT, PATCH) - -
201 - Created (POST) - -
204 - No Content (DELETE) - -
400 - Bad Request (validation failed) - -
401 - Unauthorized (not authenticated) - -
403 - Forbidden (not authorized) - -
404 - Not Found - -
409 - Conflict (duplicate) - -
500 - Internal Server Error
Response Format
Consistent structure:
// Success
{
"success": true,
"data": { ... }
}
// Error
{
"error": "Error message",
"details": { ... } // optional
}
// List with pagination
{
"success": true,
"data": [...],
"pagination": {
"page": 1,
"limit": 20,
"total": 100
}
}Security Checklist
- -[ ] Authentication required for protected routes
- -[ ] Authorization checks (user owns resource)
- -[ ] Input validation on all fields
- -[ ] SQL injection prevention (use parameterized queries)
- -[ ] Rate limiting on public endpoints
- -[ ] No sensitive data in responses (passwords, tokens)
- -[ ] CORS configured properly
- -[ ] Request size limits set
Error Handling
// Centralized error handler
app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
console.error(err.stack);
// Don't leak error details in production
const message = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
? 'Internal server error'
: err.message;
res.status(err.status || 500).json({ error: message });
});Common Patterns
CRUD Operations
// Create
POST /api/resources
Body: { name, description }
// Read (list)
GET /api/resources?page=1&limit=20
// Read (single)
GET /api/resources/:id
// Update
PUT /api/resources/:id
Body: { name, description }
// Delete
DELETE /api/resources/:idPagination
const getResources = async (req, res) => {
const page = parseInt(req.query.page) || 1;
const limit = parseInt(req.query.limit) || 20;
const skip = (page - 1) * limit;
const [resources, total] = await Promise.all([
db.resources.find().skip(skip).limit(limit),
db.resources.countDocuments()
]);
res.json({
success: true,
data: resources,
pagination: {
page,
limit,
total,
pages: Math.ceil(total / limit)
}
});
};Filtering & Sorting
const getResources = async (req, res) => {
const { status, sort = '-createdAt' } = req.query;
const filter = {};
if (status) filter.status = status;
const resources = await db.resources
.find(filter)
.sort(sort)
.limit(20);
res.json({ success: true, data: resources });
};Documentation Template
/**
* @route POST /api/users
* @desc Create a new user
* @access Public
*
* @body {string} email - User email (required)
* @body {string} name - User name (required)
* @body {string} password - Password, min 8 chars (required)
*
* @returns {201} User created successfully
* @returns {400} Validation error
* @returns {409} User already exists
* @returns {500} Server error
*
* @example
* POST /api/users
* {
* "email": "user@example.com",
* "name": "John Doe",
* "password": "securepass123"
* }
*/Testing Example
describe('POST /api/users', () => {
it('should create a new user', async () => {
const response = await request(app)
.post('/api/users')
.send({
email: 'test@example.com',
name: 'Test User',
password: 'password123'
});
expect(response.status).toBe(201);
expect(response.body.success).toBe(true);
expect(response.body.data.email).toBe('test@example.com');
expect(response.body.data.password).toBeUndefined();
});
it('should reject invalid email', async () => {
const response = await request(app)
.post('/api/users')
.send({
email: 'invalid',
name: 'Test User',
password: 'password123'
});
expect(response.status).toBe(400);
expect(response.body.error).toContain('email');
});
});Key Principles
- -Validate all inputs before processing
- -Use proper HTTP status codes
- -Handle errors gracefully
- -Never expose sensitive data
- -Keep responses consistent
- -Add authentication where needed
- -Document your endpoints
- -Write tests for critical paths
Related Skills
- -
@security-auditor - Security review - -
@test-driven-development - Testing - -
@database-design - Data modeling