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 programmatically handle errors and quickly diagnose issues.
API Errors Are Standardized and Informative
Policies
Error Handling (Operations)
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 fa...
Problem Details for HTTP APIs
Requiring that errors use the Problem Details for HTTP APIs standard.
Response 4xx
Requiring that all 4xx responses meets the policy standards.
Response 5xx
Requiring that all 5xx responses meets the policy standards.
Experiences
Quality
The quality of HTTP APIs powering an enterprise tends to decline as the number of ungoverned APIs grows across internal, partner, and public landscapes. Low-quality APIs lead to poor downstream exp...
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...
Onboarding
Transitioning from API discovery to integration as a consumer requires a well-defined and streamlined API onboarding process. Onboarding begins with discovery and relies heavily on clear documentat...
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...
Interoperability
Interoperability is the experience of APIs, systems, and data working together without heroic effort. It is built on shared standards, common schema, and predictable contracts that let one system t...
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...
