The answer
To make breaking changes without breaking clients. /api/v1/users serves old clients; /api/v2/users serves new ones. Non-breaking changes (adding fields) do not need a version bump; breaking ones do.
REST API Design Best Practices in Express
Why version REST APIs?
More FAQs in REST API Design Best Practices in Express
Use plural nouns in paths, the right HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE), correct status codes, consistent response shapes, pagination for collections, versioning (v1), filtering via query, shallow nesting, and JWT or OAuth auth. Validate input at the boundary.
Nouns. The HTTP method is the verb. /users, not /getUsers. /users/:id, not /getUserById. Plural nouns for collections (/users), singular via path param (/users/:id).
Use query params like ?skip=0&limit=20. Return a next link or cursor in the response. Never return the entire collection without a limit; clients cannot handle large responses and the server should not send them.
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