REST API Best Practices

HTTP Methods

app.get('/api/products', async (req, res) => {
  const products = await Product.find();
  res.json(products);
});

app.get('/api/products/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const product = await Product.findById(req.params.id);
  if (!product) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
  res.json(product);
});

app.post('/api/products', async (req, res) => {
  const product = await Product.create(req.body);
  res.status(201).json(product);
});

app.put('/api/products/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const product = await Product.findByIdAndUpdate(
    req.params.id,
    req.body,
    { new: true }
  );
  res.json(product);
});

app.delete('/api/products/:id', async (req, res) => {
  await Product.findByIdAndDelete(req.params.id);
  res.status(204).send();
});

Status Codes

200 OK              → Successful GET, PUT, PATCH
201 Created         → Successful POST
204 No Content      → Successful DELETE
400 Bad Request     → Invalid input
401 Unauthorized    → Not authenticated
403 Forbidden       → Not authorized
404 Not Found       → Resource doesn't exist
500 Internal Error  → Server error

Consistent Response Format

res.json({
  success: true,
  data: products
});

res.status(400).json({
  success: false,
  error: {
    message: 'Invalid input',
    code: 'INVALID_INPUT'
  }
});

Filtering and Sorting

app.get('/api/products', async (req, res) => {
  const { category, minPrice, sortBy, order } = req.query;
  
  const query = {};
  if (category) query.category = category;
  if (minPrice) query.price = { $gte: parseInt(minPrice) };
  
  const sort = {};
  if (sortBy) sort[sortBy] = order === 'desc' ? -1 : 1;
  
  const products = await Product.find(query).sort(sort);
  res.json({ success: true, data: products });
});

Key Takeaway

Use proper HTTP methods and status codes. Consistent response format. Support filtering, sorting, pagination. Include helpful error messages.