We’ve collected the best style guideline resources from across the web in one convenient place. Use these resources to plan out your next style guide for your organization’s API program.
Check back in a few weeks for news about an exciting new Stoplight feature available soon to create, share, and enforce API style guides, right within your workflow. Get on the email list for upcoming API Style Guide feature updates or join our Discord community to get the latest news.
Some Food for Thought
Here is a collection of thoughtful articles that explore the strategic need for API guidelines.
- How to Create an API Style Guide (and Why)James Higginbotham — In this article, James details what makes a great API style guide, how to avoid mistakes, and techniques to more easily achieve consistency.
- Improve your API Design with 7 Guiding PrinciplesRonnie Mitra — A fascinating look at how user interface design practices should shape your API designs.
- API Style Guides and the Quest for Web Service ConsistencyDan Suciu — An accessible little article about the need for style guides. I like this writer’s voice.
- Style Guides Through the AgesJason Harmon — Explore a quick history of how API style guides came to be.
Get Into the Weeds
These more in-depth references will help give you a basic understanding of API guidelines and best practices for what to include.
- API Style Guides: Guidelines and Best PracticesAnna Daugherty, Stoplight
- RESTful API Designing guidelines — The best practicesMahesh Haldar
- 16 REST API design best practices and guidelinesMatt Heusser
- API Design Patterns (eBook)JJ Geewax
- REST API Design Rulebook (eBook)Mark Masse
Examples of API Guidelines
Find a huge selection of real-world API style guides in the links below; these come in handy when creating your own guidelines.
- API Style BookArnaud Lauret
- API Guidelines in the WildErik Wilde
- Google’s API Design Guide
- Microsoft’s API Design Guide
- GitLab’s API Style Guide
Non-API Related Resources
These links share best practices about style guides in general and the inspiration for API guidelines. And who knows, you just might get inspired by reading them!
