api-designlisted

# API Design APIs are contracts. Every endpoint, field, and status code is a promise to the caller. Before designing anything, name the consumer: "who calls this, and what do they need?" ## Decision routing **Only load the ONE reference file that matches the current task.** Do not load all references — load only the one you need. | Decision | When | Reference | | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | REST design | Resource modeling, HTTP methods, status codes, pagination | [rest](references/rest.md) | | GraphQL schema | Type definitions, resolvers, N+1, subscriptions | [graphql](references/graphql.md) | | Authentication | JWT, OAuth2, API keys, session management | [auth](references/auth.md) | | Rate limiting | Throttling, quotas, retry-after, token bucket | [rate-limit](references/rate-limit.md) |