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API Pulse
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23

I wish every API did better with Actionable Error Responses that Contain Context and Guidance.

Vague error messages are the single biggest time-sink. I don’t just want a 400 Bad Request; I want:

  1. Context: The specific field that failed (e.g., user_id).

  2. Reason: Why it failed (e.g., “Must be a positive integer”).

  3. Unique Code: A specific error code that can be searched in the docs.

This turns a 30-minute debugging session into a 30-second fix. Developer experience lives and dies by error handling.

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25

Good APIs ship endpoints. Great APIs ship docs that work.

Too often API docs are incomplete, inconsistent, or point to dead ends. It feels like sifting through dusty relics. Silent limits and third parties not maintaining customization trails for APIs also contribute to this.

I wish every API had clear examples, complete error references, and an actual changelog you can trust, so we spend time building, not guessing.

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27

Docs that double as a sandbox.

I wish every API shipped docs that double as a sandbox! I love how Spotify’s docs let you grab a token and run real requests right there in the reference, it turns “reading” into “doing”.

More APIs should try it: an interactive console per endpoint (with a scoped token flow), so you can fill params, hit Try it, and see real responses without spinning up a project. It slashes onboarding time and makes the docs self-verifying.

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28

I’d prefer a smarter authentication and easier onboarding process. Especially APIs that require a developer account before getting started.

Sometimes getting credentials and configuring auth feels ten times harder than using the API.

it would also be very helpful to have a centralized dashboard with keys, tokens and scopes clearly labelled.

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29

Request Trace Id Format

My take on this is if APIs let me choose my own format for Request Trace Id based on the functionality that my application performs.
Eg: I have a application and the frontend calls APIs to my backend which in turns calls APIs to a third party API server. The API calls to my backend can be grouped as one functional operation on frontend so I can generate a Request Trace Id in format <{user-operation}-{API specific UUID}-{random UUID}> and also send this as a Correlation Id to the third pary API.

This helps me debug on my backend easily by filtering user-operation or API specific UUID. If I found that the issue was on the third party API I can just send my Request Trace Id to the support team for debugging and I don’t have to search for any other Trace Id.

The format can also include a org or tenant part so that it becomes easier for the support team to filter their customer specific logs from multiple logs.

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30

That’s a wrap!

This week’s challenge is officially closed. Thanks to everyone who shared their wish.

We’re reviewing all entries now. While you wait, drop a :heart: on your favorite submissions to help us choose a winner.

Winner announced Friday.

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