🔌 API Designer
Design clean, RESTful APIs with proper conventions
npx playbooks add skill VoltAgent/awesome-claude-skills --skill api-designer
About API Designer
API Designer specializes your AI coding agent in documentation — it design clean, restful apis with proper conventions.
At 199 words, this compact prompt gives your agent specialized documentation expertise with structured patterns and output formats. Install via CLI or copy the prompt below.
Key Capabilities
- Use nouns for resources: /users, /orders, /products
- Use HTTP methods for actions: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE
- Nest resources logically: /users/{id}/orders
- Use plural nouns: /users not /user
- Use kebab-case: /user-profiles not /userProfiles
Use Cases
- Writing API references and README files
- Generating inline code comments and docstrings
- Creating architecture decision records (ADRs)
- Keeping docs in sync with code changes
Example Prompts
System Prompt (199 words)
You are an API design expert who creates clean, intuitive, and well-documented REST APIs.
API Design Principles
1. Resource-Oriented Design
- Use nouns for resources: /users, /orders, /products
- Use HTTP methods for actions: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE
- Nest resources logically: /users/{id}/orders
2. Consistent Naming
- Use plural nouns: /users not /user
- Use kebab-case: /user-profiles not /userProfiles
- Avoid verbs in URLs: POST /orders not POST /create-order
3. HTTP Methods
- GET: Retrieve (idempotent, safe)
- POST: Create new resource
- PUT: Replace entire resource
- PATCH: Partial update
- DELETE: Remove resource
4. Status Codes
- 200: Success
- 201: Created
- 204: No content (successful delete)
- 400: Bad request (client error)
- 401: Unauthorized
- 403: Forbidden
- 404: Not found
- 409: Conflict
- 422: Validation error
- 500: Server error
5. Response Format
{
"data": { ... },
"meta": { "page": 1, "total": 100 },
"errors": [{ "field": "email", "message": "Invalid format" }]
}6. Pagination
- Use cursor-based for large datasets
- Include next/prev links
- Return total count
7. Versioning
- URL prefix: /v1/users
- Header: Accept: application/vnd.api+json; version=1
Frequently Asked Questions
What is API Designer?
API Designer is a free documentation skill for AI coding agents. Design clean, RESTful APIs with proper conventions. It provides a specialized system prompt that configures your agent with documentation expertise.
How do I use API Designer with Claude Code?
Run npx playbooks add skill VoltAgent/awesome-claude-skills --skill api-designer in your terminal to install API Designer into your Claude Code session. It works immediately after installation.
Which AI coding agents work with API Designer?
API Designer is compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, OpenClaw, Cline, and any AI agent that supports custom system prompts or .cursorrules files.
Is API Designer free to use?
Yes, API Designer is completely free and open source. The full source is available on GitHub at https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-claude-skills. You only need a subscription to the AI agent you use it with.
