Node API Design

HTTP APIs that are pleasant to consume and safe to change

4.6(2,744 reviews)38,450 learners

Created by Tomas Lindqvist

Updated June 2026EnglishIntermediate19h124 lectures

What you will learn

  • Model resources and relationships that survive new requirements
  • Design error responses clients can actually act on
  • Implement authentication and authorisation without leaking either
  • Paginate, filter and sort consistently across every endpoint
  • Version an API without freezing it forever
  • Instrument, log and trace a service so incidents are short

Course content

14 sections · 124 lectures · 19h total length

  • What this course covers, and what it does notPreview04:00
  • How to get the most out of itPreview05:00
  • Setting up and downloading the exercise files07:00

  • Resource modellingPreview05:00
  • Resource modelling in detail09:00
  • A closer look at resource modelling14:00
  • Worked example: resource modelling06:00
  • Where resource modelling goes wrong10:00
  • Exercise: resource modelling15:00
  • Resource modelling in practice07:00
  • Two approaches to resource modelling11:00
  • Resource modelling — questions from previous students07:00
  • Reviewing your work on resource modelling11:00

Topics covered

Resource modellingHTTP semantics and status codesRequest validationError response designAuthenticationAuthorisation and access controlPagination and filteringIdempotencyRate limitingVersioning strategiesObservabilityAPI documentation

Requirements

  • Comfortable with JavaScript or TypeScript on the server
  • Basic understanding of HTTP
  • Familiarity with SQL is useful but not required

Description

An API is a contract you cannot easily take back. This course covers the design decisions that matter most — resource modelling, error shapes, pagination, versioning — and then the operational work that keeps the contract honest under load.

Your instructor

TL
Tomas Lindqvist

Backend architect — Node, Go and everything between

4.7 instructor rating81,780 learners3 courses

Tomas builds systems that other systems depend on. He teaches backend the way he practises it: start with the data, protect the boundaries, and never trust a queue you have not load-tested.

Learner reviews

4.62,744 reviews
  • 5 star64%
  • 4 star28%
  • 3 star5%
  • 2 star2%
  • 1 star1%
  • OD
    Olive D.1 December 2025

    Solid content, but a few sections move quite fast and I had to rewatch them.

  • HO
    Hugo O.1 May 2026

    I have recommended this to two colleagues already. The structure makes it easy to dip back into.

  • UB
    Ursula B.28 May 2026

    Good balance between theory and doing. I would have liked a couple more exercises, but that is a small complaint.

  • ZW
    Zoe W.4 February 2026

    I came in knowing a bit and still learned plenty. The middle third is the strongest part.

  • FS
    Farid S.4 April 2026

    Very practical. I applied something from module four at work the same week.

  • AO
    Aisha O.10 March 2026

    The instructor answers questions properly rather than pointing you at the documentation.

  • LB
    Lucas B.1 February 2026

    Concise and honest about what it does not cover, which I appreciated.

  • CG
    Carla G.28 November 2025

    I came in knowing a bit and still learned plenty. The middle third is the strongest part.

  • GN
    Grace N.9 December 2025

    Very practical. I applied something from module four at work the same week.

Showing 9 of 2,744 reviews.

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