Cloud, API & Platform Engineering · API development
APIs designed as products, not afterthoughts
We design, build and document APIs that power your web and mobile apps, partner integrations and internal tools — with clear contracts, sensible versioning and security built in from the first endpoint.
- Contract-first design
- Authentication and authorization
- Versioning you can live with
Overview
Building an API people can depend on
An API is a promise. The moment a mobile app, a partner or a customer’s script calls it, you are bound by its URLs, field names and error behavior, and changing them has a cost someone else pays. That is why API development is as much about governance as code: deciding who may consume the API, what you will guarantee, how long old versions live and how consumers hear about changes before they happen.
The main trade-offs sit in scope and style. A narrow API for your own app can move quickly and change often; a public or partner API needs stability, onboarding and support from day one. Choosing between REST, GraphQL, gRPC or webhooks depends on who calls it and how. Our dedicated REST and GraphQL pages cover those styles in depth; here we focus on the decisions that apply whatever style you choose.
A well-run API has an owner, a published contract, usage you can measure per consumer and a changelog people actually read. It is boring to depend on, and that is the goal. Consumers trust it because changes are announced early, old versions retire on schedule, errors explain themselves and someone on your side clearly owns its roadmap, support questions and long-term health.
Who it’s for
Built for teams like yours
- 01
Product teams with apps
Companies whose web and mobile apps need one dependable back end, so features ship on both platforms without duplicating business logic or arguing over data formats each sprint.
- 02
Platforms opening to partners
Businesses that want partners, resellers or customers to connect programmatically, and need keys, quotas, documentation and a support process rather than one-off data exports. The API becomes a channel they can grow.
- 03
Companies modernizing internals
Organizations whose internal tools talk straight to shared databases and want a governed API layer in between before more systems start depending on those tables.
Why it matters
An API is a promise to everyone who calls it
Once a mobile app, a partner or a customer’s system depends on your API, every change carries risk. We start with the contract: the resources, the error format, authentication, rate limits and how versions will evolve. Agreeing that up front lets front-end and back-end teams build in parallel and keeps consumers from breaking when you ship.
We choose the style that fits the job — REST for broad compatibility, GraphQL for data-heavy clients, webhooks or gRPC where they make sense — and hand over an API you own, with docs a new developer can follow.
Every engagement includes
- API discoverywe identify every consumer, the data they need and the workflows the API must support.
- Contract & schemaa reviewed OpenAPI or GraphQL specification that becomes the single source of truth.
- Implementationendpoints, business logic, validation and data access built in your chosen stack, such as Node.js, Python, Go or .NET.
- Security reviewauthentication, input validation, secrets handling and rate limits checked before launch.
- Automated testscontract and integration tests that run on every change to catch breaking updates early.
- Docs & handoverpublished reference docs, a Postman collection and source code in your own repository.
Features
What goes into a dependable API
- 01
Contract-first design
OpenAPI or schema definitions agreed before coding, so clients and servers can be built and tested in parallel.
- 02
Authentication and authorization
OAuth 2.0, API keys or JWTs with scoped permissions, so each consumer reaches only the data it should.
- 03
Versioning you can live with
A clear policy for deprecations and breaking changes, so existing integrations keep working while the API evolves.
- 04
Consistent errors and limits
Predictable error formats, rate limiting and quotas that protect your systems and tell consumers exactly what went wrong.
- 05
Developer documentation
Reference docs, quick-start guides and example requests generated from the spec and kept in step with every release.
- 06
Observability from day one
Request logging, latency metrics and tracing that show who is calling what, and where slowdowns begin.
In practice
What teams build APIs for
A shared mobile and web back end
One API serving your iOS, Android and web clients, with authentication, business rules and data access in one place so every platform behaves the same way. New clients, such as a tablet app or kiosk, reuse it unchanged.
A partner or public API
External developers onboard with self-serve keys, sandbox data and clear limits, letting partners build on your platform without a custom project for each one. Usage per partner is visible from the first request onward.
Wrapping an existing system
A clean, documented API placed in front of an older application or database, so new tools connect through a stable contract instead of reaching into internal tables. The old system can later be replaced behind the same interface.
Outbound webhooks for customers
Event notifications your customers can subscribe to, with signing, retries and a delivery log, so their systems react to changes without constantly polling yours. Customers can replay missed events from a delivery history screen.
Process
How we work
- 1
Consumer interviews
We talk with the teams and partners who will call the API, list the jobs they need done and note their constraints, from mobile bandwidth to batch import windows. Their answers shape scope and priorities.
- 2
Contract and policy
We draft the specification alongside the policies around it: authentication model, rate limits, versioning and deprecation rules, and how consumers will be told about changes. Both are reviewed with your technical leads before sign-off.
- 3
Mock and review
A mock server generated from the contract lets client developers try real requests early, so naming or shape problems are fixed before any back-end code exists. Feedback is folded into the contract before implementation begins.
- 4
Build and harden
Endpoints are implemented with validation, authorization and logging, then load-checked and security-reviewed against the agreed limits before the first external consumer is given access. Findings are fixed and rechecked before any partner launch date is confirmed.
- 5
Launch and steward
We publish docs, issue keys, set up usage dashboards per consumer and leave a changelog and deprecation process your team can run after handover. We also agree how support requests from consumers reach the right engineer.
Deliverables
What you receive
- API style recommendation with written rationale
- Versioning and deprecation policy document
- Mock server generated from the contract
- Consumer onboarding guide and sandbox credentials
- Per-consumer usage and error dashboards
- Webhook delivery and retry design where needed
- Changelog template and release communication process
Tools & methods
Languages
- Node.js
- Python
- Go
- .NET
- Java
- Kotlin
Gateways & auth
- Kong
- AWS API Gateway
- Apigee
- Azure API Management
- Auth0
- Keycloak
Design & docs
- OpenAPI
- Stoplight
- Postman
- Prism mocks
- Spectral linting
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Anything else about API development? Ask us directly.
It depends on who calls it. REST is the safer default for public and partner APIs because almost every tool understands it and HTTP caching works out of the box. GraphQL suits apps that need flexible, nested data across many screens. Some products use both. We recommend one during discovery and explain the trade-offs in writing.
Let’s work together
Have a project in mind?
Book a strategy call and we’ll show you exactly how to turn your goals into a system that generates consistent results.