API Design Interview Questions & Assessment
Assess API design skills including REST principles, GraphQL, gRPC, versioning, authentication, and documentation.
Why API Design Matters
APIs are the building blocks of modern software. Well-designed APIs make systems easier to integrate, scale, and maintain. Poor API design leads to tech debt and frustrated developers.
Sample Interview Questions
What makes a RESTful API? Explain REST constraints and Richardson Maturity Model.
Compare REST, GraphQL, and gRPC. When would you choose each?
How would you version an API? Compare URL, header, and query parameter versioning.
Design an API for a social media feed with pagination, filtering, and rate limiting.
Explain OAuth 2.0 flows. When would you use authorization code vs client credentials?
How to Prepare
Know REST principles: resources, HTTP methods, status codes, HATEOAS
Understand pagination strategies: offset, cursor, keyset
Practice with OpenAPI/Swagger for documentation
Know authentication: API keys, OAuth2, JWT, session-based
Understand rate limiting, caching headers, and idempotency
Related Skills
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