# REST API Design Made Simple with Express.js ## What does REST API mean? A **REST API** (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface) is an architectural style that enables two software applications to communicate over the internet. A RESTful API operates over HTTP, treating data as addressable **resources** and performing actions using standard HTTP methods rather than arbitrary URLs. ## Resources in REST architecture RESTful APIs in ExpressJS are designed around resources, which are identified by unique URLs. These resources represent the entities (e.g., **users, products, articles**) that the API manipulates. * Resources are represented as **nouns**, never verbs (e.g., `/users`, not `/getUsers`). * Collection endpoints use plural nouns (e.g., `/users`), while single items are identified with their ID (e.g., `/users/123`). ## HTTP methods RESTful APIs use standard HTTP methods to perform **CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete**) operations on resources: * **GET**: When you want to get some data from the server. * **POST**: When you want to send and mutate some data on the server. * **PUT**: Updates an existing resource. * **PATCH:** Partially change. * **DELETE**: Deletes a resource. REST maps database operations (CRUD) directly to standard HTTP methods:

CRUD Operation

HTTP Method

Route (Example)

Action Description

Create

POST

/users

Creates a new user

Read

GET

/users or /users/:id

Retrieves all users or a specific user

Update

PUT

/users/:id

Replaces an entire user record

Delete

DELETE

/users/:id

Removes a specific user

## Status codes basics ![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/695291ab5b12442dcb8f69d8/940eb03b-ed8c-46cc-9568-05eb93ccc1cd.png align="center") ## Designing routes using REST principles

Method

Endpoint

Description

Success Status

GET

/users

List all users (supports pagination/filters)

200 OK

POST

/users

Create a new user with request body data

201 Created

GET

/users/:id

Get details for one specific user

200 OK

PUT

/users/:id

Replace user details completely

200 OK

DELETE

/users/:id

Delete user with specified ID

204 No Content

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/695291ab5b12442dcb8f69d8/f5da9d0f-c081-431e-873b-6f8f5f4565d3.png align="center")