Definition

What is REST API?

An architectural style for web APIs that uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and predictable URLs to expose resources.

REST (Representational State Transfer) is the dominant pattern for web APIs. The core idea: each URL identifies a resource (e.g. `/api/posts/123`), and HTTP verbs describe what to do with it (GET to read, POST to create, PUT to update, DELETE to remove). Responses are typically JSON. REST is simple, cacheable, and works everywhere HTTP works — which is why it stuck. GraphQL is the main alternative; tRPC is a typed alternative for Next.js/TypeScript-only stacks. InBuild's exported sites expose API routes following REST conventions in `app/api/`.

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