api-first development

noun
UK /ˌeɪ.piːˈaɪ fɜːst dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
US /ˌeɪ.piːˈaɪ fɜːrst dɪˈvɛləpmənt/

a way of building software where you make the connection rules first, before the screens.

The team chose API-first development so their mobile app and website could share the same backend.

SYNONYMS

API-first designcontract-first developmentinterface-first approachAPI-driven development

RELATED WORDS

microservicesOpenAPIRESTSDKbackend

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A strategy where an organization treats its APIs as the main product and builds everything else around them.

The company's API-first development strategy let partners integrate with their service in days.

3. A design process in which the API specification is written and reviewed before any implementation code.

With API-first development, the spec was approved by both teams before coding began.

4. An approach that separates the frontend and backend so each can be built and tested independently.

API-first development allowed the frontend team to use mock servers while the backend was still in progress.