Best Practices

Follow these best practices for reliable API integrations.

Authentication & Security

Store Tokens Securely

Use environment variables, never hardcode tokens.

Use HTTPS Only

Always use HTTPS for API requests.

Implement Token Refresh

Refresh tokens before expiration.

API Usage

Batch Operations

Use batch operations to reduce API calls.

Handle Pagination

Properly handle paginated results.

Set Request Timeouts

Prevent hanging requests with timeouts.

Performance

Cache Responses

Cache API responses appropriately.

Use Connection Pooling

Reuse HTTP connections.

Exponential Backoff

Use exponential backoff for retries.

Monitoring

Monitor Rate Limits

Track rate limit usage.

Log Requests

Log API requests and responses.

Set Up Alerts

Alert on high error rates.

Data Validation

// Validate data before sending
function validateEmployee(data) {
  if (!data.firstName || !data.lastName || !data.email) {
    throw new Error('Required fields missing');
  }
  if (!/^[^@]+@[^@]+$/.test(data.email)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid email format');
  }
  return data;
}

Next Steps