Use HTTP status codes meaningfully.
Section: Anti-patterns
Do not return 200 for every outcome
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Avoid: HTTP 200 with { "success": false } for validation failuresExplanation
Meaningful status codes help caches, clients, SDKs, observability tools, and humans interpret results correctly.
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Verbs in CRUD endpoints
Avoid route names that duplicate the HTTP method.
Do not expose raw database internals
Keep API models stable and intentional.
Do not ship breaking changes silently
Version or phase in incompatible changes.
Keep response contracts consistent
Use the same top-level response structure across endpoints.