16 API Terms You Should Know
Learn 16 essential API terms explained in plain English
"Just send a POST request to the endpoint with the right headers and payload…"
Hold up—what?
If you’ve ever nodded along in a meeting while frantically Googling what “rate limiting” or “query parameters” mean, you’re not alone. I’ve been there. We all have.
But here’s the deal: APIs are everywhere. Your favorite app? Runs on one. Your coffee order app? API. That moment your calendar magically updates after a Slack message? Yup—API.
So let’s strip it all down.
I’ll walk you through 16 key API terms using simple language and real-world analogies.
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16 API Terms You Should Know
1. Resource
Think of a resource like an object in real life. A photo. A user profile. A cat video. In the world of APIs, this is the stuff we’re asking for or sending.
It's the “thing” behind the curtain you want to get or change.
2. Request
This is you saying, “Hey server, can I get that cat video?”
3. Response
The server goes, “Sure, here it is.” Or sometimes, “Nope, not today.”
4. Response Code
You’ve seen ‘404 Not Found’ before? That’s a response code.
It’s like the server sending you a sticky note with a smiley face… or a passive-aggressive “Error: You messed up.”
200 = All good
404 = Can’t find it
500 = The server is crying
5. Payload
Payload = the actual stuff sent in the request or response.
Could be text, files, or your grandma’s cookie recipe. Whatever the data is—you’re sending it, or you’re getting it.
6. Pagination
Ever scrolled through 5,000 Instagram posts from your ex’s new dog? Yeah, that needs pagination. It breaks big data into smaller chunks.
7. Method
This is your action verb. APIs don’t just exist—they do. Here’s the quick cheat sheet:
GET – Fetch something
POST – Add something
PUT – Update something
DELETE – Yep, you guessed it
8. Query Parameters
These live in the URL like tiny filters.
Example:/shoes?color=black&size=10
You're basically whispering to the server: “I want the black size 10s only, please.”
9. Authentication
Just like you show your ID at a club (or Netflix asks who’s watching?), authentication proves you are who you say you are.
10. Rate Limiting
“Too many requests, bro.”
APIs don’t want to be spammed. So they set limits. Like a bouncer at the door saying, “Whoa, you’ve had enough.”
11. API Integration
This is when two apps become besties.
Like Slack and Google Calendar syncing up so you never miss that 3 p.m. “optional” meeting again.
12. API Gateway
The bouncer, concierge, and translator all in one.
It takes your request, checks it, and passes it on to the right place. Nice.
13. API Lifecycle
Every API has a story: it’s born, it grows, it (maybe) gets retired. That’s the lifecycle.
Version 1.0 was cute. But 2.0? That’s glow-up material.
14. CRUD
Acronym alert! It stands for:
Create
Read
Update
Delete
It’s the core of what most APIs do. If APIs were a band, CRUD would be the lead singer.
15. Cache
Memory lane.
Caching is like keeping a copy of your favorite playlist so you don’t re-download it every time. Speeds things up. No one likes buffering.
16. Client
That’s you. Or your app. Or anything making the request.
If the server is the chef, the client is the hungry customer shouting out their order.
Final Thoughts
I know APIs might seem cold and robotic. But once you get to know the lingo, it all starts to make sense. Like any good friendship, it just takes a little translation, a bit of patience—and maybe a blog post that doesn’t make you want to nap.
Bonus
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Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much for this!