Learn the basics
Short primers on the ideas every API developer keeps meeting: REST, HTTP, JSON, webhooks, authentication, REST against GraphQL, and why HTTPS matters. Each one stands alone, so read them in any order.
What is a REST API?
A plain-English explanation of REST, HTTP methods, resources, and why almost every modern web service speaks this style.
Read primerWhat is JSON?
JSON syntax in 5 minutes: objects, arrays, strings, numbers, why it replaced XML, and the gotchas that bite beginners.
Read primerWhat is HTTP?
Request/response, headers, methods, status codes - the protocol the web has run on since 1991.
Read primerWhat is a webhook?
Webhooks vs polling: the inverse of an API call, when to use them, and how the receiving endpoint should look.
Read primerWhat is API authentication?
API keys, bearer tokens, OAuth, JWT, mutual TLS - the menu of ways APIs identify their callers, with trade-offs.
Read primerREST vs GraphQL
When each makes sense, what they share, and why most teams should reach for REST first.
Read primerHTTP vs HTTPS
TLS in 800 words: what HTTPS adds, what it does not protect, why mixed-content errors exist, and why public APIs should be HTTPS-only.
Read primerHTTP headers reference
A cheat-sheet of the headers GoRest uses, plus the 30 standard ones every developer encounters in the wild.
Read primer