OpenStack API Special Interest Group

Mission Statement

To improve the developer experience of API users by converging the OpenStack API to a consistent and pragmatic RESTful design. The working group creates guidelines that all OpenStack projects should follow for new development, and promotes convergence of new APIs and future versions of existing APIs.

Preamble

This document contains the guidelines and rules for OpenStack project APIs including guidelines and proposed rules concerning API consistency, naming conventions, and best practice recommendations.

If you would like to connect with the API Special Interest Group, visit the wiki at: https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/API_Special_Interest_Group

If you are interested in contributing to this document, the git repository is available at: http://opendev.org/openstack/api-sig/

OpenStack code and review submission processes are described at: http://docs.openstack.org/infra/manual/developers.html

Warning

These documents from the API Special Interest Group are primarily focused on providing advice and guidelines for JSON-based APIs. While other representations have their place in the OpenStack ecosystem, they present such a diversity of challenges and edge cases, especially with large and/or binary request and response bodies, that it is impossible to provide guidance that is complete.

Note

Where this guidance is incomplete or ambiguous, refer to the HTTP RFCs—RFC 7230, RFC 7231, RFC 7232, RFC 7233, RFC 7234, and RFC 7235—as the ultimate authority. For advice on effectively using HTTP in APIs see Building Protocols with HTTP.

Guidelines

The following topics are related to the working group and its processes:

These topics are the API guidance approved by the OpenStack community and published by the working group: