Questioning how I see the technology, business, and politics of APIs is the foundation of API Evangelist. I’ve changed my opinions on a lot of things over th...

API Evangelist's publication is a resource for developers, architects, and technology leaders seeking to understand the importance of APIs in modern software development. Through articles, case studies, and industry insights, API Evangelist offers insights into API design best practices, API management strategies, and API-driven business models. Readers can learn about RESTful API principles, GraphQL implementations, and microservices architecture to build scalable and interoperable software systems.

API Evangelist

A critical reflection on the current state of API governance, questioning whether design-rule linting (via Spectral/Vacuum applied to OpenAPI/AsyncAPI) can realistically standardize APIs across enterprise teams. The author demonstrates an alternative approach using the Naftiko framework to normalize inconsistent path and parameter conventions (camelCase, snake_case, PascalCase) from multiple upstream services into a single consistent interface. Key critiques include: governance focuses almost exclusively on APIs produced rather than consumed, lacks alignment with runtime policy tools (OPA, Cedar), ignores operational concerns like documentation and SDKs, and suffers from over-centralization. The author argues for domain- and industry-specific policy sets, team autonomy, and governance tied to business outcomes rather than uniform technical rules.

Questioning Our API Governance Reality