Best of API Gateway — December 2025

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   Article

   Nordic APIs·16w

   A Software Architect’s Guide to API-First Strategy

   API-first strategy treats APIs as foundational contracts defined before code implementation, enabling parallel development, improved governance, and better security. The approach requires design-first methodology using OpenAPI specifications, RESTful principles, strategic versioning, and robust authentication/authorization. Key infrastructure includes API gateways for traffic management, IAM systems for access control, observability tools for monitoring, and emerging AI gateways for LLM interactions. Security must be integrated throughout the lifecycle with proper authentication (OAuth 2.0, OIDC), fine-grained authorization (RBAC, ABAC), input validation, rate limiting, and TLS encryption. Industries like fintech, retail, and healthcare demonstrate success through improved interoperability, faster innovation, and new revenue streams. The strategy is essential for AI-readiness, as autonomous agents require well-documented, discoverable APIs with clear semantic contracts.

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2. 2
   Article

   Alexey Zerkalenkov·20w

   The Frontend Database API Gateway

   A frontend-first API gateway that enables developers to build applications without waiting for backend implementation. It allows rapid prototyping with runtime data and seamless integration with various backend services like Supabase, Firebase, GraphQL, and REST APIs without requiring frontend code rewrites.

   58

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   Article

   WunderGraph·19w

   TypeScript Plugin Support for Cosmo Connect

   Cosmo Connect now supports TypeScript router plugins, enabling developers to extend GraphQL federation routers with custom logic written in TypeScript without deploying separate services. Previously limited to Go, this feature makes plugin development accessible to TypeScript-focused teams. Plugins run inside the router, are published through Cosmo Cloud, and participate in schema checks like subgraphs. The workflow involves initializing a plugin via CLI, generating protobuf definitions from GraphQL schemas, implementing RPC handlers in TypeScript, building the plugin artifact, and publishing to Cosmo Cloud where routers automatically pull updates. This approach is particularly useful for wrapping legacy REST APIs or exposing small pieces of logic without the operational overhead of deploying full subgraph services.

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