API Development Company
API Development Services.
API Development Services.
Clean Contracts. Zero Breaking Changes.
We build REST and GraphQL APIs designed for real integrations: OpenAPI-first, versioned from v1, with auto-generated SDKs and documentation your partners can use the day they arrive.
OpenAPI
3.1 firstREST
and GraphQLAuto-generated
SDKsVersioning
from day one
The API Design Gap
Most APIs get built quickly. Your team spends the next 18 months cleaning up what that means.
What you end up with
No versioning strategy
Every change breaks existing consumers. No deprecation window.
Documentation written after the fact
Drift between docs and reality starts on deploy day.
No authentication layer designed in
Auth bolted on later, inconsistent, full of edge cases.
Tightly coupled business logic
Changing one field requires redeploying three services.
No rate limiting or quota management
A single misbehaving consumer can saturate your entire API.
Partner onboarding takes weeks
No sandbox, no SDK, no Postman collection, no example flows.
What a Redefine API gives you
URL versioning from v1, deprecation notices via headers
Consumers know exactly when to upgrade. No surprises.
OpenAPI spec generated from code, not hand-written
Documentation is always current. Decorators produce the spec.
OAuth 2.0 and API keys designed into the spec before coding
Auth is a first-class citizen, not a retrofit.
Clean resource contracts, backward compatible by default
New fields are additive. Existing consumers never break.
Token bucket rate limiting per consumer, configurable quotas
Every consumer gets their own lane.
Sandbox, SDK, and interactive docs on delivery day
Partners integrate in hours. Not weeks.
Pain section · Tech lead at whiteboard sketching API resource schema
API Maintenance Cost Calculator
What is poor API design costing your engineering team right now?
Adjust the sliders to see the real annual cost of integration maintenance. This is time that could be building features.
5
150
8
1h40h
150
$50$350
12
0100
Annual API maintenance cost
$0
Estimated savings with clean API design
$0
typically
60 percent reduction in integration maintenance
0
engineering hours freed per year
0
weeks
saved on partner onboarding
These estimates are based on typical projects. Your proposal includes specific projections for your API scope.
API Development Capabilities
Five API capabilities. Each one a system you end up owning.
Value stack · Developer reviewing OpenAPI documentation on dual monitors
1
REST API Design
OpenAPI-first, versioned
from v1
Every REST API we build starts with an OpenAPI 3.1 specification that your team reviews and approves before any code is written. Endpoints, request schemas, response shapes, error formats, and authentication flows are all defined in the spec first. The API server then generates this spec from code, so documentation is always accurate.
URL versioning is the default. v1 is the current version. v2 gets a full deprecation window before v1 is sunset. Your consumers know what to expect because the contract never changes beneath them.
Node.js development services →openapi: 3.1.0
info:
title: Redefine Orders API
version: 1.0.0
paths:
/v1/orders:
get:
summary: List orders
security: [{bearerAuth: []}]
2
GraphQL APIs
Flexible queries, no
over-fetching
We use GraphQL when the consumer needs query flexibility that REST cannot provide efficiently. Headless ecommerce frontends and mobile apps often need different data shapes per screen. GraphQL lets consumers specify exactly what they need, eliminating over-fetching and multiple round trips.
We use Apollo Server on NestJS for production GraphQL APIs. Schema-first design with code-generated TypeScript resolvers. Persisted queries for production security. DataLoader for batching and caching N+1 query problems.
Next.js development services →# Product page, 1 query
query ProductPage($slug:
String!) {
product(slug: $slug) {
id name price
images { url altText }
inventory { available
locations { warehouse qty }
}
}
}
3
Webhooks and Event Streams
Real-time push updates,
delivery guarantees
Instead of making your consumers poll every 30 seconds, we build webhook delivery systems that push events the moment they happen. Order confirmed, payment captured, shipment dispatched: your consumers get the event payload with a signed HMAC signature within milliseconds.
Delivery guarantees using retry queues with exponential backoff. Dead-letter handling for failed deliveries. Consumer event logs in the developer portal so your partners can debug their own integrations without contacting your support team.
order.confirmed
just nowdelivered
payment.captured
12s agodelivered
shipment.dispatched
retry 2/3retrying
4
API Security Layer
OAuth 2.0, JWT, rate
limiting, threat detection
Security is designed into the spec before any handler is written. OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for user-delegated access. API keys for server-to-server integrations. JWT validation at the edge, not inside your business logic. Scopes defined per consumer so a payment processor cannot query your user records.
Rate limiting at the consumer level using token bucket algorithm. Request signing for webhooks. Input validation on every schema field. SQL injection and XSS patterns rejected at the validation layer, never reaching your database.
OAuth 2.0 + PKCEactive
Rate limit: partner-api-001847 / 1000
req/hr
Blocked: invalid JWT401
5
Auto-generated SDKs and Partner
Docs
Partners integrate in
hours, not weeks
The OpenAPI spec automatically generates TypeScript, Python, and Go client SDKs on every build. Your partners drop in a typed SDK and start making real API calls without reading a single paragraph of documentation. The SDK handles auth, retries, and type safety for them.
Interactive documentation using Scalar or Redoc, hosted at your API subdomain. Sandbox environment with realistic fixture data. Postman collection exported and versioned alongside the spec. Your partners integrate in hours, not weeks.
// auto-generated SDK, types included
import { RedefineClient } from '@redefine/api-client'
const client = new
RedefineClient({
apiKey: process.env.REDEFINE_KEY
})
// fully typed response
const orders = await client.orders.list({
status: 'pending',
page: 1, limit: 25
})
Protocol Selection
The right protocol for each use case. We choose before the first line of code.
Click any protocol to see when we use it, performance characteristics, and the tradeoffs your team needs to understand before you commit.
REST
HTTP / JSON
GraphQL
Query lang
Webhooks
Event push
gRPC
Service mesh
REST over HTTP/JSON
The default for all public-facing APIs, partner integrations, and mobile backends. Cacheable by design. Tooling is ubiquitous. Every language, every platform. We use REST for 80 percent of API projects.
Characteristics
Caching: native HTTP
caching
Latency: 5 to 150ms
Versioning: URL-based
Best for
Public developer APIs
Partner integrations
Mobile app backends
GraphQL
Right choice when different consumers need different shapes of the same data. Headless ecommerce frontends, mobile apps with per-screen data requirements, and complex domain models with many relationships.
Characteristics
Caching: persisted queries
Latency: 8 to 200ms
Versioning: schema
evolution
Best for
Headless ecommerce
Complex relational domains
Multiple frontend clients
Webhooks
Your API pushes events to consumers instead of waiting to be polled. Orders, payments, inventory changes: consumers get the event the moment it happens. Eliminates polling overhead and reduces latency on event-driven workflows.
Characteristics
Delivery: at-least-once
Latency: event-driven
Retries: exponential
backoff
Best for
Order and payment events
Third-party notifications
ERP and CRM sync triggers
gRPC
Used for internal service-to-service communication inside a microservices architecture. Binary protobuf encoding is 3 to 10x smaller than JSON. Bidirectional streaming. We do not expose gRPC publicly, only internally where the latency and payload savings matter.
Characteristics
Encoding: protobuf binary
Latency: 1 to 20ms
Contract: .proto files
Best for
Internal microservices
only
High-throughput data
streams
Service mesh
communications
Client Result
A legacy B2B platform rebuilt around a unified API layer. ERP, CRM, and BI all in sync.
Proof · Integration team reviewing unified API data flow on dashboard
DrivingI: B2B Promotional Products
Before: fragmented systems, no API layer
Inventory syncing was unreliable between ERP and storefront
Customer approvals were manual, no API to trigger workflow state
Data fragmented across ERP, CRM, and marketing tools, no single source
Complex B2B pricing and catalog logic locked in the monolith
New integrations required weeks of developer time each
DrivingI: After Unified API Layer
Headless Node.js plus Next.js, Microsoft Dynamics sync
Real-time inventory and pricing synchronized directly from Microsoft Dynamics
B2B approval and purchasing permission workflows handled via API hooks
Salesforce integration centralized customer and account data via typed API contracts
Custom catalog API supports complex B2B pricing logic, customer-specific tiers
All future integrations connect through clean, versioned API endpoints
0
integrations running without manual data entry
DrivingI · B2B Headless Ecommerce Platform
ERP, CRM, BI, and marketing systems unified through a custom API layer built on Node.js and Next.js. Real-time data accuracy across all customer accounts. Customer-specific pricing and approval workflows automated via API contracts.
What Redefine Includes
Every item a typical agency charges extra for, we include by default.
What you need
Typical agency
Redefine
OpenAPI 3.1 spec
Design-first, generated from code
Sometimes
Always
URL versioning from v1
Deprecation window + header notices
Rarely
Always
OAuth 2.0 + API key auth
Designed into the spec, not bolted on
Add-on
Included
Rate limiting per consumer
Token bucket, configurable quotas
Rarely
Included
Auto-generated TypeScript SDK
From OpenAPI spec on every build
Extra cost
Included
Sandbox + interactive docs
Hosted at your API subdomain
Extra cost
Included
Distributed tracing + monitoring
OpenTelemetry, latency per endpoint
Not included
Included
Code owned fully by you on delivery
No vendor dependency, no ongoing license
Varies
Always
Common Questions
What CTOs and engineering leads ask before an API development engagement.
We start every API engagement with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec written before any code. The
spec defines all endpoints, request and response schemas, error formats, and authentication flows. Your
team reviews and approves the spec before we write a single handler. This design-first process eliminates
ambiguity and gives you a permanent contract your consumers can rely on.
Yes. We build REST APIs for most projects because they are simpler to cache, document,
and integrate with third-party tools. We use GraphQL when the consumer needs query flexibility, which is
most common on headless ecommerce frontends and mobile apps where data requirements change per screen. We
help you choose the right protocol in the discovery phase. See the protocol comparison above for the full tradeoff
analysis.
We version APIs from the first endpoint. URL versioning is the default (v1, v2) because
it is explicit and easy to debug. When you need to introduce a breaking change, the old version stays live
for a defined deprecation window. Consumers are notified ahead of the deprecation date via API response
headers and documentation. No consumer wakes up to a broken integration.
A focused REST API with 10 to 20 endpoints, authentication, documentation, and a
sandbox typically takes 4 to 6 weeks. Larger projects with 50 or more endpoints, multiple integration
partners, and custom SDKs run 8 to 16 weeks. We scope before we quote. The OpenAPI spec review in week one
gives you a concrete deliverable before the build begins.
API development engagements typically run between $30,000 and $180,000 depending on
endpoint count, integration complexity, protocol choice, and whether the scope includes auto-generated
client SDKs, partner onboarding documentation, and production monitoring setup. See our API pricing guide for phase-by-phase detail.
Book a Technical Strategy Call
Tell us about your API project.
We respond within two business days. No commitment. No pitch.
Form
Submit brief → call within 48 hours → API spec proposal in 3 days → Sprint 1 starts week 2
48 hours
Response
3 days
API spec
OAS 3.1
Always first
100%
Code owned
Brief
received.
We will review your API project and send an OpenAPI-based architecture proposal within 3 business days.
Prefooter · API developer reviewing endpoint documentation and monitoring dashboard
Ready to build an API your partners can rely on?