How do I install the API Design skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add odjaramillo/api-design-2 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Which AI agents work with API Design?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is API Design free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under Apache-2.

Who published API Design?

odjaramillo (@odjaramillo) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

API Design by odjaramillo — Agent Skill

Name: API Design
Author: odjaramillo

File contents

Critical Patterns

API-First Approach (REQUIRED)

Design the API (OpenAPI Spec) BEFORE writing code or user stories.
Protocol: Assume HTTP RESTful by default unless specified (gRPC, EDA).

User Story Format (REQUIRED)

As [user role],
I want [specific objective],
So that [benefit and/or value].

Acceptance Criteria (REQUIRED)

Scenario: [Scenario Name]
  Given [pre-condition]
  When [action]
  Then [expected result]

Decision Tree

Need API design?           → Start with OpenAPI spec
Need user story?           → Use As/I want/So that format
Need test cases?           → Use Gherkin Given/When/Then
Need flow visualization?   → Use Mermaid sequenceDiagram

Code Examples

OpenAPI Endpoint

paths:
  /users/{userId}:
    get:
      summary: Get user by ID
      operationId: getUserById
      parameters:
        - name: userId
          in: path
          required: true
          schema:
            type: string
            format: uuid
      responses:
        '200':
          description: User found
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
        '404':
          description: User not found

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    Client->>API: POST /orders
    API->>Service: validateOrder()
    Service->>Database: INSERT order
    Database-->>Service: orderId
    Service-->>API: Order created
    API-->>Client: 201 Created

User Story Example

As an authenticated user,
I want to view my order history,
So that I can track my past purchases.

Acceptance Criteria:
Scenario: View order history
  Given I am logged in
  When I navigate to /orders
  Then I see a list of my orders sorted by date
  And each order shows status and total amount

Success Metrics

Business: ROI, user adoption
Performance: Latency, throughput
Infrastructure: Error rates, uptime
SLIs/SLOs: Specific service level objectives

---name: api-design-2description: API-First design patterns, user stories, and sequence diagrams. Trigger: When designing APIs with OpenAPI, user stories, or sequence diagrams.license: Apache-2.0---## Critical Patterns### API-First Approach (REQUIRED)```Design the API (OpenAPI Spec) BEFORE writing code or user stories.Protocol: Assume HTTP RESTful by default unless specified (gRPC, EDA).```### User Story Format (REQUIRED)```As [user role],I want [specific objective],So that [benefit and/or value].```### Acceptance Criteria (REQUIRED)```gherkinScenario: [Scenario Name] Given [pre-condition] When [action] Then [expected result]```---## Decision Tree```Need API design? → Start with OpenAPI specNeed user story? → Use As/I want/So that formatNeed test cases? → Use Gherkin Given/When/ThenNeed flow visualization? → Use Mermaid sequenceDiagram```---## Code Examples### OpenAPI Endpoint```yamlpaths: /users/{userId}: get: summary: Get user by ID operationId: getUserById parameters: - name: userId in: path required: true schema: type: string format: uuid responses: '200': description: User found content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/User' '404': description: User not found```### Sequence Diagram```mermaidsequenceDiagram Client->>API: POST /orders API->>Service: validateOrder() Service->>Database: INSERT order Database-->>Service: orderId Service-->>API: Order created API-->>Client: 201 Created```### User Story Example```As an authenticated user,I want to view my order history,So that I can track my past purchases.Acceptance Criteria:Scenario: View order history Given I am logged in When I navigate to /orders Then I see a list of my orders sorted by date And each order shows status and total amount```---## Success Metrics- **Business**: ROI, user adoption- **Performance**: Latency, throughput- **Infrastructure**: Error rates, uptime- **SLIs/SLOs**: Specific service level objectives

Frequently asked questions

API Design