APIdriven

APIdriven is a software development approach in which application programming interfaces (APIs) serve as the primary drivers of system design and integration. In an APIdriven workflow, APIs are designed and specified before implementing underlying components, promoting a contract-first discipline and decoupled teams. The term is often used to describe an API-first or contract-driven mindset that treats APIs as products that define data models, behavior, and boundaries across services.

Key practices include contract-first development using API specifications such as OpenAPI or AsyncAPI, API governance, versioning strategies, and emphasis on discoverability and documentation. Teams design APIs to meet consumer needs, support reuse, and enable composability across microservices or service-oriented architectures. API management platforms, gateways, authentication, authorization, rate limiting, and monitoring are commonly employed to secure and manage APIs. Testing emphasizes contract tests and consumer-driven tests in addition to traditional integration tests.

APIdriven aims to enable faster cross-team collaboration, clearer boundaries, and more scalable maintenance by decoupling frontend, backend, and data-layer changes behind stable API contracts. It can improve onboarding for new developers and simplify external integrations with partners and customers. However, APIdriven initiatives can incur upfront design overhead and require disciplined governance to avoid API sprawl or brittle contracts.

Related concepts include API-first development, contract testing, and event-driven architectures. APIdriven is not a formal standard but a generalized term used to describe practices that place APIs at the center of system design and delivery, often aligned with modern cloud-native and microservices ecosystems.