Application Programming Interface

An API is like a restaurant's order window. The frontend orders in the format on the menu, and the backend serves what was agreed. An API endpoint usually has a URL (like /api/orders), a request method (GET to read, POST to create, PUT/PATCH to update, DELETE to delete), parameters, and response data, usually in JSON.

The status code that comes back matters a lot: 200 means success, 401 means not logged in, 403 means no permission, 404 means the URL doesn't exist, and 500 means the server had an error. The frontend usually calls APIs with fetch or axios.

When working with AI, it's best to paste the API docs or one real sample response. Otherwise, the AI may make up field names. If the backend isn't ready yet, you can have the AI build the page with mock data first.