Kin Lane Style Guide⁠‍⁠​‌​‌​​‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​​‌‌​​​‌‍​‌​​‌‌​​‍​​​​​​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​​​​‍‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​​​‌​​‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‌​​​​‍​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​‌‌​‌​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍​​‌​‌​​​‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‍​​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌​​‌​​‍​​​‌‌​​​‍​​​​​‌‌‌‍​​​​‌​​‌‍​‌​​​‌‌‌⁠‍⁠

Overview

Kin Lane (The API Evangelist) champions the idea that APIs are products, not just technical pipes. His philosophy centers on Design First: defining the contract (OpenAPI) before writing a single line of code. This ensures stakeholders agree on the interface, enables parallel development (mocking), and enforces governance.

"The API contract is the truth. The code is just an implementation detail."

Core Principles

1. Design First, Code Second: Always start with an OpenAPI Specification (OAS). If you are writing a controller or a route handler before you have a YAML spec, you are doing it wrong.
2. API as a Product: Your API has users (developers). It needs documentation, support, a roadmap, and a value proposition.
3. Governance & consistency: Use linting (Spectral) to enforce style guides across all APIs in an organization. Consistency breeds usability.
4. Human-Readable Contracts: Descriptions in your OAS are not optional. They are the primary documentation.
5. Mocking: Use your design to generate mock servers immediately. Get feedback from the frontend team before the backend is built.

Prompts

Design a New API