Guides for every
stage of your build
Code for 9 languages, short primers on how APIs work, and recipes for common frontend tasks.
Call the API from your language
Copy-ready examples for listing, creating, paginating and retrying.
JSJavaScript (Fetch API)Browser-native fetch with async/await, bearer-token auth, error handling, and pagination.NODENode.jsServer-side requests with global fetch and axios: retries, env-loaded tokens, streaming JSON.PYPython (requests)Calls with the requests library, JSON bodies, query filtering, and dataclass parsing.RBRuby (Net::HTTP)Net::HTTP idioms, persistent connections, and consuming the JSON response.GOGo (net/http)Idiomatic net/http with request contexts, struct decoding, and back-off on 429.PHPPHP (cURL + Guzzle)php-curl walkthrough with proper option setting, plus the Guzzle equivalent for production code.JAVAJava (HttpClient)java.net.http.HttpClient sync and async usage, plus Jackson for JSON binding.KTKotlin (OkHttp + Ktor)OkHttp coroutines + kotlinx.serialization, and the Ktor client equivalent for multiplatform.$_cURL command-lineOne-liners for every endpoint plus jq tricks for piping the response into your shell.
Concepts worth understanding
HTTP status codes explainedWhat 200/201/204/400/401/403/404/422/429/500 mean, with the bodies the API returns for each.Bearer-token authenticationHow Authorization: Bearer works, where to keep tokens, and why the URL is the wrong place.Rate limiting and retriesX-RateLimit headers, 429 handling, and exponential back-off patterns you can copy.
Learn the basics
Short articles on REST, HTTP, JSON and authentication.
What is a REST API?A plain-English explanation of REST, HTTP methods, resources, and why almost every modern web service speaks this style.What is JSON?JSON syntax in 5 minutes: objects, arrays, strings, numbers, why it replaced XML, and the gotchas that bite beginners.What is HTTP?Request/response, headers, methods, status codes - the protocol the web has run on since 1991.What is a webhook?Webhooks vs polling: the inverse of an API call, when to use them, and how the receiving endpoint should look.What is API authentication?API keys, bearer tokens, OAuth, JWT, mutual TLS - the menu of ways APIs identify their callers, with trade-offs.REST vs GraphQLWhen each makes sense, what they share, and why most teams should reach for REST first.HTTP vs HTTPSTLS in 800 words: what HTTPS adds, what it does not protect, why mixed-content errors exist, and why public APIs should be HTTPS-only.HTTP headers referenceA cheat-sheet of the headers GoRest uses, plus the 30 standard ones every developer encounters in the wild.
Recipes for frontend tasks
One UI problem per recipe, with code you can copy.
Start hereTest loading skeletons with simulated latencyUse ?delay=N to make GoRest take seconds to respond, so you can verify your skeleton screens render without flicker.Read recipe Test 401, 422, 429 and 500 handlersForce any status code with ?force_status= to make sure your error UI never shows blank screens or eats stack traces.Read recipe Build a paginated user list in ReactA working component that fetches a page, renders rows, and uses X-Pagination-Pages to render Previous/Next correctly.Read recipe Build infinite scroll with IntersectionObserverAppend pages as the sentinel element scrolls into view. Works with any list endpoint that returns pagination headers.Read recipe Add optimistic updates without racesRender the new state before the server confirms; roll back on failure. Pattern works for create / update / delete.Read recipe Debounce a search field properlyAvoid N requests per keystroke. Cancel in-flight requests with AbortController so the latest query always wins.Read recipe Mock auth for a coding interviewStand up a fake login + protected list flow in 30 minutes - perfect for take-homes and live coding sessions.Read recipe