Episodes

  • How APIs Use Streaming Responses for Real-Time Data

    How APIs Use Streaming Responses for Real-Time Data
    Jun 29 2026
    Episode 80 of the API Podcast dives into streaming responses—how modern APIs use chunked transfer encoding and server-sent events (SSE) to push data in real time. Lucas and Luna explore the protocol mechanics behind streaming, the differences between SSE and WebSockets, and practical use cases like live dashboards and AI model output. They examine how the Twitter API streams tweets and how GitHub Actions streams build logs, comparing implementation patterns and tradeoffs. The episode also covers backpressure handling, partial response status codes (like 206), and when streaming adds unnecessary complexity. Listeners will learn one concrete pattern: using a ReadableStream in JavaScript to consume an SSE endpoint without buffering the entire response. No ads—supported by listener contributions. #StreamingResponses #ServerSentEvents #ChunkedTransferEncoding #WebSockets #ReadableStream #TwitterAPI #GitHubActions #Backpressure #RealTimeAPI #HTTPStreaming #APIDesign #EventStream #SSE #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #APIPodcast #ModernAPIs Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    11 mins
  • API Design for Graceful Degradation Under Load

    API Design for Graceful Degradation Under Load
    Jun 28 2026
    When an API is overwhelmed, how should it behave? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the concept of graceful degradation — designing APIs that remain partially functional under extreme load instead of returning 503 errors for every endpoint. Lucas explains how Stripe's API prioritises critical endpoints like payment processing over less essential ones like invoice PDF generation during traffic spikes. They discuss circuit breakers, priority-based rate limiting, and how the principle of 'fail responsibly' led to Netflix's Hystrix library. Luna pushes back on whether degrading an API can ever be a good user experience, and Lucas makes the case that failing partially is far better than failing completely. A must-listen for anyone building or consuming web APIs at scale. #API #GracefulDegradation #Stripe #Netflix #Hystrix #CircuitBreaker #RateLimiting #FaultTolerance #Resilience #Backend #SystemDesign #Microservices #FailResponsibly #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #APIEngineering #SoftwareArchitecture Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    11 mins
  • How APIs Use Bulk Operations to Reduce Latency at Scale

    How APIs Use Bulk Operations to Reduce Latency at Scale
    Jun 28 2026
    Episode 78 dives into a practical API pattern that backend teams at Uber and GitHub use to cut round trips by up to 90 percent: bulk endpoints. Lucas and Luna walk through the difference between repeated single calls and a single batch request, using concrete examples like Uber's batch ride-status check and GitHub's GraphQL bulk mutations. They discuss trade-offs like error handling, payload size limits, and idempotency guarantees, and show how a well-designed batch endpoint can turn a hundred sequential HTTP requests into a single response. If you've ever managed API clients calling the same endpoint in a loop, this episode gives you a clear pattern to replace the loop with a list. Also: a brief note on how listener support through Buy Me a Coffee keeps this ad-free show running. #BulkAPI #BatchRequests #GraphQL #Uber #GitHub #Optimization #Latency #HTTP #Idempotency #API #WebAPI #JSON #REST #Backend #Engineering #Performance #Technology #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • How Web APIs Use Semantic Versioning at Scale

    How Web APIs Use Semantic Versioning at Scale
    Jun 27 2026
    Episode 77 of The API Podcast with Fexingo dives into semantic versioning for web APIs—how version numbers like 2.1.3 communicate breaking changes, new features, and patches. Lucas and Luna explore real-world cases from Stripe, GitHub, and the Node.js ecosystem, and unpack why 'semver' became the de facto standard for API contracts. They discuss the tension between strict semver and pragmatic pre-1.0 approaches, and how tools like npm and package-lock.json enforce version ranges. If you've ever wondered whether a minor bump can break your integration, or why some APIs stay at 1.x for years, this episode explains the discipline behind the numbers. #SemanticVersioning #APIVersioning #Stripe #GitHub #NodeJS #npm #Semver #BreakingChanges #APICompatibility #VersionRanges #CaretVersions #TildeVersions #PackageLock #BackwardCompatibility #Technology #WebAPIs #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    13 mins
  • How API Gateways Centralize Authentication and Rate Limiting

    How API Gateways Centralize Authentication and Rate Limiting
    Jun 27 2026
    Lucas and Luna dive into the API gateway pattern—a reverse proxy that sits in front of microservices to handle authentication, rate limiting, request routing, and analytics. They discuss how companies like Netflix and Shopify use gateways to offload cross-cutting concerns, enforce policies without touching individual services, and simplify client-side code. Lucas explains the difference between a gateway, a load balancer, and a service mesh, and why a gateway can become a bottleneck if not designed for high availability. Luna brings up the trade-off between convenience and added latency, and they explore real-world examples like Kong, AWS API Gateway, and Envoy. The episode includes a brief, organic listener-support moment and ends with thoughts on how gateways are evolving with GraphQL federation and edge computing. #API #APIGateway #Microservices #RateLimiting #Authentication #Netflix #Shopify #Kong #AWS #Envoy #GraphQL #EdgeComputing #ReverseProxy #ServiceMesh #Technology #WebDevelopment #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • How APIs Use Backward Compatibility Testing for Safer Deployments

    How APIs Use Backward Compatibility Testing for Safer Deployments
    Jun 26 2026
    In this episode of The API Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the often overlooked but critical practice of backward compatibility testing for APIs. Using a concrete example from a major social media platform's API v3 release that broke thousands of integrations in 2025, they explain how automated contract testing with tools like OpenAPI and JSON Schema can catch breaking changes before they hit production. They discuss the difference between additive and breaking changes, how semantic versioning interacts with API design, and why a single mislabeled field can cost partners weeks of rework. They also touch on the challenges of deprecating endpoints gracefully and how Stripe's API versioning model sets a gold standard for the industry. Whether you're building internal microservices or public-facing REST APIs, this episode gives you a practical framework for keeping your consumers happy and your deploys safe. #BackwardCompatibility #APITesting #OpenAPI #JSONSchema #SemanticVersioning #ContractTesting #BreakingChanges #Stripe #APIversioning #Deprecation #TechPodcast #Technology #API #WebDevelopment #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #SoftwareEngineering #DevOps Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • How APIs Use Webhooks for Real-Time Event Delivery

    How APIs Use Webhooks for Real-Time Event Delivery
    Jun 26 2026
    Episode 74 of The API Podcast dives into the mechanics of webhooks — the unsung backbone of real-time event-driven APIs. Lucas and Luna break down how platforms like Stripe and GitHub use webhooks to push data the moment something happens, saving developers from constant polling. They explore the delivery contract between senders and receivers: retry logic, signature verification, and idempotency. A concrete walkthrough of a Stripe checkout flow shows what happens under the hood when a payment succeeds. The hosts also discuss where webhooks fall short — like guaranteed ordering — and how newer specs like CloudEvents are trying to standardize the chaos. Perfect for developers building integrations that need to react instantly. #Webhooks #EventDriven #RealtimeAPI #Stripe #GitHub #CloudEvents #WebhookSecurity #PayloadSigning #Idempotency #RetryLogic #APIArchitecture #Technology #APIDesign #PushVsPoll #EventDelivery #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TheAPIPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
  • How APIs Use Idempotency Keys for Safe Retries

    How APIs Use Idempotency Keys for Safe Retries
    Jun 25 2026
    In this episode of The API Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into idempotency keys — the backend pattern that powers safe retries in payment APIs, order systems, and anywhere duplicate requests would be catastrophic. They walk through how Stripe popularized the `Idempotency-Key` header, what happens when a client sends the same key twice, and why naive retry logic without idempotency can bill a customer twice or create duplicate orders. Lucas explains the server-side state machine: key storage, response caching, and key expiry. Luna pushes back on edge cases — what if the server crashes before persisting the key? They also touch on how idempotency differs from exactly-once delivery and why it's not a silver bullet for distributed systems. If you build or consume REST APIs, this episode gives you one concrete pattern to prevent data corruption on retries. #IdempotencyKeys #APIResilience #RESTAPI #StripePatterns #SafeRetries #HTTP #DuplicateRequests #BackendEngineering #DistributedSystems #PaymentAPIs #ExactlyOnce #RetryLogic #APIDesign #TechnicalDebt #WebDevelopment #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    12 mins