Secure Storage: Store API keys in a secure vault or encrypted storage, never in client-side code or version control systems.
Key Rotation: Rotate API keys periodically (e.g., every 90 days) to enhance security and revoke compromised keys promptly.
Environment Variables: Use environment variables (e.g., .env files or platform-specific secrets management) to manage API credentials securely.
Error Handling: Implement robust handling for 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden errors to gracefully manage authentication failures.
Check Status Codes: Always inspect HTTP status codes (e.g., 400, 401, 429) and handle them appropriately, as outlined in the Handling Errors section. Log Errors: Capture error.code and error.message from API responses for debugging and monitoring.
Retry Logic: Implement exponential backoff for transient errors (e.g., 429 or 500) to avoid overwhelming the API.
User Feedback: Provide clear, non-technical error messages to end-users (e.g., "Unable to process request. Please try again later.").
Use Pagination: Leverage pagination (page and size parameters) for endpoints returning large datasets, as described in the Pagination section. Client-Side Caching: Cache responses for frequently accessed, stable data (e.g., using in-memory stores like Redis) to reduce API calls.
Minimize Requests: Combine related requests where possible (e.g., fetch multiple resources in a single call if supported by the endpoint).
Enable Compression: Use Accept-Encoding: gzip in requests to reduce payload size for large responses.
Use HTTPS: Always use https://api.nxsys.tech/ (Nxsys system) or https://bureau-api.nxsys.tech (Payroll system) for secure communication to protect data in transit.
Input Validation: Validate and sanitize all input data before sending requests to prevent injection attacks.
Access Controls: Implement least-privilege access for API keys, restricting them to necessary endpoints and actions.
Update Libraries: Keep API client libraries and dependencies updated to mitigate known vulnerabilities.
Monitor Activity: Regularly review API usage logs for suspicious activity, such as unexpected spikes in requests.
Validate Data: Perform client-side validation for data types (e.g., dates as ISO strings, numbers for amounts) before sending requests.
Handle Data Types: Ensure correct handling of API response data types to avoid runtime errors (e.g., parsing JSON dates correctly).
Backup Strategies: Maintain backups of critical data retrieved from or sent to the API, especially for transactional records.
Retention Policies: Adhere to data retention policies to comply with regulatory requirements and manage storage efficiently.
Test Coverage: Write unit and integration tests for all API interactions, covering success and error scenarios.
Mock Responses: Use mock API responses (e.g., with tools like Postman or Jest) to simulate API behavior during development.
Edge Cases: Test edge cases, such as empty responses, invalid inputs, or rate limit errors (429).
CI/CD Integration: Incorporate automated API tests into your CI/CD pipeline to catch issues early.
Log API Calls: Record request and response details, including status codes and error messages, for troubleshooting.
Monitor Response Times: Track API response times to identify performance bottlenecks.
Set Up Alerts: Configure alerts for high error rates (e.g., frequent 500 errors) or rate limit issues (429).
Track Usage Patterns: Analyze API usage to optimize request patterns and plan for scaling.
Specify API Version: Always include the API version in requests (e.g., /v1/ in https://api.nxsys.tech/v1/resource).
Plan for Updates: Monitor Nxsys API release notes for new versions and deprecation notices.
Test New Versions: Test your integration against new API versions in a staging environment before upgrading.
Maintain Compatibility: Design your application to handle minor API updates gracefully, leveraging backward-compatible changes.
