API Design Guide Overview
✅ Fresh -- Updated March 2026 from official Google Cloud API Design Guide.
The Google Cloud API Design Guide defines the principles and patterns used across all Google Cloud APIs. It is based on API Improvement Proposals (AIPs) and follows a resource-oriented design philosophy.
Core Principles
- Resource-oriented -- APIs are modeled around resources (nouns), not actions (verbs)
- Standard methods -- CRUD operations follow a consistent pattern across all APIs
- Predictable naming -- Resource names, fields, and methods follow strict conventions
- Backwards-compatible -- Changes must not break existing clients
Design Guide Topics
| Topic | AIP | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resource-Oriented Design | AIP-121 | Core design philosophy |
| Resource Names | AIP-122 | Naming patterns for resources |
| Standard Methods | AIP-130 | Get, List, Create, Update, Delete |
| Custom Methods | AIP-136 | Non-CRUD operations |
| Naming Conventions | AIP-190 | Naming rules for services, methods, fields |
| Error Handling | AIP-193 | Error model and error details |
How It All Fits Together
Related References
- Standard Fields (AIP-148) -- Common fields across resources
- Backwards Compatibility (AIP-180) -- What changes are safe
- HTTP Reference -- HTTP method semantics