Why have version in headers and not URLs? about http-api-design HOT 4 OPEN

Logging the appropriate version in the logs is also very easy.
Basically, we don't put the version in the URL because it makes further API evolutions quite hard.
Here are a few interesting reads on the subject:

• http://blog.steveklabnik.com/posts/2011-07-03-nobody-understands-rest-or-http#i_want_my_api_to_be_versioned
• http://pivotallabs.com/api-versioning/

from http-api-design.

@sujaymansingh additionally, I would argue that path should just be a reference to an object (and the address shouldn't change between versions, in most cases, even if some behavior and/or representation do change). I like that as a rough guide, similarly keeping headers for meta data (of which I would argue version is one part). Changing/releasing versions is difficult no matter what, but we also have some hope that this will make it slightly easier.

from http-api-design.

Here is a great blog post about why to prefer headers I just came across: https://www.mnot.net/blog/2011/10/25/web_api_versioning_smackdown

from http-api-design.

https://www.mnot.net/blog/2011/10/25/web_api_versioning_smackdown

👍

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