design-api SKILL.md skillA

design-api from kensaurus/cursor-kenji is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.

Install it, pinned
mdr add kensaurus/cursor-kenji/design-api@git:20261006.39320f8

Pins git:20261006.39320f8 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.

Audit grade
A, 17 of 17 checks passed
Kind
SKILL.md skill
Repository
kensaurus/cursor-kenji
Path
skills/design-api/SKILL.md
Versions recorded
6
Latest version
git:20261006.39320f8, committed Oct 6, 2026
First version recorded
Aug 17, 2026
Size
7,401 bytes
Repository stars
9
License
MIT

Design REST and GraphQL APIs: naming, versioning, error shapes, auth. Use when "design an API", "create endpoints", "structure my API responses", "plan API architecture", "REST vs GraphQL", or "API contract".

Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.

What the file says

# API Design Skill

**Degree of freedom: MIXED.** Resource model, error shape, and REST vs
GraphQL `[HIGH freedom]`; pre-design docs/schema/grep
`[LOW freedom — run exactly]`.

Design clean, consistent, and developer-friendly APIs.

## How to reason

1. **Survey** — existing docs, schema, and similar endpoints
2. **Model** — resources, relations, REST vs GraphQL
3. **Contract** — paths, statuses, error shape, auth, pagination
4. **Check** — naming matches this repo; no duplicate endpoint

## Worked example

> **Survey:** `orders` has `user_id`; no `GET /users/:id/orders`; clients use `useQuery`.
> **Model:** order is a nested user resource, not a `/getUserOrders` RPC.
> **Contract:** `GET /users/:id/orders` → `{ data, meta }`; shared `{ error: { code, message, details } }`.
> **Check:** plural kebab-case; list paginated; 401/404/422 only from the status table.

## Self-critique before reporting

- **Pre-design stated** — docs, schema, and similar endpoints were checked out loud
- **One error shape** — every failure uses `{ error: { code, message, details } }`
- **Lists paginate** — no unbounded `GET /resources`
…

Read the whole file at its exact version.

How to install

The exact contents, by fingerprint
mdr add kensaurus/cursor-kenji/design-api@sha256:dcfd31eecb3be704

The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261006.39320f8, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.

Badge

mdr badge

[![mdr](https://markdownregistry.com/badge/art_dy4y64iogqv2mjsw.svg)](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_dy4y64iogqv2mjsw)

2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.

Versions

The registry has recorded 6 versions of this file, between Aug 17, 2026 and Oct 6, 2026, about one every 10 days.

versioncommittedcommitsizeaudit
git:20261006.39320f8 latest2026-10-06 39320f8 7,401 BA view · diff
git:20260923.68c095e2026-09-23 68c095e 7,955 BA view · diff
git:20260923.cf348bd2026-09-23 cf348bd 8,014 BA view · diff
git:20260912.33d48b12026-09-12 33d48b1 7,997 BA view · diff
git:20260821.2a410312026-08-21 2a41031 8,018 BA view · diff
git:20260817.5b93a212026-08-17 5b93a21 6,685 BA view

Audit of the latest version

A  17 of 17 checks passed. Fixed automatic checks with no AI involved, so the same checks give the same answer every run.
  • pass: Frontmatter block present
  • pass: Frontmatter declares a name
  • pass: Frontmatter declares a description
  • pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (7401 bytes)
  • pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
  • pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
  • pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
  • pass: No credential-shaped string
  • pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
  • pass: No text hidden with inline styles
  • pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
  • pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
  • pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
  • pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
  • pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
  • pass: No link to a raw IP address
  • pass: No script tag

Source

GitHub

kensaurus/cursor-kenji · 9 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-19 · branch main

API

GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_dy4y64iogqv2mjsw
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=kensaurus/cursor-kenji/design-api
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/dcfd31eecb3be7046b01d8a7efcd8abb60df51419f72d0b16ede9bc8c23229d6

Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.

Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.

More from kensaurus/cursor-kenji

approved-plan-execution Cursor rule
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · .cursor/rules/approved-plan-execution.mdc · Guard execution of an approved plan or burndown: forbid reward hacking and feature deletion; require checkpoints…
git:20260923.68c095e · audit A · 9 stars
skill-workflows Cursor rule
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · .cursor/rules/skill-workflows.mdc · Skill routing where a name alone misleads: multi-phase requests, closure modes (complete-everything, burndown-full)…
git:20261001.3fce9fb · audit A · 9 stars
verification-before-completion Cursor rule
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · .cursor/rules/verification-before-completion.mdc · Require fresh, scope-appropriate evidence before any completion claim. Distinguishes implemented, locally verified…
git:20260923.cf348bd · audit A · 9 stars
AGENTS.md AGENTS.md file
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · AGENTS.md
git:20261001.3fce9fb · audit A · 9 stars
llms.txt llms.txt file
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · llms.txt
git:20261009.3771283 · audit A · 9 stars
babysit SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/babysit/SKILL.md · Keep an already-open PR merge-ready: triage comments, resolve clear conflicts, fix CI. Do not merge. Dirty tree →…
git:20260923.68c095e · audit A · 9 stars
canvas SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/canvas/SKILL.md · Create a live React canvas beside chat for standalone analytical artifacts that benefit from visual layout…
git:20260923.cf348bd · audit A · 9 stars
create-hook SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/create-hook/SKILL.md · Create Cursor hooks. Use to create a hook, write hooks.json, add hook scripts, or automate behavior around agent events.
git:20260923.cf348bd · audit A · 9 stars
create-rule SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/create-rule/SKILL.md · Create Cursor rules for persistent AI guidance. Use when user wants to create a rule, add coding standards, project…
git:20260923.cf348bd · audit A · 9 stars
create-skill SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/create-skill/SKILL.md · Guide users through creating effective Agent Skills for Cursor. Use when user wants to create, write, update, or debug…
git:20261001.3fce9fb · audit A · 9 stars
create-subagent SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/create-subagent/SKILL.md · Create custom subagents for specialized AI tasks. Use when the user wants to create a new type of subagent, set up…
git:20260923.68c095e · audit A · 9 stars
migrate-to-skills SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/cursor-kenji · skills-cursor/migrate-to-skills/SKILL.md · Convert 'Applied intelligently' Cursor rules (.cursor/rules/*.mdc) and slash commands (.cursor/commands/*.md) to Agent…
git:20260923.68c095e · audit A · 9 stars

Every file in kensaurus/cursor-kenji

Other files named design-api

design-api SKILL.md skill
kensaurus/skills · skills/design-api/SKILL.md · Design REST and GraphQL APIs: naming, versioning, error shapes, auth. Use when "design an API", "create endpoints"…
git:20261006.39320f8 · audit A · 9 stars

Browse by kind, by grade A, or by owner.