API Developer Experience: Endpoints, Errors & Auth

Welcome to the API Developer Experience Survey. This survey asks about your recent experience with our API — specifically around endpoint clarity, error handling, and authentication. Your responses will help us identify pain points and prioritize improvements. • Estimated time: 12 minutes • Your responses are confidential and will be reported in aggregate only • There are no right or wrong answers — we want your honest experience • Participation is voluntary and you may stop at any time Please proceed to begin.

In the past 30 days, how often did you interact with our API?

• Daily
• Several times a week
• Weekly
• Once or twice
• Not in the past 30 days

How clear is the URL structure and naming of our API endpoints?

In the past 30 days, approximately how often did you encounter an API error response?

• Never
• Rarely (1–2 times)
• Sometimes (3–5 times)
• Often (6 or more times)
• Not sure

Which authentication methods did you use or configure in the past 30 days? Select all that apply.

• API key
• OAuth 2.0 — Client Credentials
• OAuth 2.0 — Authorization Code
• JWT / Service account
• HMAC or request signing
• No auth changes in the past 30 days
• Not sure

Overall, how would you rate the clarity of our API (documentation, endpoints, and error messages combined)?

Based on your responses in this survey, please share any additional thoughts or suggestions about your API experience.

Which of the following best describes your primary role?

• Backend engineer
• Frontend engineer
• Full-stack developer
• DevOps / SRE
• Data engineer
• Product manager
• QA / Tester
• Student
• Other

Thank you for your time. Your feedback directly helps us improve the API experience for all developers.

Which of the following activities did you perform with the API in the past 30 days? Select all that apply.

• Reading/fetching data
• Creating or updating records
• Managing authentication/authorization
• Configuring webhooks/callbacks
• Bulk or asynchronous jobs
• Building or maintaining integrations/SDKs
• Testing or troubleshooting
• Other

How clear are the required and optional request parameters (headers, query params, body)?

Which of the following error types did you encounter? Select all that apply.

• Validation errors (4xx)
• Authentication failures (401)
• Permission/scope issues (403)
• Resource not found (404)
• Rate limiting (429)
• Timeouts or network errors
• Server errors (5xx)
• Deprecation or version errors
• Other

How easy or difficult was it to generate or rotate API keys or credentials?

How likely are you to recommend our API to a fellow developer?

How long have you been working with web APIs?

• Less than 1 year
• 1–2 years
• 3–5 years
• 6–9 years
• 10+ years

How clear are the response formats and field definitions returned by our endpoints?

How helpful were the API error messages in diagnosing and resolving issues?

How easy or difficult was it to set up an OAuth flow (authorization code or client credentials)?

Rank the following areas by how much improvement would benefit your workflow (drag the highest-impact area to the top).

1. Endpoint clarity
2. Error message quality
3. Authentication flows
4. API documentation
5. SDKs & developer tools

What is the approximate size of your organization?

• 1–10
• 11–50
• 51–200
• 201–1,000
• 1,001–5,000
• 5,001+

How clear is the pagination behavior (cursors, offsets, page limits) across endpoints?

If you recall a particularly unhelpful error message, please paste it or summarize it briefly.

How easy or difficult was it to manage token refresh or session handling?

Which programming languages or platforms do you primarily use with our API? Select all that apply.

• JavaScript / TypeScript
• Python
• Java
• Go
• Ruby
• C# / .NET
• PHP
• Other

Name one endpoint or area of the API that felt unclear and briefly explain why.

Describe any authentication blockers or confusing steps you encountered.

In which region are you primarily located?

• North America
• Europe
• Asia
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Africa
• Oceania
• Prefer not to say