API Development And System Integration
REST, GraphQL and event-driven API development with versioning, documentation and rate limiting.
What is broken today
- Integrations built as one-off scripts nobody maintains
- Partners waiting weeks for data access
- No documentation, no versioning, constant breakage
What you get
- Versioned, documented public and internal APIs
- Authentication, rate limiting and usage analytics
- Event-driven sync with webhooks and queues
- Partner sandbox and developer documentation
What actually breaks
Every integration is a script. One syncs orders on a cron, one was written by a contractor years ago, and one runs on a developer's machine. None are documented, so a change to an underlying table breaks something in a different department days later. Partners who want data are told to wait for a developer, then sent a CSV by email. There is no versioning, so every change is a breaking change.
How we build it
The contract comes before the code. Endpoints are specified in OpenAPI or a GraphQL schema, reviewed with the actual consumers, and the specification generates both the documentation and the client types, so docs cannot drift from implementation. Versioning is explicit in the path, with a deprecation policy and usage analytics that show who is still on an old version before it is retired. Writes are idempotent on a client-supplied key, because retries happen. Legacy systems are wrapped rather than exposed, so consumers depend on the contract and not the schema.
What goes wrong on these projects
Once an API has consumers, it is permanent. Field names, nullability and enum values that felt provisional become things you cannot change, so the review before the first release is worth more than any refactor after it. Second, wrapping a legacy system frequently reveals that the underlying data does not support the clean contract everyone wants. Third, partner integration timelines depend on the partner.
What changes after
Consumers integrate from documentation and a sandbox instead of a phone call. Changes ship behind a version with a deprecation window rather than breaking someone quietly. You can see who is calling what and how often. One-off scripts stop being infrastructure.
Before you ask
REST or GraphQL?
It depends on the consumer, and Foxquart often ships both. REST suits external partners, who want predictable versioned endpoints and clear documentation. GraphQL suits internal product surfaces that need to fetch varied shapes without a new endpoint per screen. The choice is made per consumer rather than as a house style.
Can you expose data from a legacy system?
Yes. Foxquart wraps legacy databases and services behind a clean, versioned API layer, so consumers integrate against a stable contract instead of reaching into an old system directly. That also makes the legacy system replaceable later, because the contract stays the same even when what sits behind it changes.
How do you avoid breaking partner integrations?
With versioning and documentation from the first release. Foxquart ships versioned APIs, so an existing partner integration keeps working when a new version lands and changes arrive as a new version rather than a silent alteration. Unversioned, undocumented APIs are why integrations break constantly and nobody can explain when.
How is the API secured?
Foxquart builds authentication, rate limiting and usage analytics into every API rather than adding them after an incident. Rate limiting protects the systems behind the API from one misbehaving consumer, and usage analytics show who is calling what, so an unusual pattern is visible rather than discovered on a bill.
Do partners get documentation and a sandbox?
Yes. Foxquart ships developer documentation and a partner sandbox alongside the API, so a partner integrates and tests without waiting on your engineers or being handed production credentials. Partners waiting weeks for data access is usually a documentation problem rather than a technical one.
Can you replace our one-off integration scripts?
Yes, and that is a common starting point. Foxquart replaces one-off scripts nobody maintains with versioned, documented APIs and event-driven sync built on webhooks and queues. Scripts fail silently and keep their logic in one person's head, whereas a documented API layer is something a team can actually operate.
