TimeTracker/docs/api/API_ENHANCEMENTS.md

API Documentation Enhancements

This document describes the enhancements made to the API documentation and response handling.

Response Format Standardization

All API endpoints now use consistent response formats:

Success Response

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Optional success message",
  "data": { ... }
}

Error Response

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "error_code",
  "message": "Error message",
  "errors": {
    "field": ["Error message"]
  },
  "details": { ... }
}

Response Helpers

The app/utils/api_responses.py module provides helper functions:

• success_response() - Create success responses
• error_response() - Create error responses
• validation_error_response() - Create validation error responses
• not_found_response() - Create 404 responses
• unauthorized_response() - Create 401 responses
• forbidden_response() - Create 403 responses
• paginated_response() - Create paginated list responses
• created_response() - Create 201 Created responses
• no_content_response() - Create 204 No Content responses

Usage Example

from app.utils.api_responses import success_response, error_response, paginated_response

@api_v1_bp.route('/projects', methods=['GET'])
def list_projects():
    projects = Project.query.all()
    return paginated_response(
        items=[p.to_dict() for p in projects],
        page=1,
        per_page=50,
        total=len(projects)
    )

@api_v1_bp.route('/projects/<int:project_id>', methods=['GET'])
def get_project(project_id):
    project = Project.query.get(project_id)
    if not project:
        return not_found_response('Project', project_id)
    return success_response(data=project.to_dict())

Error Handling

Enhanced error handling is provided in app/utils/error_handlers.py:

• Automatic error response formatting for API endpoints
• Marshmallow validation error handling
• Database integrity error handling
• SQLAlchemy error handling
• Generic exception handling

OpenAPI/Swagger Documentation

The API documentation is available at /api/docs and includes:

• Complete endpoint documentation
• Request/response schemas
• Authentication information
• Error response examples
• Code examples

Schema Validation

All API endpoints should use Marshmallow schemas for validation:

from app.schemas import ProjectCreateSchema

@api_v1_bp.route('/projects', methods=['POST'])
def create_project():
    schema = ProjectCreateSchema()
    try:
        data = schema.load(request.get_json())
    except ValidationError as err:
        return validation_error_response(err.messages)
    
    # Create project...
    return created_response(project.to_dict())