Preparing for rest interview questions can feel overwhelming, but mastery of the fundamentals will radically improve your confidence, clarity, and ultimately your interview performance. Great answers demonstrate that you not only understand REST in theory but can also apply it to real-world API design, implementation, and troubleshooting scenarios. Whether you are a junior engineer or a seasoned architect, the insights below will help you stand out—and when you are ready to rehearse live, Verve AI’s Interview Copilot is your smartest prep partner. Try it free at https://vervecopilot.com.
What are rest interview questions?
Rest interview questions are queries commonly posed by recruiters to evaluate a candidate’s grasp of RESTful principles, HTTP basics, API security, scalability, and best-practice design patterns. They span conceptual topics—such as statelessness and HATEOAS—to pragmatic issues like pagination, rate limiting, and error handling. Rest interview questions probe both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience, ensuring you can design, build, and maintain robust APIs in production.
Why do interviewers ask rest interview questions?
Employers rely on rest interview questions to gauge how you reason about distributed systems, communicate technical trade-offs, and safeguard data flows. A solid response shows you can collaborate across teams, write maintainable code, and debug live traffic under pressure. In short, these questions reveal your depth of understanding, problem-solving style, and readiness to contribute to high-impact backend projects.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” —Abraham Lincoln
Treat your preparation for rest interview questions as axe-sharpening; the sharper your knowledge, the smoother the interview.
Preview of the Top 30 rest interview questions
What do you mean by RESTful web services?
What are the features of RESTful web services?
Explain “Addressing” in RESTful web services.
How can RESTful web services be tested?
What are payloads in RESTful web services?
What are the main parts of an HTTP response?
What is a URI?
What is HATEOAS in REST APIs?
How do you handle rate limiting in REST APIs?
What is idempotency, and why is it important in REST APIs?
How do you handle pagination in REST APIs?
What are some key security practices for REST APIs?
What is the difference between PUT and PATCH in REST APIs?
How do you implement authentication in REST APIs?
What is the purpose of cache-control headers?
Explain the concept of stateless in REST APIs.
What are HTTP status codes, and how are they used?
How do you handle errors in REST APIs?
What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
Can you explain the role of HTTP verbs in REST APIs?
How do you design a REST API?
What are some best practices for documenting REST APIs?
How do you implement logging in REST APIs?
What are some common REST API testing tools?
How do you handle CORS in REST APIs?
What is an API gateway and its role in REST APIs?
Explain the concept of idempotent operations.
How do you implement versioning in REST APIs?
What are some benefits of using RESTful APIs?
How do you handle API keys securely in REST APIs?
1. What do you mean by RESTful web services?
Why you might get asked this:
Interviewers open with this foundational query to verify you truly understand the backbone of every other rest interview questions topic. They want evidence that you grasp Representational State Transfer, resource orientation, and stateless interaction rather than parroting buzzwords. A clear definition tells them you can communicate REST concepts to stakeholders, making collaboration smoother on API-centric projects.
How to answer:
Frame REST as an architectural style rather than a protocol. Highlight key constraints—client-server, statelessness, cacheability, uniform interface, layered system, and optional code-on-demand. Emphasize that resources are identified by URIs and manipulated via standard HTTP methods. Mention real projects where you applied REST to decouple frontend and backend or scale microservices effectively.
Example answer:
“In my last role we exposed our inventory data through RESTful web services so multiple mobile apps could consume the same endpoints. REST treats every product, category, and order as its own resource addressed by a clean URI. Clients interact with those resources using HTTP verbs—GET for reads, POST for creation, and so on—while the server remains stateless between calls. That clarity around resource modeling meant new teams could integrate without long ramp-up, which is exactly the benefit interviewers look for when they ask rest interview questions like this.”
2. What are the features of RESTful web services?
Why you might get asked this:
By drilling into core features—resource-based design, statelessness, cacheability, client-server separation, uniform interface—hiring managers confirm you can articulate why REST scales and performs well. They assess if you recognize how these properties translate to maintainability, horizontal scaling, and simpler debugging, all themes common in rest interview questions.
How to answer:
List each key feature, define it briefly, then tie it to a practical outcome. For example, explain that cacheability lets you leverage CDN layers, improving latency. Describe how uniform interfaces reduce learning curves for new developers. Offer context from a system you’ve worked on, such as using stateless JWT authentication to support auto-scaling.
Example answer:
“During a payment-gateway integration, we leaned on classic REST features. Statelessness let us spin up or retire containers seamlessly because session data lived on the client in a signed token. Cacheability meant we served static configuration responses from CloudFront, dropping p95 latency by 40 %. The uniform interface—consistent verbs and media types—helped a new contractor pick up the API in one sprint. Those tangible outcomes show why the features of RESTful web services matter and why they surface in so many rest interview questions.”
3. Explain “Addressing” in RESTful web services.
Why you might get asked this:
Addressing tests how you design intuitive, semantic URIs—the public face of any API. Good addressing strategy increases discoverability and developer happiness, while poor choices create long-term technical debt. An interviewer uses this rest interview questions staple to see if you think about forward compatibility and logical resource hierarchies.
How to answer:
Describe addressing as mapping resources to unique URIs. Highlight best practices: nouns over verbs, hierarchical structure, plurals for collections, and avoidance of query params for identity. Mention versioning in the path or header. Showcase a real endpoint structure you created and discuss how it simplified onboarding or documentation.
Example answer:
“For a media service I built, we chose addresses like /v1/users/{id}/playlists/{playlistId}. The nouns make it obvious what you’re accessing, and the hierarchy shows relationship context. We never embed verbs such as /getUser, because the HTTP method itself conveys the action. That clarity cut integration time for third parties by half. When rest interview questions probe addressing, I highlight how thoughtful URIs boost self-documentation and long-term maintainability.”
4. How can RESTful web services be tested?
Why you might get asked this:
Quality assurance is non-negotiable. Interviewers ask this to know whether you can validate functionality, performance, and security of APIs before shipping. They’re also gauging your familiarity with testing tools and methodologies, a recurring theme across rest interview questions aimed at DevOps-friendly cultures.
How to answer:
Outline manual tools like Postman and curl for ad-hoc checks, then move to automation—JUnit with RestAssured, Newman for Postman collections, or CI/CD pipelines that run contract tests. Discuss mocking dependencies, validating JSON schemas, and checking status codes, headers, and payload consistency. Don’t forget load and security testing.
Example answer:
“In my current team we embed API tests right in our Jenkins pipeline. Each commit runs a suite of RestAssured tests that spin up a containerized mock database, hit endpoints, and validate JSON schema with Ajv. We export the collection to Postman for manual exploratory checks when debugging. This layered approach caught a pagination bug before production and exemplifies why knowing test strategies is vital when you face rest interview questions on quality.”
5. What are payloads in RESTful web services?
Why you might get asked this:
Payload handling reveals how well you grasp data exchange formats, serialization, and size optimization. Interviewers need confidence you can structure request and response bodies efficiently and securely. Mismanaging payloads causes performance hits and vulnerabilities, so this rest interview questions angle is critical.
How to answer:
Define payloads as the body content of an HTTP request or response. Mention formats like JSON, XML, or Protocol Buffers, content-type headers, and typical size considerations. Explain how you validate payloads, sanitize inputs, and compress responses with gzip. Share an anecdote about reducing payload size to improve mobile performance.
Example answer:
“When we noticed our checkout flow lagging on 3G, I profiled the network and found bloated JSON payloads with unused fields. We pruned those fields, implemented gzip, and the payload shrank from 60 KB to 14 KB. The improvement cut time-to-interactive by 900 ms. Clear understanding of payloads isn’t academic; it drives user experience, and that’s exactly why it appears among practical rest interview questions.”
6. What are the main parts of an HTTP response?
Why you might get asked this:
Any solid API engineer must interpret and craft responses. Hiring managers ask to verify you can diagnose issues using status lines, headers, and bodies. This rest interview questions staple also checks whether you can leverage headers for caching, security, and observability.
How to answer:
Break down the status line (HTTP version and status code), headers (metadata like Content-Type, Cache-Control), and optional body (payload). Provide examples of custom headers such as correlation-id for tracing. Reference troubleshooting scenarios: reading 4xx vs 5xx to pinpoint client vs server faults.
Example answer:
“On-call once alerted me to a sudden spike in 502s. By inspecting the status line I knew the gateway was failing upstream. X-Request-ID headers let me trace the exact hop in Kibana logs. Meanwhile, the body contained an error object our frontend used to surface a user-friendly message. Mastering all three response parts helped me resolve the outage quickly, illustrating the value behind this and many other rest interview questions.”
7. What is a URI?
Why you might get asked this:
Misunderstanding URIs leads to poorly organized APIs and broken links. Interviewers test your foundational web knowledge because every other aspect of rest interview questions—versioning, addressing, HATEOAS—hinges on clear resource identifiers.
How to answer:
Define a Uniform Resource Identifier as a character string that uniquely identifies a resource, encompassing URLs and URNs. Discuss syntax components—scheme, host, path, query, fragment. Explain why stable URIs are crucial for backward compatibility and caching.
Example answer:
“At a previous company we mistakenly changed a core product URI without a redirect and broke thousands of bookmarks. That taught me URIs must be stable contracts. I now advocate for semantic, versioned URIs like /v2/products/123, retaining legacy paths with 301 redirects. Such vigilance around identifiers consistently comes up in rest interview questions because it’s essential for API longevity.”
8. What is HATEOAS in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Hypermedia drives true REST maturity (Level 3). Interviewers use this advanced rest interview questions topic to differentiate surface-level knowledge from deep architectural fluency. They want to see if you can build self-discoverable APIs that reduce tight coupling.
How to answer:
Explain HATEOAS—Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State—as embedding navigational links in responses so clients can dynamically traverse resources. Cover benefits like decoupling and version flexibility. Provide examples such as including next, prev, and related links in a paginated list.
Example answer:
“In our order management API, each order response includes links: self, cancel, items, and customer. A mobile app simply follows those links without hard-coding endpoint paths, which let us migrate internal routing with zero client updates. Demonstrating how hypermedia evolves APIs seamlessly proves your competence when fielding rest interview questions about advanced design.”
9. How do you handle rate limiting in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Scalability and abuse prevention are mission-critical. Rate limiting rest interview questions reveal if you can safeguard infrastructure, ensure fair use, and deliver consistent quality of service.
How to answer:
Describe strategies: fixed window, sliding window, token bucket. Mention identifying clients via API keys or IP addresses, returning 429 status codes, and using headers like X-RateLimit-Remaining. Highlight tooling—API gateways, Redis counters, or NGINX.
Example answer:
“During a viral marketing spike, we used a Redis-based token bucket that allowed 100 requests per minute per key. Exceeding that returned 429 with reset headers. Traffic smoothed instantly and backend CPU dropped 25 %. Proper rate limiting is a go-to defence pattern, which is why it regularly appears in rest interview questions for high-traffic services.”
10. What is idempotency, and why is it important in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Idempotency guarantees reliability, especially in retry logic, making it a favourite among rest interview questions. Interviewers check whether you can design robust services that tolerate network issues without data corruption.
How to answer:
Define idempotent operations—multiple identical requests yield the same effect as one. Explain which HTTP verbs are idempotent (GET, PUT, DELETE) and which aren’t (POST). Illustrate how idempotency keys support safe retries.
Example answer:
“We process payments via a PUT /payments/{id}. If the client retries, we simply return the existing record thanks to an idempotency key. That prevented double charges during a recent subnet flap. Mastering idempotency reassures interviewers you can build fault-tolerant APIs, hence its frequent spot in rest interview questions.”
11. How do you handle pagination in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Data sets often explode; pagination knowledge shows you can control payload size and database load. It’s a consistent rest interview questions theme for performance-sensitive systems.
How to answer:
Discuss offset-limit or page-size parameters, cursor-based pagination for large shifting datasets, and including metadata like totalCount. Cover link headers for HATEOAS compliance.
Example answer:
“Our /users endpoint supports ?cursor=abc&limit=20. We return next and previous cursors plus a total count header. Switching from offset to cursor cut query times from 600 ms to 80 ms with large tables, proving why strong pagination strategies matter in rest interview questions.”
12. What are some key security practices for REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Security breaches cost money and reputation. Interviewers need assurance you can protect data, making it one of the most vital rest interview questions.
How to answer:
List HTTPS, input validation, rate limiting, OAuth2, JWT, proper CORS policies, and least-privilege authorization. Mention OWASP top 10 and applying security headers like Content-Security-Policy.
Example answer:
“In a healthcare project, we enforced HTTPS everywhere, used short-lived JWTs, and validated every payload with JSON Schema. We also employed the principle of least privilege so even if a token was leaked, scope limited damage. Such layered defenses align with best practices that come up in security-oriented rest interview questions.”
13. What is the difference between PUT and PATCH in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Verb misuse leads to unexpected behaviour. Rest interview questions about PUT vs PATCH test precision in HTTP semantics.
How to answer:
Explain that PUT replaces the entire resource, is idempotent, whereas PATCH applies partial updates, typically using JSON Patch or Merge Patch, and may not be idempotent depending on implementation.
Example answer:
“Our profile service uses PUT /users/42 to overwrite the full user object, whereas PATCH /users/42 lets you update only the avatar field. This distinction helps consuming teams reason about what changes occur, reducing bugs—a nuance interviewers probe via rest interview questions like this.”
14. How do you implement authentication in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Auth errors are security holes. Interviewers include this in rest interview questions to see whether you can balance security with usability.
How to answer:
Describe token-based auth—JWT, OAuth 2.0 flows like client credentials, authorization code. Discuss Basic Auth for internal use, multi-factor options, token refresh, and storage best practices.
Example answer:
“We expose a public API secured by OAuth 2.0. Third-party apps complete the authorization code flow to receive access and refresh tokens. Our gateway validates the JWT signature on each request, achieving stateless auth at scale. Demonstrating end-to-end auth flow mastery is why this lands in many rest interview questions.”
15. What is the purpose of cache-control headers?
Why you might get asked this:
Caching affects performance and consistency. Rest interview questions on this topic reveal whether you can fine-tune latency while preventing stale data.
How to answer:
Explain directives—public, private, max-age, no-store, must-revalidate. Discuss leveraging CDN caching and client-side savings, plus strategies for purging or versioning resources.
Example answer:
“We set Cache-Control: public, max-age=600 on our catalog endpoint, meaning browsers and CDNs keep responses for ten minutes. It dropped origin traffic by 60 %. Understanding headers that influence caching behaviour is vital, thus featured in many rest interview questions today.”
16. Explain the concept of stateless in REST APIs.
Why you might get asked this:
Statelessness underpins scalability. Interviewers ask this rest interview questions favourite to confirm you can build horizontally scalable services.
How to answer:
Describe that each request contains all context; servers don’t store session state. Mention pros: easier scaling, failover. Discuss how tokens or cookies can carry state client-side.
Example answer:
“We store user identity in a signed JWT passed on every request, freeing servers from session storage. That allowed us to autoscale to 50 pods without sticky sessions. Explaining statelessness in concrete terms convinces interviewers when they ask rest interview questions about architecture.”
17. What are HTTP status codes, and how are they used?
Why you might get asked this:
Proper status codes reduce confusion and debugging time. Rest interview questions here assess your attention to protocol details.
How to answer:
Outline categories: 1xx info, 2xx success, 3xx redirect, 4xx client error, 5xx server error. Provide common codes like 200, 201, 400, 401, 404, 500, and when to use each.
Example answer:
“Creating a resource returns 201 with a Location header; sending bad JSON yields 400. Following these conventions let our mobile team handle errors gracefully. Precision with codes is why this appears in almost every set of rest interview questions.”
18. How do you handle errors in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Graceful error handling improves DX. Rest interview questions on errors test your empathy for consumers.
How to answer:
Advocate consistent error objects with code, message, and maybe trace id. Use appropriate status codes, document them, and avoid leaking sensitive details.
Example answer:
“Our error payload includes id, type, message, and docsLink so devs can debug fast. For unexpected exceptions we log the trace id internally and return 500 to clients. Such structured error handling aligns with best practices coveted in rest interview questions.”
19. What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
Why you might get asked this:
Security basics matter. This rest interview questions staple ensures you understand encryption and certificate management.
How to answer:
Explain HTTPS wraps HTTP in TLS/SSL, encrypting traffic and providing integrity and authenticity. Mention handshake, certificates, and HSTS.
Example answer:
“Switching our login endpoint from HTTP to HTTPS slashed MITM risks. We enforced HSTS so browsers refuse downgrade. Knowledge of transport security fundamentals is critical, hence its appearance in rest interview questions.”
20. Can you explain the role of HTTP verbs in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Correct verb usage is core to REST. Interviewers leverage this rest interview questions classic to test your command of semantics.
How to answer:
Map CRUD to verbs: GET-read, POST-create, PUT-replace, PATCH-update, DELETE-remove. Note idempotency properties and safe methods.
Example answer:
“In our booking API, GET /flights searches, POST /bookings creates tickets, DELETE /bookings/99 cancels. Sticking to verb conventions made our docs intuitive, a key competence interviewers look for through rest interview questions like this.”
21. How do you design a REST API?
Why you might get asked this:
Design thinking predicts long-term success. This broad rest interview questions item measures your end-to-end approach.
How to answer:
Talk through steps: identify resources, define URIs, choose data formats, apply versioning, plan security, document with OpenAPI, and set SLAs.
Example answer:
“When designing our analytics API, we began with domain modeling, grouped endpoints by bounded context, and used OpenAPI to generate specs. Security was OAuth2, and we built monitoring from day one. This holistic view is what interviewers seek with design-focused rest interview questions.”
22. What are some best practices for documenting REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Docs drive adoption. Rest interview questions on documentation test if you value developer experience.
How to answer:
Mention Swagger/OpenAPI, auto-generated docs, live try-it consoles, examples, version history, and change logs. Stress keeping docs alongside code.
Example answer:
“We embed OpenAPI specs in the repo; CI regenerates HTML docs on merge. A ‘try it’ sandbox lets partners experiment instantly, cutting support tickets by 30 %. Strong docs are vital, explaining their frequent appearance in rest interview questions.”
23. How do you implement logging in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Observability aids ops. Rest interview questions on logging explore reliability mindsets.
How to answer:
Discuss structured JSON logs, correlation IDs, log levels, centralized aggregators like ELK or Splunk, and masking PII.
Example answer:
“Every request generates a uuid requestId propagated in logs and response headers. We forward JSON logs to Elasticsearch, enabling 5-minute RCA. Solid logging stories resonate in rest interview questions assessing production readiness.”
24. What are some common REST API testing tools?
Why you might get asked this:
Tooling knowledge accelerates development. Rest interview questions here highlight your practicality.
How to answer:
List Postman, curl, Insomnia, JMeter for load, RestAssured for unit tests, and Pact for contract testing. Explain when to choose each.
Example answer:
“We combined Postman for exploratory tests and Newman in CI for regression. JMeter stress tests revealed GC pauses under 1 000 RPS. Familiarity with multiple tools is why this emerges in rest interview questions about quality.”
25. How do you handle CORS in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Frontend integration often trips teams. Rest interview questions on CORS assess browser-security savvy.
How to answer:
Explain the same-origin policy and preflight. Describe setting Access-Control-Allow-Origin, methods, and headers, preferably whitelisting origins. Discuss credentials and security trade-offs.
Example answer:
“Our API gateway injects CORS headers from a whitelist loaded at startup. An OPTIONS preflight verifies methods. This let our React app call the API securely, a common real-world situation prompting CORS-related rest interview questions.”
26. What is an API gateway and its role in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Gateways enable microservices. Rest interview questions on this confirm you understand infrastructure patterns.
How to answer:
Define an API gateway as a single entry point handling routing, auth, rate limiting, caching, and observability. Mention tools like Kong, AWS API Gateway, or Apigee.
Example answer:
“We fronted ten microservices with Kong, which handled JWT auth, rate limiting, and circuit breaking. That let teams deploy independently while exposing a unified interface, a pattern interviewers love to discuss in rest interview questions.”
27. Explain the concept of idempotent operations.
Why you might get asked this:
Reliability again. While similar to question 10, this rest interview questions variant checks depth of understanding.
How to answer:
Reiterate idempotency definition, give examples, and discuss database upsert patterns or safe retries with PUT or DELETE.
Example answer:
“Our inventory service processes DELETE /items/34 repeatedly during retries without side effects because the first call removes the record and subsequent ones return 204. Such safeguards are exactly why idempotent operations come up in rest interview questions.”
28. How do you implement versioning in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Change is inevitable. Rest interview questions on versioning show you can prevent breaking clients.
How to answer:
Explain URI versioning (/v2/), header or media-type versioning, and deprecation strategies. Recommend semantic versioning and sunset headers.
Example answer:
“We place major versions in the path and minor, backward-compatible updates behind feature flags. A Sunset header alerted clients of v1 retirement six months early. Such proactive planning is what interviewers seek with versioning-centric rest interview questions.”
29. What are some benefits of using RESTful APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
They check whether you can articulate business value. Rest interview questions on benefits measure your ability to evangelize a tech choice.
How to answer:
List simplicity, scalability, language agnosticism, caching support, and widespread tooling. Tie each benefit to ROI or speed of development.
Example answer:
“By choosing REST over SOAP, we cut onboarding time for partner teams because almost every language has robust HTTP libraries. Caching via CDNs lowered infra costs 20 %. Showing not just technical but business upside is why benefits rank high in rest interview questions.”
30. How do you handle API keys securely in REST APIs?
Why you might get asked this:
Secrets management is critical. Rest interview questions on API keys test your security hygiene.
How to answer:
Advocate HTTPS transport, store keys encrypted or hashed, rotate regularly, scope permissions, and monitor usage. Mention secret managers like AWS Secrets Manager.
Example answer:
“We store API keys in AWS Secrets Manager encrypted at rest, expose them to pods via temporary env vars, and require HTTPS for transit. Keys are scoped read-only unless writes are needed, and CloudWatch alarms detect anomalies. This layered defence demonstrates the rigor interviewers expect when posing rest interview questions on key management.”
Other tips to prepare for a rest interview questions
Schedule mock sessions with peers or mentors.
Record yourself answering aloud to refine clarity.
Leverage Verve AI Interview Copilot to simulate real recruiter follow-ups and receive instant coaching.
Review company engineering blogs for stack-specific nuances.
Keep cheat sheets of status codes, headers, and verb semantics.
“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” —Bobby Unser
Opportunities knock loudest when you’ve rehearsed answers to rest interview questions until they flow naturally.
You’ve seen the top questions—now it’s time to practice them live. Verve AI gives you instant coaching based on real company formats. Start free: https://vervecopilot.com.
Thousands of job seekers use Verve AI to land their dream roles. With role-specific mock interviews, resume help, and smart coaching, your next rest interview questions session just got easier. Practice smarter, not harder at https://vervecopilot.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How many rest interview questions should I prepare for?
A: Aim to master at least the 30 listed here; they cover 80 % of what typically appears.
Q2: Is memorizing definitions enough for rest interview questions?
A: No. Interviewers expect real project anecdotes and trade-off discussions.
Q3: Do all companies use the same rest interview questions?
A: Core concepts overlap, but Verve AI Interview Copilot offers company-specific variations.
Q4: How can I practice rest interview questions under time pressure?
A: Use a timer, simulate an eight-minute answer cap, or rehearse on Verve AI’s AI recruiter.
Q5: What resources deepen my understanding beyond these rest interview questions?
A: Read Roy Fielding’s dissertation, the RESTful API Handbook, and follow the OWASP API Security Top 10.
