Solution-Internal API

_{Published: 06 July 2025}

Known Uses

Patterns like the Solution‑Internal API and Backend Integration form the backbone of many enterprises’ integration landscapes and are standard practice in modern enterprise architectures.

Discussion Input

The book explains that Solution‑Internal APIs can sometimes evolve into Community APIs or even Public APIs (p. 51). This ties directly into Jeff Bezos’s fifth API mandate, ‘APIs must be externalizable’, which calls for designing every API from day one with external consumers in mind – planning that transition and embedding the necessary safeguards from the start. Introduced in 2002, this rule ensures that, even if an API is initially intended for internal use, it’s always built with the option to expose it to outside developers. While designing for eventual externalization can be valuable in many scenarios, making it a universal, non‑negotiable requirement can introduce unnecessary complexity, consume resources, and sometimes stifle innovation when it’s applied without regard to real business needs or technical constraints. Designing Solution-Internal APIs for hypothetical external consumers can lead to over-engineering – in our humble opinion.

Recommended Reading

The Bezos API Mandate: Amazon’s Manifesto For Externalization