api-versioning
API versioning strategies — URL path, header, query param, content negotiation — with breaking change classification, deprecation timelines, migration patterns, and multi-version support. Use when evolving APIs, planning breaking changes, or managing version lifecycles.
Why use this skill?
Learn to manage API versioning with this OpenClaw skill. Implement URL, header, and query strategies while ensuring backward compatibility and smooth migrations.
Install via CLI (Recommended)
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/wpank/api-versioningWhat This Skill Does
The api-versioning skill serves as an architectural advisor and implementation assistant for engineers designing, evolving, and maintaining RESTful APIs. It provides standardized patterns for implementing versioning strategies, including URL path prefixing, query parameter toggling, custom header injection, and content negotiation via MIME types. Beyond mere syntax, the skill acts as a governance tool, helping developers distinguish between breaking and non-breaking changes using Semantic Versioning (SemVer) principles. It offers guidance on managing deprecation lifecycles, ensuring that service providers can introduce new features without disrupting existing client integrations.
Installation
To integrate this skill into your environment, run the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/wpank/api-versioning
Use Cases
- Refactoring legacy APIs: Safely move from a monolithic endpoint structure to a versioned architecture without breaking live consumer traffic.
- Designing New Services: Determine the most appropriate versioning strategy (e.g., URL vs. Header) based on your specific requirements for cacheability and public accessibility.
- Breaking Change Governance: Analyze proposed code changes to determine if they necessitate a major version bump or can be deployed as a backward-compatible minor update.
- Deprecation Planning: Create automated communication plans and header-based warnings to sunset older versions of your API while giving clients sufficient time to migrate.
Example Prompts
- "I am planning to remove the 'user_email' field from my /users endpoint. Analyze if this is a breaking change and propose how to handle this with api-versioning."
- "Compare the pros and cons of using URL path versioning versus header-based versioning for a high-traffic public API."
- "Help me write a deprecation notice for our v1 API and draft a timeline for migrating existing clients to v2."
Tips & Limitations
- Consistency is key: Choose one strategy and apply it across your entire API surface area; mixing strategies often leads to technical debt.
- Defaulting behavior: When using header-based versioning, always explicitly define what happens if a header is missing—either default to the latest stable version or return a 400 status.
- SemVer discipline: Only reflect MAJOR changes in the URL path. Minor and patch updates should be documented in your changelog without altering the endpoint structure.
- Scope: This skill focuses on the architectural design of APIs. It does not perform the actual deployment or code injection, but provides the logic and patterns for you to implement.
Metadata
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Find the right skillPaste this into your clawhub.json to enable this plugin.
{
"plugins": {
"official-wpank-api-versioning": {
"enabled": true,
"auto_update": true
}
}
}Tags(AI)
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