API Versioning Best Practices: URL Path, Query Parameter, or Header?
Compare API versioning strategies: URI path (/v1/), Accept Header (content negotiation), and query parameters. Keep your public APIs backward-compatible.
As software evolves, endpoints must change without breaking existing mobile clients or third-party integrations. The most popular approach across companies like Stripe, GitHub, and Twitter is explicit URL prefixing (/v1/, /v2/) due to its instant visual clarity in logs and metrics.