Introduction: Why HATEOAS Still Matters in 2025
REST has been around for decades, but many teams skip the 'Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State' part. In 2025, HATEOAS isn’t fashionable like GraphQL — yet it solves real problems for complex client-server ecosystems.
What is HATEOAS?
HATEOAS is a REST constraint where clients interact with a REST API entirely through hypermedia links provided dynamically by the server.
How It Fits into REST
It’s the 'H' in REST maturity. Instead of hardcoding endpoints, clients learn what to do next from the server’s responses.
Quick Example
A non-HATEOAS API might return:
{
"orderId": 123,
"status": "pending"
}
A HATEOAS-compliant API could return:
{
"orderId": 123,
"status": "pending",
"_links": {
"cancel": { "href": "/orders/123/cancel" },
"payment": { "href": "/orders/123/pay" }
}
}
The client discovers available actions from the '_links' object — no guessing.
Practical Applications of HATEOAS
Dynamic Navigation for Clients
Your front-end or mobile app can adapt on the fly to new flows or changed URLs.
Version-Agnostic API Interactions
Adding a new step in a workflow? Users on older clients can still follow new links without a version bump.
Better Discoverability
HATEOAS turns your API into a self-describing guide. New developers can explore through runtime introspection.
Where HATEOAS Shines
- Evolving Systems: If your workflows change frequently.
- Distributed Teams: Minimizes the coordination overhead between back-end and front-end.
- Client Diversity: Works well when multiple clients (web, mobile, 3rd-party integrations) consume your API.
The Limitations You Can't Ignore
Overhead in Payload Size and Complexity
Including '_links' inflates every response. In high-throughput systems, this can be notable.
Weak Adoption and Learning Curve
Many developers have never used it. Expect onboarding time and possible misimplementations.
Tooling and Documentation Gaps
Common REST tools (like Swagger/OpenAPI) only partly support HATEOAS semantics.
Tip: Always document your link relations (rel) and expected workflows.
Best Practices for Implementing HATEOAS
- Choose link formats wisely: HAL, JSON-LD, or Siren all offer standard patterns.
- Use relation types (
**rel**) consistently: Stick to IANA's or well-defined custom relations. - Keep payloads lean: Include only actionable, relevant links.
HATEOAS in the Context of Modern Product APIs
HATEOAS is not mutually exclusive with other styles. GraphQL handles data fetching complexity. JSON:API standardizes payloads. HATEOAS focuses on guiding interactions.
At JuheAPI (https://hub.juheapi.com/), while the dominant paradigm is often versioned endpoints, incorporating link-based navigation can make integrations more resilient to change and help 3rd party developers explore capabilities without reading docs.
Conclusion: Be Intentional with HATEOAS Use
HATEOAS is great for flexibility, evolvability, and discoverability — but it’s not free. The key takeaway: Use it where change is constant and clients vary. If your API is stable and your clients are in lockstep, the complexity may outweigh the benefits.
In 2024’s API landscape, the best engineering is deliberate engineering.