API Design · Junior · Question 72 of 75

Why do many APIs return `{ "data": [...] }` instead of a bare JSON array for lists?

✓Correct answer: An object can later carry extra fields like pagination info (nextCursor, total) without a breaking change
2Arrays are slower to parse
3JSON doesn't allow top-level arrays

Explanation

Top-level arrays can't be extended. An object wrapper keeps room for metadata.

Further reading

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