Batch create endpoint design in Rest API - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Best HTTP method for batch create

Which HTTP method is most appropriate for a batch create endpoint in a REST API?

A GET

B PUT

C POST

D DELETE

💡 Hint

Think about which method is used to create new resources.

POST is used to create new resources, including batch creation. GET is for reading, PUT is for replacing, and DELETE is for removing.

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Response status code for successful batch create

What is the correct HTTP status code returned after successfully creating multiple resources in a batch?

A 201 Created

B 200 OK

C 204 No Content

D 400 Bad Request

💡 Hint

Consider the status code that indicates resource creation.

201 Created indicates that new resources were successfully created. 200 OK is general success, 204 No Content means success with no body, and 400 Bad Request means client error.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Batch create response body format

Given a batch create request that creates three new users, which response body best follows REST API best practices?

Rest API

Request body:
[
  {"name": "Alice"},
  {"name": "Bob"},
  {"name": "Charlie"}
]

A {"message": "Users created successfully"}

B {"created": 3}

C ["/users/1", "/users/2", "/users/3"]

D [{"id": 1, "name": "Alice"}, {"id": 2, "name": "Bob"}, {"id": 3, "name": "Charlie"}]

💡 Hint

Think about returning the created resources with their new IDs.

Returning the full list of created resources with their IDs allows clients to know the details of what was created. Option D shows this. Option D only gives a count, C only URIs without details, and D just a message.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

Handling partial failures in batch create

In a batch create endpoint, if some items fail validation but others succeed, what is the best practice for the response?

A Return 400 Bad Request with details about all failed items and no created items

B Return 207 Multi-Status with details about success and failure for each item

C Return 201 Created with only the successfully created items in the response body

D Return 500 Internal Server Error because partial success is not allowed

💡 Hint

Think about how to communicate mixed results clearly.

207 Multi-Status allows the server to report success or failure for each item individually. This is best for partial success scenarios. 201 assumes all succeeded, 400 means all failed, and 500 is for server errors.

🚀 Application

expert

Designing idempotent batch create endpoint

You want to design a batch create endpoint that is idempotent (safe to retry without creating duplicates). Which approach is best?

A Require clients to send a unique client-generated ID for each item and reject duplicates

B Allow duplicates and rely on server to filter them after creation

C Use POST without any client IDs and accept duplicates on retries

D Use GET method to create resources so retries do not duplicate

💡 Hint

Think about how to identify repeated requests uniquely.

Idempotency means the same request can be repeated without side effects. Requiring a unique client-generated ID lets the server detect duplicates and avoid creating multiple copies. Option A allows duplicates, C is not idempotent, and D is incorrect HTTP method usage.