Portability is the experience of being able to take your data, your integrations, and your business somewhere else if you need to. An API that supports data export, standard formats, and clear migration paths respects the consumer's freedom to leave, which paradoxically makes them more willing to stay. Portability is the antidote to lock-in. I feel strongly about portability because so much of the politics of APIs comes down to who controls the exits. When a provider makes it genuinely possible to move data and migrate away, it is making a statement about trust and fairness. The providers confident enough to support portability are usually the ones worth committing to.
Portability
Policies
API Exit and Migration Path
Require that an API documents a clear path for consumers to migrate onto, between, or off of it without being stranded. Lock-in by design erodes trust, so an honest operation makes leaving possible...
Data Portability Provided
Require that consumers can export their data from an API in a portable, standard format without friction or penalty. The data flowing through an API belongs to the people and organizations it descr...
Strategies
APIs Avoid Vendor Lock-In
Lock-in is a choice, and I want API operations to choose against it. Building on open standards, avoiding proprietary traps, and giving consumers a clear way out are what let people commit to an AP...
APIs Support Data Portability and Ownership
The data flowing through an API belongs to the people and organizations it describes, not to whoever happens to be storing it. I believe APIs should make it genuinely possible for consumers to expo...
