What does it mean for an API to be discoverable? (With C# ASP.NET Core Web API example)

Discoverability means clients can navigate and learn available actions through metadata

or hypermedia links, without hardcoding routes.

👉 Example using HATEOAS in ASP.NET Core Web API:

[HttpGet("users/{id}")]

public IActionResult GetUser(int id)
{
var user = new { Id = id, Name = "Alice" };
var response = new
{

user,

links = new[]

{

new { rel = "self", href = Url.Action("GetUser", new {

id }) },

new { rel = "orders", href = Url.Action("GetUserOrders",

new { id }) }

}

};

return Ok(response);
}

The API response itself guides the client to related resources (user’s orders, profile, etc.).

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