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Best Practices
To maximize the performance, security and reliability of your application when integrating with GlueX, we recommend adhering to the following best practices
Key Management and Security
Secure handling of your API keys is paramount to protect your application and usersNever Hardcode API Keys
Never Hardcode API Keys
Store your API keys in environment variables or a secure secret management
service (eg: AWS Secrets Manager, Google Cloud Secret Manager, HashiCorp
Vault, Kubernetes Secrets). Avoid committing them directly into your source
code, especially in public repositories
Use Dedicated Keys
Use Dedicated Keys
Always use separate API keys for development, staging and production
environments. This limits the blast radius in case a key is compromised
Restrict Access (Principle of Least Privilege)
Restrict Access (Principle of Least Privilege)
Grant access to API keys only to the necessary applications and personnel.
Utilize the IP whitelisting or domain whitelisting feature for your API keys
to restrict where your keys can be used
Rotate Keys Periodically
Rotate Keys Periodically
Implement a routine for periodically rotating your API keys to minimize the
risk associated with long lived credentials
Monitor API Key Usage
Monitor API Key Usage
Keep an eye on your API key usage statistics in the GlueX portal to detect
any unusual activity or surges
Error Handling and Resiliency
Building a resilient application means anticipating and gracefully handling potential failuresError Handling
Error Handling
Always check the response for errors from the API calls. Do not assume
success. Log error codes and messages for debugging
Retry Logic with Exponential Backoff
Retry Logic with Exponential Backoff
For transient network issues or rate limit (
429 Too Many Requests) errors,
implement retry logic. Use an exponential backoff strategy (eg: wait 1s,
then 2s, then 4s, etc, with a maximum number of retries) to avoid
overwhelming the API and allow it to recoverHandle Insufficient Tokens/Approvals
Handle Insufficient Tokens/Approvals
For transaction-related APIs (like Router), ensure your application checks
for sufficient user token balances and necessary ERC20 token approvals
before attempting a transaction. Provide clear feedback to the user if
these prerequisites are not met
User Friendly Error Messages
User Friendly Error Messages
Translate technical API error messages into clear, actionable and user
friendly messages for your end users
Fallback Mechanisms
Fallback Mechanisms
Consider implementing fallback mechanisms for critical operations if the API
is temporarily unavailable or returns an unexpected error
Performance and Efficiency
Optimize your integration for speed and resource utilizationBatch Requests
Batch Requests
For APIs that support it (eg: Exchange Rates API allows up to 25 pairs per
call), batch multiple requests into a single API call to reduce network
overhead and improve efficiency
Cache Data Strategically
Cache Data Strategically
Cache static or infrequently changing data (eg: supported chains, token
lists) on your application’s side to reduce redundant API calls. Implement
appropriate cache invalidation strategies
Optimize API Calls
Optimize API Calls
Only request the data you need. If an API allows for partial responses or
specific field selection, use it to minimize data transfer size
Preflight Checks for Transactions
Preflight Checks for Transactions
Before prompting a user to sign a transaction, use the price’s simulation
capabilities to estimate gas, check for potential errors (eg: slippage,
insufficient liquidity), and provide an accurate preview to the user
User Experience and Transparency
A good user experience builds trust and encourages adoptionProvide Clear Transaction Details
Provide Clear Transaction Details
For any operation involving onchain transactions, clearly display all
relevant details to the user before they confirm: input/output tokens,
amounts, estimated gas fees, estimated slippage and the destination
chain/address
Realtime Feedback
Realtime Feedback
Offer realtime feedback on transaction status (pending, confirmed, failed)
and update UI elements accordingly
Gas Fee Transparency
Gas Fee Transparency
Always inform users about estimated gas fees upfront. Allow users to
potentially adjust gas settings if your application supports it
Slippage Control
Slippage Control
If using swap or routing features, provide users with the option to set
their preferred slippage tolerance, and clearly warn them if the estimated
slippage is high
Explain Complexities
Explain Complexities
For multi-step operations or novel DeFi interactions (eg: vault entries,
staking), provide clear explanations or tooltips to help users understand
what’s happening
Security
Beyond API key security, ensure your overall application adheres to security best practicesInput Validation
Input Validation
Always validate and sanitize all user inputs before sending them to GlueX
APIs. This helps prevent injection attacks and unexpected behavior
Protect Private Keys
Protect Private Keys
If your application handles private keys (eg: backend signing), ensure they
are stored and used in a highly secure, isolated environment (eg: Hardware
Security Module (HSM), secure enclaves)
Regular Security Audits
Regular Security Audits
Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing of your application,
especially before major releases or after significant architectural changes
Stay Updated
Stay Updated
Keep your GlueX SDKs, libraries and dependencies up to date to benefit from
the latest features, performance improvements and security patches
Compliance
Compliance
Understand and adhere to any relevant regulatory compliance requirements
(eg: KYC/AML for specific use cases) that might apply to your application’s
operations
Monitoring and Logging
Robust monitoring and logging are your eyes and ears in productionLogging
Logging
Log all the requests and responses, including timings, status codes and
relevant request/response bodies. This is invaluable for debugging and post
mortem analysis
Structured Logging
Structured Logging
Use structured logging (eg: JSON logs) for easier parsing and analysis by
automated tools
Alerting
Alerting
Set up alerts for critical metrics:
- High error rates (eg: 5xx responses, transaction failures)
- API rate limit nearly exhausted
- Unexpected latency spikes
- Discrepancies in data (eg: prices, balances)
Deployment
Streamline your development process for efficiency and reliabilityAutomated Testing
Automated Testing
Implement unit, integration and end to end tests for your integration to
catch regressions early and ensure correct functionality
CI/CD Pipelines
CI/CD Pipelines
Utilize Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment pipelines to automate
testing, building and deployment, ensuring consistent and reliable releases
Staging Environment
Staging Environment
Maintain a dedicated staging environment that mirrors your production setup
for final testing before deployment to live users