For a long time, I thought building APIs meant writing endpoints. You know the pattern: Define a route Validate input Query the database Transform the result Send a response Do that over and over again. Different routes. Same structure. The Illusion of Control Writing endpoints feels productive. You’re in control of everything: The logic The validation The data flow But after a while, something becomes obvious: You’re not building systems. You’re repeating patterns. The Real Problem Most APIs look like this: app . get ( ' /users/:id ' , async ( req , res ) => { const id = req . params . id ; if ( ! id ) { return res . status ( 400 ). json ({ error : ' Missing id ' }); } const user = await db . users . findById ( id ); if ( ! user ) { return res . status ( 404 ). json ({ error : ' Not found ' }); } return res .…