# REST API REST stands for ‘[Representational State Transfer](http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch_style.htm)’. This is an architectural pattern that describes how distributed systems can expose a consistent interface. When people use the term ‘REST API’, they are generally referring to an API accessed using the HTTP protocol at a predefined set of URLs. These URLs represent various resources — any information or content accessed at that location, which can be returned as JSON, HTML, audio files, or images. Often resources have one or more methods that can be performed on them over HTTP, like `GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, and `DELETE`. To know more about REST APIs you may visit [this resource](https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-is-a-rest-api#rest). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://api-docs.urbanpiper.com/downstream/resources/rest-api.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.