HAL-HYPERTEXT

Kelly HATEOAS JSON links convention.

Definition

HAL JSON content-type application/hal+json. Format: {_links: {self: {href:}, next: {href:}, related: [{href:}]}, _embedded: {orders: [...]}, otherFields: ...}. Less formal than OData or JSON:API, but simpler. Adopted by Spring HATEOAS, Foxycart, Amazon AppStream. HAL+XML successor for XML, but HAL+XML less used.

Origin

HAL IETF Internet-Draft published 2011 by Mike Kelly ; Informational status since.

Example in context

A Spring HATEOAS API returns _links:{self:{href:/orders/42},customer:{href:/customers/7}} ; client can navigate by following links.

Related terms

• JSON:API — other JSON approach.