Observed Signal · Aug 12, 2026 · Technical Release · Source: DEV Community · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
AI Invented an API Endpoint; They Shipped Aliases
An AI assistant produced a confident but incorrect demo that called a nonexistent EraseText endpoint (e.g., POST https://erasetext.com/api/mcp/erase). Rather than repeatedly correcting individual users, the EraseText team implemented compatibility aliases and header-friendly handling so the generated demos work: several invented paths now map to the real /v1/erase, Authorization Bearer tokens are copied into X-Api-Key, and compatibility routes return JSON with an output_url data URL. They also published machine-readable contract artifacts (OpenAPI, llms.txt), a hosted playground, and an MCP handshake to guide model-generated demos. The post argues API operators should treat common hallucinated requests as traffic data and selectively alias locations while refusing to silently accept invented semantics.
Practical guidance and concrete compatibility changes for API operators dealing with LLM-generated client code; useful but not industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- An AI-generated demo requested a nonexistent endpoint such as POST https://erasetext.com/api/mcp/erase and reported a misleading CORS error.
- EraseText implemented route aliases (/erase, /v1/erase, /api/erase, /api/mcp/erase, /mcp/erase) that map to the same upstream /v1/erase.
- Authorization header Bearer et_… is copied into X-Api-Key by the proxy so either header works.
- Compatibility paths return JSON with fields including output_url (data URL) and output_base64 to match generated demos that call res.json().
- EraseText published machine-readable contracts and developer-facing artifacts: an OpenAPI document, an llms.txt, a hosted playground, and an MCP handshake instruction.
Connected Companies & Entities
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