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Here are the key practices that will help you build reliable applications with the Incredible API:

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🚀 Performance

Instead of multiple API calls, combine related requests: 
# ❌ Multiple calls
curl -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Get user 1"}]}' ...
curl -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Get user 2"}]}' ...

# ✅ Single call
curl -d '{"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Get users 1 and 2"}]}' ...

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2. Use Streaming for Long Responses

Enable streaming for better user experience: 
curl -d '{"stream": true, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Generate a long report"}]}' ...

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🛡️ Security

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3. Never Hardcode Credentials

# ❌ Don't do this
api_key="inc_abc123..."

# ✅ Use environment variables
api_key="$INCREDIBLE_API_KEY"

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4. Validate User Input

Check prompts before sending to the API: 
def validate_prompt(prompt):
  if len(prompt) > 10000:
      return "Prompt too long"
  if "<script>" in prompt.lower():
      return "Invalid content"
  return None

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🔄 Reliability

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5. Handle Errors Gracefully

try:
  response = call_incredible_api(prompt)
  return response
except Exception as e:
  print(f"API call failed: {e}")
  return fallback_response()

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6. Implement Retries

def call_with_retry(prompt, max_retries=3):
  for attempt in range(max_retries):
      try:
          return call_incredible_api(prompt)
      except Exception as e:
          if attempt == max_retries - 1:
              raise e
          time.sleep(2 ** attempt)  # Exponential backoff

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📊 Monitoring

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7. Log API Calls

Track usage and errors: 
import logging

def log_api_call(prompt, response, duration):
  logging.info(f"API call: {len(prompt)} chars, {duration:.2f}s, success")

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🎯 What’s Next?

Key Takeaway: Start simple, handle errors, and add monitoring as your application grows.