diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index ea5de6278..677925bd1 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ gemspec
 gem 'pry-rails'
 gem 'pry-nav'
 gem 'select2-rails', '~> 3.5.4'
+gem 'jbuilder'
 
 platforms :jruby do
   gem "activerecord-jdbc-adapter", :require => false
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/forums_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/forums_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..03bb2fb5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/forums_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+require_dependency "forem/application_controller"
+
+module Forem
+  module Api
+    module V1
+      class ForumsController < Forem::ForumsController
+        include JsonApiController
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/json_api_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/json_api_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8dbfe833b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/json_api_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+module Forem
+  module Api
+    module V1
+      module JsonApiController
+        extend ActiveSupport::Concern
+
+        included do
+          before_action { request.format = :json }
+
+          before_action :client_generated_ids_are_unsupported, only: :create
+          before_action :ids_cannot_be_updated, only: :update
+
+          rescue_from ActionController::ParameterMissing, with: :bad_request,
+            only: :create
+          rescue_from CanCan::AccessDenied, with: :forbidden
+        end
+
+        private
+
+        def authenticate_forem_user
+          render nothing: true, status: :forbidden if !forem_user
+        end
+
+        def required_params
+          params.require(:data).require(:attributes)
+        end
+
+        def create_successful
+          render 'show', status: :created,
+            location: resource_url
+        end
+
+        def create_failed
+          render 'member_errors', status: :bad_request
+        end
+        alias_method :create_unsuccessful, :create_failed
+
+        def update_successful
+          render 'show', status: :ok
+        end
+
+        def update_failed
+          render 'member_errors', status: :bad_request
+        end
+
+        def bad_request
+          render nothing: true, status: :bad_request
+        end
+
+        def forbidden
+          render nothing: true, status: :forbidden
+        end
+
+        def client_generated_ids_are_unsupported
+          render nothing: true, status: :forbidden if params[:data][:id]
+        end
+
+        def ids_cannot_be_updated
+          if params[:data][:id] != @post.id
+            render nothing: true, status: :conflict if params[:data][:id]
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/posts_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/posts_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8ad02daad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/posts_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+require_dependency "forem/application_controller"
+
+module Forem
+  module Api
+    module V1
+      class PostsController < Forem::PostsController
+        include JsonApiController
+
+        protected
+
+        def post_params
+          required_params.permit(:text)
+        end
+
+        def resource_url
+          api_forum_topic_post_url(@topic.forum, @topic, @post)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/topics_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/topics_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8930555f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/api/v1/topics_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+require_dependency "forem/application_controller"
+
+module Forem
+  module Api
+    module V1
+      class TopicsController < Forem::TopicsController
+        include JsonApiController
+
+        private
+
+        def topic_params
+          required_params.permit(:subject)
+        end
+
+        def resource_url
+          api_forum_topic_url(@forum, @topic)
+        end
+
+        def topic_not_found
+          render nothing: true, status: :not_found
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/forums_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/forums_controller.rb
index c68878fbd..73a072888 100644
--- a/app/controllers/forem/forums_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/forums_controller.rb
@@ -21,11 +21,6 @@ def show
 
       # Kaminari allows to configure the method and param used
       @topics = @topics.send(pagination_method, params[pagination_param]).per(Forem.per_page)
-
-      respond_to do |format|
-        format.html
-        format.atom { render :layout => false }
-      end
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/posts_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/posts_controller.rb
index c44a9f790..72338d009 100644
--- a/app/controllers/forem/posts_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/posts_controller.rb
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@ class PostsController < Forem::ApplicationController
     before_filter :authenticate_forem_user, except: :show
     before_filter :find_topic
     before_filter :reject_locked_topic!, only: [:new, :create]
+    before_filter :authorize_edit_post_for_forum!, only: [:edit, :update]
+    before_filter :authorize_destroy_post_for_forum!, only: [:destroy]
+    before_filter :find_post, except: [:new, :create]
 
     def show
-      find_post
       page = (@topic.posts.count.to_f / Forem.per_page.to_f).ceil
 
       redirect_to forum_topic_url(@topic.forum, @topic, pagination_param => page, anchor: "post-#{@post.id}")
@@ -39,13 +41,9 @@ def create
     end
 
     def edit
-      authorize_edit_post_for_forum!
-      find_post
     end
 
     def update
-      authorize_edit_post_for_forum!
-      find_post
       if @post.owner_or_admin?(forem_user) && @post.update_attributes(post_params)
         update_successful
       else
@@ -54,8 +52,6 @@ def update
     end
 
     def destroy
-      authorize_destroy_post_for_forum!
-      find_post
       unless @post.owner_or_admin? forem_user
         flash[:alert] = t("forem.post.cannot_delete")
         redirect_to [@topic.forum, @topic] and return
@@ -88,7 +84,7 @@ def create_successful
     end
 
     def create_failed
-      params[:reply_to_id] = params[:post][:reply_to_id]
+      params[:reply_to_id] = params[:post][:reply_to_id] if params[:post]
       flash.now.alert = t("forem.post.not_created")
       render :action => "new"
     end
diff --git a/app/controllers/forem/topics_controller.rb b/app/controllers/forem/topics_controller.rb
index c3710649a..7ea19418e 100644
--- a/app/controllers/forem/topics_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/forem/topics_controller.rb
@@ -3,16 +3,15 @@ class TopicsController < Forem::ApplicationController
     helper 'forem/posts'
     before_filter :authenticate_forem_user, :except => [:show]
     before_filter :find_forum
+    before_filter :find_topic, :only => [:show, :subscribe, :unsubscribe]
     before_filter :block_spammers, :only => [:new, :create]
 
     def show
-      if find_topic
-        register_view(@topic, forem_user)
-        @posts = find_posts(@topic)
+      register_view(@topic, forem_user)
+      @posts = find_posts(@topic)
 
-        # Kaminari allows to configure the method and param used
-        @posts = @posts.send(pagination_method, params[pagination_param]).per(Forem.per_page)
-      end
+      # Kaminari allows to configure the method and param used
+      @posts = @posts.send(pagination_method, params[pagination_param]).per(Forem.per_page)
     end
 
     def new
@@ -43,17 +42,13 @@ def destroy
     end
 
     def subscribe
-      if find_topic
-        @topic.subscribe_user(forem_user.id)
-        subscribe_successful
-      end
+      @topic.subscribe_user(forem_user.id)
+      subscribe_successful
     end
 
     def unsubscribe
-      if find_topic
-        @topic.unsubscribe_user(forem_user.id)
-        unsubscribe_successful
-      end
+      @topic.unsubscribe_user(forem_user.id)
+      unsubscribe_successful
     end
 
     protected
@@ -108,13 +103,15 @@ def find_posts(topic)
     end
 
     def find_topic
-      begin
-        @topic = forum_topics(@forum, forem_user).friendly.find(params[:id])
-        authorize! :read, @topic
-      rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
-        flash.alert = t("forem.topic.not_found")
-        redirect_to @forum and return
-      end
+      @topic = forum_topics(@forum, forem_user).friendly.find(params[:id])
+      authorize! :read, @topic
+    rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
+      topic_not_found
+    end
+
+    def topic_not_found
+      flash.alert = t("forem.topic.not_found")
+      redirect_to @forum
     end
 
     def register_view(topic, user)
diff --git a/app/helpers/forem/api/api_helper.rb b/app/helpers/forem/api/api_helper.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a85235702
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/helpers/forem/api/api_helper.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+module Forem
+  module Api
+    module ApiHelper
+      def api_id(model)
+        model.respond_to?(:id) ? model.id : model
+      end
+
+      def api_has_one(json, relationship, type, model)
+        json.set! relationship do
+          json.data do
+            json.type type
+            json.id api_id(model)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      def api_has_many(json, relationship, type, models)
+        json.set! relationship do
+          json.data models do |model|
+            json.type type
+            json.id api_id(model)
+
+            yield model if block_given?
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/models/forem/topic.rb b/app/models/forem/topic.rb
index f6526336b..38aaaa3ca 100644
--- a/app/models/forem/topic.rb
+++ b/app/models/forem/topic.rb
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ class Topic < ActiveRecord::Base
     validates :user, :presence => true
 
     before_save  :set_first_post_user
+    before_create :set_last_post_at
     after_create :subscribe_poster
     after_create :skip_pending_review, :unless => :moderated?
 
@@ -129,7 +130,11 @@ def last_page
     protected
     def set_first_post_user
       post = posts.first
-      post.user = user
+      post.user = user if post
+    end
+
+    def set_last_post_at
+      self.last_post_at ||= created_at
     end
 
     def skip_pending_review
@@ -138,7 +143,7 @@ def skip_pending_review
 
     def approve
       first_post = posts.by_created_at.first
-      first_post.approve! unless first_post.approved?
+      first_post.approve! unless !first_post || first_post.approved?
     end
 
     def moderated?
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/forums/show.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/forums/show.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f61bb702
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/forums/show.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+included = []
+
+json.data do
+  json.type "forums"
+  json.id @forum.id
+  json.attributes do
+    json.(@forum, :title, :slug)
+  end
+
+  json.relationships do
+    included += @topics
+
+    api_has_many(json, :topics, 'topics', @topics) do |topic|
+      last_post = relevant_posts(topic).last
+
+      if last_post
+        included << last_post
+
+        json.relationships do
+          json.last_post do
+            json.data do
+              json.type 'posts'
+              json.(last_post, :id)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+json.included included do |object|
+  json.type object.class.name.demodulize.downcase.pluralize
+  json.(object, :id)
+
+  case object
+  when Forem::Topic
+    json.partial! 'forem/api/v1/topics/topic', topic: object
+  when Forem::Post
+    json.partial! 'forem/api/v1/posts/post', post: object
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/_post.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/_post.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6dd6425f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/_post.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+json.type "posts"
+json.(post, :id)
+json.attributes do
+  json.(post, :text, :created_at)
+end
+
+json.relationships do
+  api_has_one(json, :user, 'users', post.user_id)
+  api_has_one(json, :topic, 'topics', post.topic_id)
+  api_has_one(json, :forum, 'forums', post.forum.id)
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/member_errors.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/member_errors.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ccb0feb56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/member_errors.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+json.errors @post.errors.full_messages do |message|
+  json.title message
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/show.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/show.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3278925e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/posts/show.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+json.data do
+  json.partial! 'forem/api/v1/posts/post', post: @post
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/_topic.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/_topic.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..61503ef3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/_topic.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+json.type "topics"
+json.(topic, :id)
+json.attributes do
+  json.(topic, :slug, :subject, :views_count, :created_at)
+  json.posts_count relevant_posts(topic).count
+end
+
+json.relationships do
+  api_has_one(json, :user, 'users', topic.user_id)
+  api_has_one(json, :forum, 'forums', topic.forum_id)
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/member_errors.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/member_errors.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b014134a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/member_errors.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+json.errors @topic.errors.full_messages do |message|
+  json.title message
+end
diff --git a/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/show.json.jbuilder b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/show.json.jbuilder
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..43e5214af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/views/forem/api/v1/topics/show.json.jbuilder
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+included = []
+
+json.data do
+  json.partial! 'forem/api/v1/topics/topic', topic: @topic
+
+  if @posts
+    json.relationships do
+      api_has_many(json, :posts, 'posts', @posts)
+
+      included += @posts
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+json.included included do |object|
+  case object
+  when Forem::Post
+    json.partial! 'forem/api/v1/posts/post', post: object
+  end
+end
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index 9844fe1b8..6bce962cd 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,20 @@
+require 'forem/api/version_routing_constraint'
+
 Forem::Engine.routes.draw do
   root :to => "forums#index"
 
+  namespace :api do
+    constraints Forem::API::VersionRoutingConstraint.new(1) do
+      scope module: :v1 do
+        resources :forums do
+          resources :topics do
+            resources :posts
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   resources :categories, :only => [:index, :show]
 
   namespace :admin do
diff --git a/forem.gemspec b/forem.gemspec
index 006d7157d..b714cdf3a 100644
--- a/forem.gemspec
+++ b/forem.gemspec
@@ -32,4 +32,5 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_dependency 'select2-rails', '~> 3.5.4'
   s.add_dependency 'friendly_id', '~> 5.0.0'
   s.add_dependency 'cancancan', '~> 1.7'
+  s.add_dependency 'jbuilder', '~> 2.3'
 end
diff --git a/lib/forem/api/version_routing_constraint.rb b/lib/forem/api/version_routing_constraint.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00c42883f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/forem/api/version_routing_constraint.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+module Forem
+  module API
+    class VersionRoutingConstraint
+      def initialize(version)
+        @version = version
+      end
+
+      def matches?(request)
+        requested_this_version?(request) ||
+          # All real clients should specify an API version in their
+          # request headers, but for ease of debugging (via curl, browsers,
+          # etc.), the latest API version responds to requests that don't
+          # specify.
+          (no_requested_version?(request) && latest_version?)
+      end
+
+      private
+
+      def requested_this_version?(request)
+        requested_version(request) == @version
+      end
+
+      def no_requested_version?(request)
+        !requested_version(request)
+      end
+
+      def requested_version(request)
+        accept = request.headers['Accept']
+        accept &&
+          accept[/application\/vnd\.forem\+json; version=([0-9]+)/] &&
+          Integer($1)
+      end
+
+      # True if no later API version exists.
+      def latest_version?
+        "::Forem::Api::V#{@version + 1}".constantize
+        # if the above succeeds, this is not the latest version
+        false
+      rescue NameError
+        # no version beyond this one exists
+        true
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/models/topic_spec.rb b/spec/models/topic_spec.rb
index 18bae3ed5..0164c3224 100644
--- a/spec/models/topic_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/topic_spec.rb
@@ -87,6 +87,24 @@
     end
   end
 
+  context 'with no first post' do
+    before { topic.posts.clear }
+
+    it 'can be saved' do
+      topic.save
+    end
+
+    it 'can be approved' do
+      topic.approve!
+    end
+
+    it 'has a last_post_at (based on created_at)' do
+      topic.save
+
+      expect(topic.last_post_at).to eq topic.created_at
+    end
+  end
+
   describe "helper methods" do
     describe "#subscribe_user" do
       let(:subscription_user) { FactoryGirl.create(:user) }
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/forums_api_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/forums_api_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..96697d361
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/requests/api/forums_api_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+require 'shared_examples/api_examples'
+
+describe 'Forums API', type: :request do
+  let(:data_type) { 'forums' }
+
+  let(:user) { create(:user) }
+
+  let(:authorized?) { true }
+
+  before do
+    allow_any_instance_of(Forem::Ability).
+      to receive(:cannot?).and_return(!authorized?)
+
+    sign_in user
+  end
+
+  describe '#show' do
+    let(:forum) { create(:forum) }
+    let!(:topic) { create(:approved_topic, forum: forum) }
+    let!(:pending_topic) { create(:topic, forum: forum) }
+    let!(:post) { create(:approved_post, topic: topic) }
+
+    before do
+      topic.register_view_by(post.user)
+
+      api :get, api_forum_path(forum)
+    end
+
+    it_behaves_like 'an API show request'
+
+    it 'represents the forum' do
+      expect(data[:type]).to eq data_type
+      expect(data[:id]).to eq forum.id
+      expect(data[:attributes][:title]).to eq forum.title
+      expect(data[:attributes][:slug]).to eq forum.slug
+    end
+
+    let(:related_topics) { data[:relationships][:topics] }
+    let(:related_topic) { related_topics[:data].first }
+    let(:included_topics) { included_objects_of_type('topics') }
+    let(:included_topic) { included_topics.first }
+
+    it 'describes topic relationships' do
+      expect(data).to reference_many(:topics, ['topics', topic.id])
+      # note: does not reference pending_topic
+    end
+
+    it 'includes topic data' do
+      expect(included_topics.length).to eq 1
+      # note: pending_topic is not included
+
+      expect(included_topic[:id]).to eq topic.id
+      expect(included_topic[:attributes][:subject]).to eq topic.subject
+      expect(included_topic[:attributes][:slug]).to eq topic.slug
+      expect(included_topic[:attributes][:posts_count]).to eq 2
+      expect(included_topic[:attributes][:views_count]).to eq 1
+      expect(Time.zone.parse(included_topic[:attributes][:created_at])).
+        to be_within(1.second).of topic.created_at
+      expect(included_topic[:relationships][:user][:data][:id]).
+        to eq topic.user_id
+    end
+
+    let(:included_posts) { included_objects_of_type('posts') }
+    let(:included_post) { included_posts.last }
+
+    it 'references the last post' do
+      expect(related_topic).to reference_one(:last_post, ['posts', post.id])
+    end
+
+    it 'includes the last post' do
+      expect(included_posts.length).to eq 1
+
+      expect(included_post[:id]).to eq post.id
+      created_at = Time.zone.parse(included_post[:attributes][:created_at])
+      expect(created_at).to be_within(0.05).of(post.created_at)
+      expect(included_post[:relationships][:user][:data][:id]).
+        to eq post.user_id
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/posts_api_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/posts_api_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dee8c178b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/requests/api/posts_api_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+require 'shared_examples/api_examples'
+
+describe 'Posts API', type: :request do
+  let(:data_type) { 'posts' }
+
+  let(:forum) { create(:forum) }
+  let(:topic) { create(:topic, forum: forum) }
+  let(:user) { create(:user) }
+
+  let(:authorized?) { true }
+
+  before do
+    allow_any_instance_of(Forem::Ability).
+      to receive(:cannot?).and_return(!authorized?)
+
+    sign_in user
+  end
+
+  describe '#create' do
+    let(:input_data) { {type: data_type, attributes: attributes} }
+    let(:attributes) { {text: 'This is a post.'} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes) { {nonexistent_attribute: 'Bad data'} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes_message) { "Text can't be blank" }
+    let(:new_resource_url) {
+      api_forum_topic_post_path(forum, topic, Forem::Post.last)
+    }
+
+    before do
+      api :post, api_forum_topic_posts_path(forum, topic), data: input_data
+    end
+
+    it_behaves_like 'an API create request'
+
+    describe 'with valid data' do
+      it 'responds with JSON for the new post' do
+        expect(data[:type]).to eq data_type
+        expect(data[:attributes][:text]).to eq 'This is a post.'
+      end
+
+      it 'references the topic' do
+        expect(data).to reference_one(:topic, ['topics', topic.id])
+      end
+
+      it 'references the forum' do
+        expect(data).to reference_one(:forum, ['forums', forum.id])
+      end
+
+      it 'references the related user' do
+        expect(data).to reference_one(:user, ['users', user.id])
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#update' do
+    let(:input_data) { {type: data_type, attributes: attributes} }
+    let(:attributes) { {text: 'This is still another post.'} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes) { {text: ''} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes_message) { "Text can't be blank" }
+
+    let(:post) { topic.posts.create(user: user, text: 'This is another post.') }
+    let(:model) { post }
+
+    before do
+      api :patch, api_forum_topic_post_path(forum, topic, post), data: input_data
+    end
+
+    it_behaves_like 'an API update request'
+
+    describe 'with valid data' do
+      it 'responds with JSON for the post' do
+        expect(data[:type]).to eq data_type
+        expect(data[:attributes][:text]).to eq 'This is still another post.'
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/topics_api_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/topics_api_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5aa42982
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/requests/api/topics_api_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+require 'shared_examples/api_examples'
+
+describe 'Topics API', type: :request do
+  let(:data_type) { 'topics' }
+
+  let(:forum) { create(:forum) }
+  let(:user) { create(:user) }
+
+  let(:authorized?) { true }
+
+  before do
+    allow_any_instance_of(Forem::Ability).
+      to receive(:cannot?).and_return(!authorized?)
+
+    sign_in user
+  end
+
+  describe '#create' do
+    let(:input_data) { {type: 'topics', attributes: attributes} }
+    let(:attributes) { {subject: 'New topic'} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes) { {nonexistent_attribute: 'New topic'} }
+    let(:invalid_attributes_message) { "Subject can't be blank" }
+    let(:new_resource_url) { api_forum_topic_path(forum, Forem::Topic.last) }
+
+    before { api :post, api_forum_topics_path(forum), data: input_data }
+
+    it_behaves_like 'an API create request'
+
+    describe 'with valid data' do
+      it 'responds with JSON for the new topic' do
+        expect(data[:type]).to eq data_type
+        expect(data[:attributes][:subject]).to eq 'New topic'
+        expect(data[:attributes][:slug]).to eq 'new-topic'
+        expect(data[:attributes][:views_count]).to eq 0
+        expect(data[:attributes][:posts_count]).to eq 0
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#show' do
+    let(:topic) {
+      create(:approved_topic, forum: forum, subject: 'Old topic',
+        posts_attributes: [{text: 'Post text'}]
+      )
+    }
+    let(:post) { topic.posts.first }
+
+    before do
+      topic.register_view_by(user) if topic.persisted?
+      create(:post, topic: topic) # unapproved post should not be included
+
+      api :get, api_forum_topic_path(forum.id, topic.id)
+    end
+
+    it_behaves_like 'an API show request'
+
+    it 'responds with JSON for the topic' do
+      expect(data[:type]).to eq data_type
+      expect(data[:attributes][:subject]).to eq 'Old topic'
+      expect(data[:attributes][:slug]).to eq 'old-topic'
+      expect(data[:attributes][:views_count]).to eq 2 # including initial post
+      expect(data[:attributes][:posts_count]).to eq 1
+      created_at = Time.zone.parse(data[:attributes][:created_at])
+      expect(created_at).to be_within(0.05).of(topic.created_at)
+    end
+
+    let(:included_posts) { included_objects_of_type('posts') }
+    let(:included_post) { included_posts.first }
+
+    it 'references related posts' do
+      expect(data).to reference_many(:posts, ['posts', post.id])
+    end
+
+    it 'references the related forum' do
+      expect(data).to reference_one(:forum, ['forums', forum.id])
+    end
+
+    it 'references the related user' do
+      expect(data).to reference_one(:user, ['users', topic.user_id])
+    end
+
+    it 'includes post data' do
+      expect(included_posts.length).to eq 1
+
+      expect(included_post[:id]).to eq post.id
+      expect(included_post[:attributes][:text]).to eq post.text
+      expect(included_post[:relationships][:user][:data][:id]).to eq post.user_id
+      created_at = Time.zone.parse(included_post[:attributes][:created_at])
+      expect(created_at).to be_within(0.05).of(post.created_at)
+    end
+    
+    describe 'with an invalid ID' do
+      let(:topic) { build(:topic, id: 0) }
+
+      it 'is not found' do
+        expect(response).to be_not_found
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/requests/atom_feed_spec.rb b/spec/requests/atom_feed_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b0c336369
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/requests/atom_feed_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+describe 'Atom feed URL', type: :request do
+  let(:forum) { create(:forum) }
+
+  before { get forum_path(forum, format: :atom) }
+
+  let(:feed) { Nokogiri.parse(response.body) }
+
+  it 'should return Atom data' do
+    expect(feed.root.name).to eq 'feed'
+    expect(feed.root.namespace.href).to eq 'http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/shared_examples/api_examples.rb b/spec/shared_examples/api_examples.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..669af7374
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/shared_examples/api_examples.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+shared_examples 'an API show request' do
+  subject { response }
+
+  describe 'with a valid ID' do
+    it { should be_ok }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthenticated user' do
+    let(:user) { nil }
+
+    # forums are public by default
+    it { should be_ok }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthorized user' do
+    let(:authorized?) { false }
+
+    # some forums are private
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+end
+
+shared_examples 'an API create request' do
+  subject { response }
+
+  describe 'with valid data' do
+    it { should have_http_status(:created) }
+
+    it 'provides a URL for the new post' do
+      expect(URI.parse(response.location).path).to eq new_resource_url
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'with no data' do
+    let(:attributes) { {} }
+
+    it { should be_bad_request }
+  end
+
+  describe 'with invalid data' do
+    let(:attributes) { invalid_attributes }
+
+    it { should be_bad_request }
+
+    it 'returns error objects' do
+      expect(errors).not_to be_blank
+      expect(errors.first[:title]).to eq invalid_attributes_message
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'with a client-generated ID' do
+    let(:input_data) {
+      {type: data_type, id: 'generated-ID', attributes: attributes}
+    }
+
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthenticated user' do
+    let(:user) { nil }
+
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthorized user' do
+    let(:authorized?) { false }
+
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+end
+
+shared_examples 'an API update request' do
+  subject { response }
+
+  describe 'with valid data' do
+    it { should be_ok }
+  end
+
+  describe 'with no data' do
+    let(:attributes) { {} }
+
+    it { should be_bad_request }
+  end
+
+  describe 'with invalid data' do
+    let(:attributes) { invalid_attributes }
+
+    it { should be_bad_request }
+
+    it 'returns error objects' do
+      expect(errors).not_to be_blank
+      expect(errors.first[:title]).to eq invalid_attributes_message
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'with an updated ID' do
+    let(:input_data) {
+      {type: data_type, id: model.id + 1, attributes: attributes}
+    }
+
+    it { should have_http_status(:conflict) }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthenticated user' do
+    let(:user) { nil }
+
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+
+  describe 'from an unauthorized user' do
+    let(:authorized?) { false }
+
+    it { should be_forbidden }
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/support/api_helpers.rb b/spec/support/api_helpers.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a54d10206
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/support/api_helpers.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+module ApiHelpers
+  def json
+    @json ||= JSON.parse(response.body).with_indifferent_access
+  end
+
+  def data
+    json[:data]
+  end
+
+  def errors
+    json[:errors]
+  end
+
+  def api(method, action, params = {})
+    send method, action, params,
+      Accept: 'application/vnd.forem+json; version=1'
+  end
+
+  def included_objects_of_type(type)
+    json[:included].select { |o| o[:type] == type }
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec::Matchers.define :have_http_status do |expected|
+  match do |actual|
+    actual.response_code == Rack::Utils::status_code(expected)
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec::Matchers.define :reference_one do |relationship, (type, id)|
+  define_method :related do
+    actual[:relationships][relationship][:data] rescue nil
+  end
+
+  match do |actual|
+    [related[:type], related[:id]] == [type, id] if related
+  end
+
+  failure_message do
+    found = related ? "'#{related[:type]} #{related[:id]}'" : 'not found'
+
+    "expected #{actual[:type]} #{actual[:id]} " +
+      "to reference #{relationship} '#{type} #{id}'; " +
+      "was #{found}"
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec::Matchers.define :reference_many do |relationship, *expected_types_and_ids|
+  define_method :related do
+    actual[:relationships][relationship][:data] rescue nil
+  end
+
+  define_method :related_types_and_ids do
+    related.map { |item| item.values_at(:type, :id) }
+  end
+
+  def sentence(types_and_ids)
+    types_and_ids.map { |(type, id)| "'#{type} #{id}'" }.to_sentence
+  end
+
+  match do |actual|
+    related && (related_types_and_ids.sort == expected_types_and_ids.sort)
+  end
+
+  failure_message do
+    found = related ? sentence(related_types_and_ids) : 'not found'
+
+    "expected #{actual[:type]} #{actual[:id]} " +
+      "to reference #{relationship} #{sentence(expected_types_and_ids)}; " +
+      "was #{found}"
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec.configure do |c|
+  c.include ApiHelpers, :type => :request
+end