diff --git a/.changeset/no-raw-hrefs-api.md b/.changeset/no-raw-hrefs-api.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7faf39d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/no-raw-hrefs-api.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@paramour-js/eslint-plugin": patch
+---
+
+`no-raw-hrefs` no longer reports paths under `/api` (`/api`, `/api/auth/signin`, `/api?x=1`, but not `/apiary`). They point at route handlers, which `href()` cannot build because the route registry lists only pages, so the warning had no fix. The exemption needs no configuration and applies in addition to `ignorePaths`.
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/reference/eslint-plugin.mdx b/docs/content/docs/reference/eslint-plugin.mdx
index 71f4557..8eb466d 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/reference/eslint-plugin.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/reference/eslint-plugin.mdx
@@ -134,6 +134,14 @@ empty strings all pass without a protocol allowlist to maintain.
 Protocol-relative URLs (`//cdn.example.com/x`) are external too, and are
 exempt despite their leading slashes.
 
+Paths under `/api` (`/api`, `/api/auth/signin`, `/api?x=1`, but not
+`/apiary`) are always exempt, with no configuration. They point at route
+handlers, and `href()` cannot build those because the registry lists only
+pages, so a warning there would have no fix. The exemption follows the
+convention: `/api` is the Pages Router's reserved API directory and where
+App Router projects put route handlers. Route handlers elsewhere need
+`ignorePaths`, and a page that lives under `/api` is not checked.
+
 Type-only imports (`import type Link from "next/link"`) never fire — a
 value usage of one is already a TypeScript error.
 
diff --git a/packages/eslint-plugin/README.md b/packages/eslint-plugin/README.md
index 070a910..42b1a25 100644
--- a/packages/eslint-plugin/README.md
+++ b/packages/eslint-plugin/README.md
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ rules: { "paramour/no-raw-hrefs": "error" }
 
 Reports string literals (and expression-free template literals) starting with `/` in six Next.js surfaces spanning both routers: the `href` attribute of `Link` imported from `next/link` (any local name — imports are tracked, not names matched), including the `UrlObject` form `href={{ pathname: "/foo" }}`; the first argument of `push`, `replace`, and `prefetch` on a router obtained from `useRouter()` — `next/navigation` or `next/router`, destructured forms included; the static `Router.push` form on the `next/router` default export; arguments to `redirect` and `permanentRedirect` imported from `next/navigation`; string `action` values on `Form` from `next/form`; and `NextResponse.redirect`/`rewrite` from `next/server`, both as a direct string and inside an inline `new URL("/path", base)` first argument. The `linkComponents` option (`{ name, source, prop? }` entries, `name` being the _imported_ name) extends the `Link` surface to design-system wrappers.
 
-External URLs (`https://…`, protocol-relative `//…`), fragments (`#…`), `mailto:`/`tel:`, relative paths, and empty strings are ignored, as are function-valued `Form` actions and `URL`-typed variables at `NextResponse`. `ignorePaths` (path-segment prefixes, not substrings or globs) exempts sections a migration has not reached yet:
+External URLs (`https://…`, protocol-relative `//…`), fragments (`#…`), `mailto:`/`tel:`, relative paths, and empty strings are ignored, as are function-valued `Form` actions and `URL`-typed variables at `NextResponse`. Paths under `/api` are always exempt: they point at route handlers, which `href()` cannot build. `ignorePaths` (path-segment prefixes, not substrings or globs) exempts sections a migration has not reached yet:
 
 ```js
 rules: {
diff --git a/packages/eslint-plugin/src/rules/no-raw-hrefs.ts b/packages/eslint-plugin/src/rules/no-raw-hrefs.ts
index 96b1750..11b30f2 100644
--- a/packages/eslint-plugin/src/rules/no-raw-hrefs.ts
+++ b/packages/eslint-plugin/src/rules/no-raw-hrefs.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,15 @@ function isIgnored(path: string, ignorePaths: readonly string[]): boolean {
   });
 }
 
+/**
+ * Always exempt, on top of `ignorePaths`. Links to route handlers can't be
+ * built with href(): the registry lists only pages, so a warning there has
+ * no fix. `/api` is the Pages Router's reserved API directory and the App
+ * Router convention for route handlers. A page under /api goes unflagged,
+ * which is the accepted cost.
+ */
+const ROUTE_HANDLER_PREFIX = "/api";
+
 /**
  * Flags any literal starting with "/"; everything else (external URLs,
  * "#hash", "mailto:", relative paths, "") is exempt by not starting with "/".
@@ -91,7 +100,7 @@ function isRawInternalPath(path: string): boolean {
 
 export const noRawHrefs = createRule<Options, MessageIds>({
   create(context, [options]) {
-    const ignorePaths = options.ignorePaths ?? [];
+    const ignorePaths = [ROUTE_HANDLER_PREFIX, ...(options.ignorePaths ?? [])];
     const linkComponents = options.linkComponents ?? [];
     const { sourceCode } = context;
 
diff --git a/packages/eslint-plugin/test/no-raw-hrefs.test.ts b/packages/eslint-plugin/test/no-raw-hrefs.test.ts
index 22ec75b..130a516 100644
--- a/packages/eslint-plugin/test/no-raw-hrefs.test.ts
+++ b/packages/eslint-plugin/test/no-raw-hrefs.test.ts
@@ -492,6 +492,22 @@ NextResponse.redirect("/legacybar");`,
       ],
       options: [{ ignorePaths: ["/legacy"] }],
     },
+    // The built-in /api exemption is segment-bounded too
+    {
+      code: `import Link from "next/link";
+export const el = <Link href="/apiary" />;`,
+      errors: [{ data: { path: "/apiary" }, messageId: "rawHref" }],
+    },
+    {
+      code: `import { redirect } from "next/navigation";
+redirect("/apis/v2");`,
+      errors: [
+        {
+          data: { callee: "redirect", path: "/apis/v2" },
+          messageId: "rawRedirect",
+        },
+      ],
+    },
     // Multiple violations in one file, with report locations
     {
       code: `import Link from "next/link";
@@ -669,6 +685,28 @@ export const el = <Anchor href="/x" />;`,
         },
       ],
     },
+    // Route handlers under /api are exempt with no options: href() cannot
+    // build them, because the registry lists only pages.
+    `import Link from "next/link";
+export const el = <Link href="/api/auth/auto-signin" />;`,
+    `import Link from "next/link";
+export const el = <Link href="/api" />;`,
+    `import Link from "next/link";
+export const el = <Link href={{ pathname: "/api/export" }} />;`,
+    `import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
+export function C() {
+  const router = useRouter();
+  router.push("/api/auth/sign-out?callbackUrl=%2F");
+}`,
+    `import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+NextResponse.redirect("/api/auth/signin");`,
+    // ...and the exemption stacks with configured ignorePaths
+    {
+      code: `import Link from "next/link";
+export const a = <Link href="/api/x" />;
+export const b = <Link href="/legacy/y" />;`,
+      options: [{ ignorePaths: ["/legacy"] }],
+    },
     // ignorePaths: prefix boundaries
     {
       code: `import Link from "next/link";