Design Your First API Prototype in 5 mins
Let's build an API using Restpoint API Designer UI to manage stocks and deploy the API to the cloud so it is available for any user to test drive and give feedback.
Step 1: Create a Project
After you log in, first create an API project by clicking on the "+" button beside the Choose Project select box,
enter the project name & description on form on the the right side and click the Add Project button.
Step 2: Create API Path for /stocks
Next create an API Path for /stocks. Click on API Paths on left navigation, then click on the "Create a Path" button on the right. You will see this form:
Name: Enter the name of the path, i.e. /stocks ...follows OpenAPI path name syntax.
Select Actions For Path: Click on the HTTP Actions for this path, if our path had only one resource, you would choose Single in the select.
Resource: select "Enter JSON of an Example Resource". This is an example JSON object of a stock. Resources are saved and can be reused. Resource properties can edited at any time.
Enter JSON of an example Resource: enter the JSON object
Save JSON As Resource Name: This JSON will be parsed and save as Resource that can be reused later and whose properties can be modified by clicking on Resources on the left navigation.
After creating your path, you will see the path in a the list.
Note, see the the Stock resource that was created by clicking on Resources in the left nav and clicking on Stock. There you can edit properties as you iterator the API design. The database is automatically updated as you make changes.
Step 3. Lets Test Drive our API
Click on API Paths, see the Try API button on the right side at the top of the page. This will pop up a window with the SwaggerUI API client enabling us to send an API request.
Step 7. Deploy API to the Cloud
Now lets deploy this API to a new, standalone API with its own database and its own access keys. This API is a real backend capable of processing queries and POST, PUT and DELETE requests. Click on API Paths on the left navigation, then click on the Deploy button on the right. This will show the following form:
When your API is deployed, you'll see all the information for the deployed API with the URL at the top of page. You can instantly send requests to your new API backend, a curl command is provided, or use PostMan/Insomnia, etc. to send CRUD requests to your API backend.
Further down on the page, you will see the API keys. You will give an access key to your external users to send API requests, such as the following using the full access key :
curl -H "x-endpoint-key:03b1e41151ea438f8e62a04d3e2d760b" https://api.restpoint.io/api/stocks
See API Info for Users text box, copy the contents of this textbox and send to users. When they click on this, they will see example API Requests and the documents provided for the API Prototype.
