Products
API Catalog
The API Catalog is the inventory of every API Apiable knows about, synced from your connected gateways or added by hand. Catalog APIs feed Catalog-bound plans.
The API Catalog is the inventory of every API your account knows about. Each entry is either synced from a connected gateway or added by hand. You open it under Catalog, then API Catalog. Catalog entries are what Catalog-bound plans draw from.
What is the API Catalog?
The API Catalog is the list of every API Apiable knows about for your account. Entries come from two places: APIs synced from a connected gateway, and custom APIs you add by hand. The catalog is the pool that Catalog-bound plans select from.
What is the difference between a synced API and a custom API?
Every catalog entry has a source. A synced entry is pulled from a connected gateway. A custom entry is one you add by hand for an API that is not on a connected gateway.
| Source | How it gets into the catalog | Marked in the list |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway sync | Synchronize pulls the APIs from a connected gateway | Shows the gateway logo and name |
| Custom | + Custom API adds it by hand | Labelled Custom |
On a custom entry you can edit the name and URL. On a synced entry the name and URL come from the gateway, so you edit only the metadata, such as description, tags, owner, and documentation.
How do I populate the catalog from a gateway?
Open Catalog, then API Catalog, and choose Synchronize. Apiable pulls the current APIs from your connected gateways into the catalog.
- Connect an API gateway under Integrations (see API gateways).
- Open Catalog, then API Catalog.
- Choose Synchronize.
- The synced APIs appear in the list with their gateway, status, and counts.
How do I add a custom API?
Choose + Custom API and fill in the entry by hand. Use this for an API that is not on a connected gateway.
- In the API Catalog, choose + Custom API.
- Optionally claim the API for one of your teams.
- Enter a Name and a URL.
- Add a Description and any Tags.
- Upload the API specification under Documentation.
- Click Save Changes.
The new entry appears in the catalog marked Custom.
What does the catalog list show?
The list has one row per API. A column selector lets you choose which columns are shown. Each row links to the API's edit view.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Gateway | The gateway the API belongs to, or Custom for a hand-added entry. |
| Details | The API name, with its subscriptions and products counts. |
| Description | The API description. |
| Health | A validation indicator, when API validation is enabled for your account. |
| Status | Available or Unavailable, depending on whether the API is still found on its gateway. |
| Owner | The team that owns the API, or a Claim this API button to assign one. |
| Tags | The tags on the API, which double as catalog filters. |
| Documentation | A download for the API's uploaded specification, when one is present. |
A scope count appears on an API once it is referenced by scopes in a Resource Group. See Resource groups and scopes.
What do Available and Unavailable mean?
Each synced API carries a status. Available means the API is currently found on its gateway. Unavailable means it can no longer be found there.
An API turns Unavailable when it is removed or renamed on the gateway after the catalog last synced. Re-running Synchronize refreshes the statuses.
How does the catalog feed Catalog-bound plans?
A Catalog-bound plan draws its APIs from the API Catalog rather than from a single gateway, so it can package APIs that live across more than one gateway. A Gateway-bound plan instead pulls APIs directly from one gateway.
Because Catalog-bound plans select from the catalog, an API has to be in the catalog before a Catalog-bound plan can include it. See Add APIs and choose coupling for how coupling is chosen on a plan.