APIs
An API is your backend service in RestAPI.com. Each API has its own collections, functions, security settings, and endpoints.
Creating an API
Manual Creation
- Click Create API from your tenant
- Enter API details:
- Name — Unique identifier (becomes part of URL)
- Description — Optional description
- Region — Where your data is stored (EU or Norway)
- Select a subscription plan
- Click Create
AI-Assisted Creation
- Click Create API with AI
- Describe your schema in natural language
- Review the generated collections and relationships
- Adjust as needed
- Click Create
API Overview
The API overview page shows:
| Information | Description |
|---|---|
| Base URL | Your API's endpoint URL |
| Region | Data center location |
| Subscription | Current plan and status |
| Collections | Number of collections |
| Requests | Recent request count |
| Storage | Database and blob usage |
API Sections
Each API has multiple sections accessible from the sidebar:
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Collections | Define data tables and properties |
| Views | Create filtered perspectives |
| Queries | Join collections for reporting |
| Functions | Serverless functions and custom endpoints |
| Security | Auth providers, CORS, access control |
| Data Explorer | Browse and edit data |
| REST Explorer | Test API endpoints |
| Data Model | Visualize schema relationships |
| JSON Definition | Edit schema as JSON |
| AI Assistant | Generate schema with AI |
| Settings | Configuration and secrets |
| App Settings | Web hosting configuration |
| Statistics | Usage metrics and logs |
| Import/Export | Backup and migration |
| Team | API access management |
| Users & Roles | End-user management |
| Subscription | Plan and billing |
Regions
Choose a region based on your users' location and data residency requirements:
| Region | Location | Prefix |
|---|---|---|
| EU | Amsterdam | eu |
| Norway | Norway | no |
Your API is accessible via the /api virtual path from hosted web apps, or via the full URL for external clients:
/api/{collection}
https://<region>.restapi.com/<api-name>/{collection}
Subscription Plans
| Plan | Best For |
|---|---|
| Free | Testing and small projects |
| Starter | Entry-level production use |
| Standard | Growing applications |
| Pro | Enterprise-grade needs |
Each plan has different limits for requests, storage, and features.
Changing Plans
- Go to Subscription
- Click Change Plan
- Select a new plan
- Update billing information
- Complete payment (for paid plans)
API Team
Control who can manage your API:
Access Levels
| Level | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full control including deletion |
| Contributor | Manage resources, but not settings or team |
| Read-Only | View configuration and data |
Adding Team Members
- Go to Team
- Click Add Member
- Select a user from your tenant
- Assign an access level
- Save
Inherited vs Explicit Access
- Inherited — Automatic access based on tenant role (administrators have access to all APIs)
- Explicit — Manually granted to specific users
API Status
Every API has an operational status that determines whether it serves traffic. When an API is not Online, both its API endpoints and any hosted web app stop serving and return a status response instead.
| Status | Meaning | Clients receive |
|---|---|---|
| Online | Operational and serving requests | Normal responses |
| Offline | Taken offline by a tenant administrator | 503 Service Unavailable |
| Suspended | Suspended (for example, due to a billing issue) | 403 Forbidden |
| Quota Exceeded | Reached its request quota for the current period | 429 Too Many Requests |
| Payment Pending | Awaiting payment | 402 Payment Required |
| Deleted | Removed | 404 Not Found |
Hosted web apps show a branded status page (with the app's logo, when one is set) for these states; API endpoints return the status code above.
Administrators of Business tenants can take an API offline — and bring it back online — from Control Center → Monitoring. See Control Center.
Deleting an API
Only API owners can delete an API:
- Go to the API overview
- Click Delete API
- Type the API name to confirm
- Click Delete
Deleting an API permanently removes all collections, data, functions, and configurations. This action cannot be undone.
Best Practices
- Choose the right region — Select the region closest to your users
- Start with Free — Test your schema before upgrading
- Use descriptive names — API names are part of URLs
- Monitor usage — Check statistics to stay within limits
- Back up regularly — Export data before major changes