Getting started
What is APIHiver?
The marketplace, the gateway, and how consumers and providers use them.
APIHiver is an API marketplace. Developers come here to find, test, subscribe to and call APIs with one account and one API key, and API owners come here to publish, document, price and sell their APIs without building their own billing, key management or documentation site.
Two ways to use APIHiver
| You are… | You use… | To… |
|---|---|---|
| An API consumer (a developer who wants to use an API) | the API Marketplace and the Console | discover APIs, subscribe to a plan, get your key, call APIs, and track usage and spend |
| An API provider (you own an API and want others to use it) | Studio | list your API, document its endpoints, set pricing plans, publish it and see who uses it |
The same account can do both. The three tabs at the top of every page (API Marketplace, Console and Studio) switch between them.
How a call flows
When you call an API listed on APIHiver, your request does not go straight to the provider. It goes through the APIHiver gateway:
- Your app sends a request to the API's gateway address, for example
https://weather.p.apihiver.com/v1/current, with your key in theX-API-Keyheader. - The gateway checks that the key is valid, that you have an active subscription to that API, and that you are within your plan's rate limit and monthly quota.
- It forwards the request to the provider's server, adding the provider's secret credentials so the provider knows the call came from APIHiver.
- The response comes back to you unchanged, with extra headers that tell you how much of your quota is left.
- The call is logged and counted, so both you and the provider can see it in analytics and request logs.
Because every call goes through the gateway, you never need a separate account or key with each provider, and providers never have to handle sign-ups, keys, billing or rate limiting themselves.
What the platform handles for you
- One key for every API. A single key works across all your subscriptions.
- Secure HTTPS addresses for every API (
https://<api>.p.apihiver.com), even if the provider's own server only speaks plain HTTP. - Plans, quotas and rate limits enforced consistently for every API.
- Billing. Checkout, invoices, monthly renewals and payment reminders, in Indian rupees (₹).
- Documentation and a live playground for every endpoint.
- Analytics and request logs for consumers and providers.
- Discussions, reviews and private messages between consumers and providers.
Where to go next
- New to using APIs? Start with Quick start: use an API.
- Want to list your own API? Start with Quick start: publish an API.
- Looking for a specific answer? Try the FAQ.
Something unclear or missing? Email [email protected].