Gateway Integrations Overview

RapidAPI Gateway Integrations work by connecting the existing tools in your API Management ecosystem to the RapidAPI Enterprise API Hub via our Platform API and Events API.

Gateway Integrations consist of three distinct integration points, each providing their own unique value to our customers. These three integrations are:

We take this modular approach for a few reasons. Most importantly, to start seeing the benefits of the API Hub as quickly as possible.

These implementations are built utilizing our Platform API.

API Catalog

The first step is always the base implementation of the API Catalog.

By starting with this integration point, our customers see value from the platform in the first couple of weeks of onboarding by centralizing all of their APIs into a single API Hub. This enables the ability to search, view, and utilize the documentation for all of the APIs that have been published.

With this complete, many of our customers launch to developers, while they continue to integrate the other two phases of integration.

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Technical Implementation:

To implement this API Catalog, it is going to involve utilizing our Create/Update API endpoint on the Platform API.

Most often [and recommended] this will be called by a pre-existing CI/CD workflow that your organization is utilizing to generate the Open API spec, when the APIs are being built and deployed.

If the CI/CD workflow is not possible, other customers have integrated to pull the Open API specs directly from the Gateway via a cron job that runs daily (or on another frequency). You can implement a similar approach by running a cron job on a code repository like GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.

API Analytics

There is flexibility on whether a customer implements the Analytics implementation or the API Policy Provisioning first. I'll start with the Analytics implementation.

With this implementation, you will be adding the RapidAPI's Platform Analytics and Alerts functionality.

With this step of the integration, it enables better tracking of how APIs are being used, what data is being accessed, and who is accessing the APIs. Improving visibility and API Governance over the various APIs within an organization.

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Technical Implementation:

For the Analytics implementation, we are going to be utilizing a Gateway's ability to publish logs out to an external logging system. In this integration, a POST request will be made to an endpoint available via our Analytics pipeline. These logs will be processed by the Analytics Pipeline to generate the metrics and alerts available as part of the RapidAPI Enterprise API Hub.

API Access Provisioning

The final implementation is our API Policy Provisioning implementation. With this implementation, we are completing the full-seamless developer experience by allowing developers to request access and generate API credentials all within the platform. While the Analytics implementation and the API Provisioning implementation are interchangeable depending on a customers requirements, the Provisioning implementation integration is a bit more complex of an integration.

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Technical Implementation:

The API Provisioning implementation will involve more help from the RapidAPI team as there is more nuance in our customers requirements and integration points for this implementation. The integration might be with only the API Gateway, it might be with an IdP tool already being utilized to manage API credentials, or it might be both. Our implementations team will work with you to map out this integration.