Getting Started

How to start using Frends API Portal.

This guide will help you get started with the Frends API Portal by walking through the registration process, logging in, and creating or joining an organization.

Registration

To begin using the API Portal, you first need to create an account. Navigate to the API Portal signup page and enter your email address and create a password. After clicking Sign Up, a verification link will be sent to your email address. Open the email and click the verification link to activate your account. Once your email is verified, you can proceed to log in to the portal.

First Login

After successfully verifying your email and logging in for the first time, you will be prompted to either create a new organization or create a private account. This initial choice determines how you'll interact with the portal and what resources you'll have access to.

Joining an Existing Organization

If your organization is already registered in the API Portal, the system can automatically detect this based on your email domain. When you enter your organization details during the first login, the portal checks if an organization with a matching domain already exists. If a match is found, you can send a request to join that organization instead of creating a new one.

Once you submit your request, an organization administrator will receive a notification and can review your request. After they approve it, you will be added to the organization with the appropriate access rights. This ensures that all members of your organization can collaborate within the same environment and access the same API products and resources.

Creating a New Organization

If you are the first person from your organization to use the API Portal, you can create a new organization during the login. Fill in your organization details such as the name and description, then submit the form. You will automatically become an Organization Administrator for the newly created organization, giving you full control over your organization's settings, users, and API products.

As an Organization Administrator, you have the ability to manage all aspects of your organization within the portal. This includes inviting users, configuring authentication settings, and managing API product subscriptions.

Joining as an Individual User

If you prefer to use the API Portal as an individual rather than as part of a team or company, you can choose to join as individual. Individual user has essentially an organization with only one user—you. This option is suitable for independent developers, freelancers, or anyone who wants to explore and use API products without the need for team collaboration.

As an individual user, you'll have access to the same organizational controls and capabilities as any other organization administrator. You can browse available API products, request access, manage API subscriptions and tokens, and configure your account settings. The only difference is that your organization contains just one member.

The flexibility of the API Portal means that if your needs change over time, you can convert your private account into a regular organization by inviting additional users. This allows you to start small and grow your organization as your projects and team expand, without losing any of your existing API subscriptions or configurations.

Organization Invitations

Organization Administrators can invite additional users to join their organization at any time. From your organization settings, navigate to the Users section and click Invite User. Enter the email address of the person you want to invite, and an invitation email will be sent to them. The invited user can then accept the invitation and join your organization.

Users can belong to multiple organizations if they receive invitations from different organization administrators. If you are a member of more than one organization, you can easily switch between them using the profile menu in the portal, allowing you to access different sets of API products and resources depending on the organizational context.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

API Portal Administrators can configure Single Sign-On for the API Portal to streamline the login process and enhance security. SSO settings can be configured in the administration settings page. This allows users within your organization to log in using your corporate identity provider rather than managing separate passwords for the API Portal.

Next Steps

Once you have registered and set up your organization, you can begin exploring the API Portal. Browse the available API products to discover what APIs are accessible to your organization. If you need access to a specific API product, you can request access directly from the product page. Organization administrators can also manage API subscriptions and access tokens from the organization settings.

If you have the necessary permissions, you can also create and publish your own API products, making them available to other organizations and users within the portal. For more information on managing API products and subscriptions, see the API Products documentation.