Deploying an API

How publish the API for testing and production use.

In order to publish the API so that it can be called, it is necessary to at least activate the Triggers for the linked Processes in your API.

The preferred method is to deploy the API to a Testing or Production Environment for use, instead of directly calling the API in your Development Environment.

Step by Step Tutorial Available

If you prefer more visual or interactive guidance on how to deploy your API with Frends, you can find a step-by-step walkthrough from your own environment's home page, under Onboarding by selecting "Tutorial 5, Step 4: Deploying API" tutorial.

How to deploy an API

Deploying an API is done from the API Management page, by selecting your API and then clicking on the Deploy button.

Deploy button is available on top right corner of API view.

You will be greeted by a modal dialog, showing the different versions available of the API and where each version is deployed to. A new version of API is created whenever it is deployed, instead of following the times the API specification has been edited.

The deployment view also shows preview of the API specification, allowing you to confirm that it's correct, as well as the endpoints defined in it and which Processes are linked to each endpoint.

Clicking on Save and deploy will save the version of the API, and moves the process forward to deploy the Processes linked to this API.

Select correct API version to deploy, and click on Save and deploy button.

From there, the deployment is identical to deploying a Process by itself, allowing you to choose where to deploy, and which version of each Process.

Set the target Agent Group and Process version for deployment, and click on Deploy and activate Triggers to save some time in opening the API for incoming requests. Triggers for the linked Processes need to be active in order for them to receive and handle the incoming requests.

API deployment screen is identical to standard Process deployment.

Do not deploy linked Processes separately from the API

Deploying the Processes separately from the API through Process list view is highly not recommended, even when they appear in the Process list normally alongside other Processes.

While technically possible, it will create a warning for you in the API Management, stating that the versions of linked Processes are different than expected. It may cause errors or undefined behaviour in the API or in the Processes when executed.

Warning if the Process is modified and deployed separately from the API.

To fix the warnings and possible issues generated by deploying linked Processes separately, re-deploy the API to the target Environment.

The next steps

With the API deployed and activated, it can now be called by clients using the Agent Group's base URL and the URL for the API endpoint.

We can also utilize the API specification UI to perform testing for the endpoints within Frends.

You can learn more about these methods in the next guide.