Getting started using the Apigee API

This pageapplies toApigee andApigee hybrid.

View Apigee Edge documentation.

The Apigee API can be used to programmatically develop and manage APIs with a set of RESTful operations.

You can use the Apigee API to integrate API proxy management into your organization's software development lifecycle (SDLC). A common usage of the Apigee API is to write scriptsor code that deploy API proxies or that migrate API proxies from one environment to another, as part of a larger automated process that also deploys or migrates other applications.

For more information, seeApigee API.

Enabling the Apigee API

Ensure that you have enabled the Apigee API. The simplest way to enable an API for your project is to use the Apigee UI. For complete details, seeStep 1: Enable required APIs.

Obtaining an OAuth 2.0 access token

The Apigee API supports OAuth 2.0 for user authentication. With OAuth 2.0, you exchange your Google Cloudcredentials for an access token that you can then use to make secure calls to the Apigee API. Onceyou obtain a token, you do not need to exchange your credentials again until the token expires.

Note: Short-lived service account credentials are usefulfor scenarios where you need to grant limited access to resources for trusted service accounts,and they reduce the risk compared to using long-lived credentials like service account keys. Formore information,seeGenerating an OAuth 2.0 access token.

Get a token using Google Cloud credentials

To get a token using your Google Cloud credentials:

  1. Authorizegcloud to access the Cloud Platform with your Google user credentials:
    gcloud auth login
  2. Get a token for the currently active account:
    export TOKEN=$(gcloud auth print-access-token)
  3. When you call an Apigee API, pass the access token in the Authorization header. For example:
    curl "https://apigee.googleapis.com/v1/organizations" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Get a token using a Google Cloud service account key

To get a token using a service account key for authorization:

  1. Generate a key for your service account using the Google Cloud console, as described inCreating and managing service account keys.

    A JSON file that contains your service account credentials is downloaded to your computer.

  2. Set theGOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path where the service account key is located:

    export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=your_sa_credentials_file.json
  3. When you call an Apigee API, use the Google Cloud CLI to add an access token to the Authorization header. For example:
    curl "https://apigee.googleapis.com/v1/organizations" -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token)"

Setting environment variables for Apigee API requests

The Apigee API and gcloud CLI examples provided throughout the documentation use one or more of the environment variables defined in the following table.

By setting the environment variables upfront to meaningful values in your environment, you can copy and paste the example requests to execute them in your own environment with minimal or no modifications.

Environment variableDescription
$APIName of your API proxy.
$APIPRODUCTName of the API product.
$APPID of an app.
$DEVELOPER_EMAILEmail address of the developer.
$ENVName of your environment, such astest orprod.
$IDResource ID.
$KEYConsumer key.
$NAMEName of your resource.
$ORGYour Apigee organization.
$REVRevision number of your API proxy.
$SHAREDFLOWName of your shared flow.
$TYPEResource type.

Using curl

The examples within this section usecurl to demonstrate how to develop applicationsusing the Apigee API.curl is an open source, command-line tool for transferring datawith URL syntax, supporting common protocols such as HTTP and HTTPS.

The following table summarizes the curl command-line options used in the examples.

OptionDescription
-d '{}' --data @filename
--data-binary @filename		Defines the request body, which you can pass directly or by specifying a filename.
-F file=@filename
--form file=@filename		Defines form-based data that you can pass by specifying a filename.
-H
--header		Defines a request header.

You must pass the following information in the request header:

  • Authorization header: OAuth 2.0 token for user authentication, as described inObtaining an OAuth 2.0 access token.
  • Content-Type header: Content type of the request body being sent when creating or updating a resource (POST, PATCH, PUT) using the API.
-XSpecifies the type of request (GET, POST, and so on).

For example:

curl "https://apigee.googleapis.com/v1/organizations/$ORG/apis" \   -X GET \   -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Where$TOKEN is set to your OAuth 2.0 access token, as described inObtaining an OAuth 2.0 access token.

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Last updated 2025-12-15 UTC.