API Provider Overview

Learn about API providers and how they enable integration of external APIs with your tokenized paywalls.

What is an API Provider?

An API provider is a configuration that connects your paywall to an external API endpoint. When users make requests through the API provider, the system:

1. Checks authorization - Verifies user is authenticated and authorized
2. Checks token balance - Verifies user has sufficient tokens
3. Forwards request - Sends request to the target API endpoint
4. Deducts tokens - Charges based on the configured query price level
5. Returns response - Passes API response back to the user

Key Features

API providers allow you to:

• Connect external APIs - Integrate third-party services into your monetization flow
• Control access - Manage user permissions based on token availability
• Dynamic parameters - Pass custom headers, body, and URL parameters
• Automatic billing - Charge users based on API usage and query complexity

How It Works

Configuration Examples

OpenAI API Integration

Translation Service

Google Translate API Provider:

• Name: Google Translate API
• Query Price Level: Standard (moderate cost operation)
• Endpoint URL: https://translation.googleapis.com/language/translate/v2
• Method: POST
• Headers:

  {
    "Authorization": "Bearer your-google-token",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  }

Image Processing

AI Image Enhancement API Provider:

• Name: AI Image Enhancement
• Query Price Level: Advanced 2 (high-cost GPU processing)
• Endpoint URL: https://api.imageenhance.com/v1/enhance
• Method: POST
• Headers:

  {
    "API-Key": "your-api-key",
    "Content-Type": "multipart/form-data"
  }

Dynamic Parameters

API providers support dynamic parameters that users can pass at runtime:

Request Headers

Users can add or override headers:

// Additional headers passed by user
{
  "Custom-Header": "user-specific-value",
  "Authorization": "Bearer user-token"
}

Request Body

Users can extend or modify the request body:

// User extends the base body configuration
{
  "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
  "temperature": 0.7
}

URL Pathname

Users can append additional path segments:

// Base URL: https://api.example.com/v1/users
// User adds: /profile/settings
// Final URL: https://api.example.com/v1/users/profile/settings

Best Practices

Security

1. Secure API key storage - Store API keys directly in the provider settings on our servers. Never send API keys from client-side code or expose them in frontend applications. This ensures your credentials remain secure and are only used for server-to-server communication.

Token Management

2. Choose appropriate query price levels - Match the cost of the API operation with the token type
3. Monitor usage patterns - Track which APIs consume the most tokens
4. Set reasonable limits - Configure appropriate token deduction rates

Performance

5. Cache responses when possible - Reduce API calls and token consumption
6. Use appropriate timeouts - Prevent hanging requests
7. Handle errors gracefully - Provide meaningful error messages to users

Next Steps