API Programs

About API Programs

API providers and partners can organize the following programs for their consumers using the API programs feature:

  • Hackathons. You can create hackathons and expose them to the required communities.
  • Beta programs. You can create a beta program with selected APIs for beta testing and seek feedback from the participants.

    • Hackathons

    Organizations conduct hackathons to widen the reach of their APIs to a network of skilled individuals, fostering future collaborations and opportunities within the tech community. Hackathons also promote innovation by bringing together diverse talents to solve problems creatively and swiftly.

    Developer Portal allows you to create hackathons by including the set of required APIs. You can expose your hackthons to the required audience.

    The following image outlines the hackathon workflow:

    Important stages in a hackathon lifecycle include:

  • Hackathon creation. As an API provider or partner, you have the ability to initiate hackathons by furnishing essential details such as the hackathon duration, participant APIs, and corresponding rewards. Organizers can define a theme or problem statement to challenge participants, shaping the context of the hackathon. The program is then featured on the API programs page, allowing relevant users to access and engage with it throughout the hackathon period. For information about creating hackathons, see Creating a hackathon.

  • Participants registration. Participants can register for the programs that are available to them through the API programs page. Participants can create teams of required users who are onboard and work on developing their hackathon projects. For information about registering for a hackathon, see Registering for a hackathon.

  • Hackathon project submission. On completion of their projects, participants can submit them to the hackathon organizers, providing essential project details. For information about submitting a hackathon project, see Adding a hackathon project.

  • Winner selection and conclusion. Hackathon organizers can view projects submitted by participants and pick winners.

    • Creating a hackathon

    You can create a hackathon with your specifications from the Hackathons tab under the Manage programs page.

    To create a hackathon

    1. Click the user menu icon from the title bar and click Manage programs.

    2. Click Create hackathon.

    3. Provide a name for the hackathon.

    4. Select the Start date, Time and the End date, Time from the corresponding fields.

    5. Click the Next tab.

    6. Provide the Summary and Description of the hackathon in the corresponding fields.

    7. Select the required Icon and Banner for the hackathon by clicking Browse file buttons next to the corresponding fields.

    8. Click Next.

    9. Select the required Community from the list.

      Only the users from the selected community can view the hackathon. If you do not select a community, the Public community is selected by default.

    10. Select the required APIs for the hackathon.

      The APIs displayed are based on the community you have selected. You must select at least one API.

    11. Click Next.

    12. Provide the required Prize label and Prize description and click Add.

      You can repeat this step to add the required number of prizes.

    13. Click Next.

    14. Provide the required Rules/ FAQ of the hackathon.

    15. Click Create.

      Hackathon is created.

    Next steps:

    You, as an administrator, API provider, or API partner, can

  • View all details of a hackathon such as the Overview, APIs included in the hackathon, Prizes associated with the hackathon, Participants who have registered for the hackathon, and projects submitted by the participants.
  • Add more hackathons by clicking Add hackathon from the Hackathons section under the Mange programs page.
  • Invite participants to take part in a hackathon. For more details, see Inviting participants for an API program.
  • Include users as owners to co-organize a hackathon. For more details, see Assigning owners for an API program.
  • Click the edit icon next to a hackathon to edit the hackathon details. You can only edit the details of upcoming hackathons and not the ongoing and completed hackathons.
  • Click the delete icon next to a hackathon to delete the hackathon.

    • Other users can

  • View the ongoing and upcoming hackathons from the Hackathons section of the API programs page and register for them.
  • Submit their hackathon projects. For more information, see Adding a hackathon project.
  • Add team members to collaborate on their hackathon projects. For more information, see Adding team members for a hackathon.

    • Inviting participants for an API program

    As an administrator, API provider, or API partner, you can invite participants to work on an API program (Hackathon or Beta program).You can create a hackathon with your specifications from the Hackathons tab under the Manage programs page.

    To invite a participant

    1. Perform one of the following:

    2. Click the user menu icon from the title bar and click Manage programs. Click the invite participants icon next to the required API program from the required tab, Hackathons or Beta programs.

    3. Click API programs, and select the required API program (Hackathon or Beta program). Click Invite participants from the Participants section of the program details page.

    4. Provide the e-mail addresses of the participants you want to invite.

    5. Click Invite.

      A mail is sent to the participants inviting them to use Developer Portal. The mail includes a link that the users can click to sign up to Developer Portal.

    Next steps:

  • Users who received the invite mail can click the link and follow the instructions to sign up to Developer Portal. The users thus sign up are automatically registered for the API program to which they were invited.

  • Users who sign up using the mail invite are assigned with the Consumer role, by default.

  • Newly signed up users can participate in the API programs that they were invited; and use other features of the application.

  • Users invited by administrators using this feature do not undergo the onboarding approval process, if any. In addition, if you have enabled Email verification as a part of your onboarding process, it is ignored for users who sign up using the mail invite. For information about onboarding strategy and email verification, see Onboarding Strategy.

    • Assigning owners for an API program

    You can add other API providers or partners as co-owners for your API programs (Hackathon or Beta program).

    To assign owners

    1. Perform one of the following:>Click the user menu icon from the title bar and click Manage programs.

    2. Select the required tab, Hackathons or Beta programs.

    3. Click the assign owners icon next to the required hackathon or beta program.

    4. Select the required users or teams.

    5. Click Assign.

      The newly assigned owners can view and manage their API programs.

    Registering for a hackathon

    You, as a consumer, can view the hackathons available to you from the Hackathons section under the API programs page. You can view their details and register for them.

    You can also create posts and share your suggestions and feedback about the API programs and collaborate with other consumers of similar interests.

    To view and register for a hackathon

    1. Click API programs from the title bar. The Hackathons page appears. This page lists the ongoing and upcoming hackathons

    2. Click the view icon in a tile to view the details of the hackathon.

    3. Click Register to register for the hackathon. You are registered for the hackathon and a mail is sent to the registered e-mail address..

    4. Click the assign owners icon next to the required hackathon or beta program.

    Next steps:

    You, as an registered participant, can

  • View hackathon details.
  • Add team members to participate with you in the hackathon. For more information, see Adding team members for a hackathon.
  • Create your hackathon projects. For more information, see Adding a hackathon project.

    • Adding team members for a hackathon

    After you, as a consumer, register for a hackathon, you can add team members to work with you.

    To add team members for a hackathon

    1. Click API programs from the title bar. The Hackathons page appears. This page lists the ongoing and upcoming hackathons

    2. Click the view icon in a tile to view the details of the hackathon.

    3. Click My teams.

    4. Click Add member.

    5. Select the required user from Users field.

    6. Click Add member.

      The selected user is added to your team.

    Next steps:

  • Repeat *Step 6 to add required number of team members.

    • The newly added members can

  • View the hackathon from the API programs page.
  • Can add more team members.
  • Submit hackathon projects to hackathon owners. For more information, see Adding a hackathon project.

    • Adding a hackathon project

    After you, as a consumer, register for a hackathon, and start working for it, you can add your project details and submit it to the hackathon owner to view.

    To add a hackathon project

    1. Click API programs from the title bar. The Hackathons page appears. This page lists the ongoing and upcoming hackathons

    2. Click the view icon in a tile to view the details of the hackathon.

    3. Click My projects.

    4. Click Add project.

    5. Provide your project details in General, Details, and Links tabs and click Create. Your project details are saved.

    Next steps:

  • You can add any number of projects.

  • Click the edit icon next to a project in the My projects page to edit the project details.

  • Click the submit icon to submit your project to the hackathon owner.

  • Click the delete icon next to a project to delete the project.

    • Beta programs

    Organizations conduct beta programs to test their APIs with a smaller audience before they launch those APIs to a larger audience.

    The beta programs feature in Developer Portal allows you to select the required APIs for beta testing and seek feedback from the participants. As an API provider, you can amend the APIs based on the feedback received from your beta testers and reward them accordingly. Thus, this helps you to improvise your APIs for better performance and reach.

    The following image outlines the beta program workflow:

    Creating a Beta program

    You can create a beta program with your specifications from the Beta programs tab under the API programs page.

    To create a beta program

    1. Click the user menu icon from the title bar and click Manage programs.

    2. Click Beta programs.

    3. Click Create Beta program.

    4. Provide a name for the program.

    5. Select the Start date, Time and the End date, Time from the corresponding fields.

    6. Click Next.

    7. Provide the Summary and Description of the beta program in the corresponding fields.

    8. Select the required Icon and Banner for the beta program by clicking Browse file buttons next to those corresponding fields.

    9. Click Next.

    10. Select the required Community from the list. Only the users from the selected community can view the beta program. If you do not select a community, the Public community is selected by default.

    11. Select the required APIs for the beta program. The APIs displayed are based on the community you have selected. You must select at least one API.

    12. Click Next.

    13. Provide the required Prize label and Prize description and click Add. You can repeat this to required number of prizes.

    14. Click Next.

    15. Provide the required Rules/ FAQ of the beta program.

    16. Click Create. Beta program is created.

    Next steps:

    You, as an administrator, API provider, API partner, can View all details of a beta program such as the overview, APIs included in the program, prizes associated with the program, participants who have registered for the program, and tickets created by the participants.

  • Add more programs by clicking Add beta program from the Beta programs section under the Manage programs page.
  • Invite participants to take part in an API program. For more details, see [Inviting participants for an API program](/developerportal/11.0.0/api_programs/chapter1i/.
  • Include users as owners to co-organize a program. For more details, see Assigning owners for an API program.
  • Click the edit icon next to a beta program to edit its details. You can only edit the details of upcoming programs and not the ongoing and completed ones.
  • Click the delete icon next to a program to delete the program.

    • Other eligible users can view the ongoing and upcoming programs from the Beta programs section of the API programs page and register for them. For more information, see Registering for a hackathon.

    Registering for a beta program

    You, as a consumer, can view the beta programs available to you from the Beta programs section under the API programs page. You can view their details and register for them. You can also create posts and share your suggestions and feedback about the API programs and collaborate with other consumers of similar interests.

    To view and register for a beta program

    1. Click API programs from the title bar.

    2. Click Beta programs. The Beta programs page appears. This page lists the ongoing and upcoming beta programs.

    3. Click the view icon in a tile to view the details of the beta program.

    4. Click Register to register for the beta program. You are registered for the beta program and a mail is sent to your registered e-mail address.

    Next steps:

  • You, as a registered participant, can
  • View beta program details.
  • Create test tickets. For more information, see Adding ticket for a beta program

    • Adding ticket for a beta program

    After you register for a beta program, and start testing the participant APIs, you can add your tickets and submit them for the program owners to view.

    To add a ticket

    1. Click API programs from the title bar.

    2. Click Beta programs.

    3. Click the view icon next to the required beta program.

    4. Click Tickets.

    5. Click Add ticket.

    6. Provide a Title for your ticket.

    7. Select the type of ticket. The available options are:

    8. Bug
    9. Feature
    10. Enhancement

    11. Select the APIs for which you want to create the ticket.

    12. Provide the Summary and Description about the ticket.

    13. Provide any required attachments by clicking Browse.

    14. Click Create. Your ticket details are saved.

    Next steps:

  • You can add any number of tickets.
  • Once you create a ticket, the status of the ticket is set to *Open.
  • Click the change status icon next to a ticket to change the status of the ticket. Only the API partner who created the program, an administrator, or an API provider can change the ticket status. The available statuses are *Fixed, *Accepted, and *Closed.
  • Click the edit icon next to a ticket in the Tickets page to edit the ticket details.
  • Based on the nature of your ticket, an administrator, a provider, or the API partner who created the program can modify the ticket type. For example, if you have selected Bug as your ticket type but the ticket suggests an enhancement, then the program owner can modify the ticket type as *Enhancement.
  • Click the change type icon next to a ticket to change the type of the ticket.