What is an API?
An API is a set of agreed rules that lets one piece of software ask another for data or get it to do something.
API stands for Application Programming Interface. The name is intimidating, but the idea is simple. An API is a contract between two pieces of software. One side says "if you send me a request that looks like this, I will respond with data that looks like that". Everything you use on the web is held together by APIs talking to each other in the background.
When your weather app shows you the forecast, it is not running its own weather service. It is calling a weather company's API, which sends back a small bundle of structured data. The app then turns that data into something pretty on your screen.
When you build with AI coding tools, you spend a lot of time wiring APIs together. The skill is less about memorising any one API and more about reading the docs, sending a test request, and shaping the response into what you need.
Example
GET https://api.example.com/weather?city=Berlin
-> { "temperature": 14, "condition": "cloudy" }Want to use API in real work?
WeCode workshops are built around AI coding tools. Pick a tier, or browse more glossary entries to get the lay of the land.