--- title: What Is an API? Definition, Examples & How It Works description: A beginner-friendly explanation of what APIs are and how they work, using the analogy of a restaurant waiter as a middleman between a customer and kitchen.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-an-api-definition-examples-how-it-works-ttomveixc twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: What Is an API? Definition, Examples & How It Works | daily.dev og:description: A beginner-friendly explanation of what APIs are and how they work, using the analogy of a restaurant waiter as a middleman between a customer and kitchen.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-an-api-definition-examples-how-it-works-ttomveixc og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/TTomVEIxc.png og:image:alt: What Is an API? Definition, Examples & How It Works og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # What Is an API? Definition, Examples & How It Works **[Oxylabs](https://daily.dev/sources/oxylabs)** · 7 min read · 3 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A beginner-friendly explanation of what APIs are and how they work, using the analogy of a restaurant waiter as a middleman between a customer and kitchen. Covers the full lifecycle of an API call (request, endpoint, authentication, server response), explains key concepts like endpoints, API keys, and tokens, and highlights real-world examples such as Google Sign-In, Apple Pay, and weather apps. Includes an important security warning about never exposing API keys publicly. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between an API key and an API token? An API key is a long-lived identifier that tells a service who is making a request and tracks usage, similar to a membership card you flash every time you order. A token is temporary proof of identity issued after logging in, valid for a limited time such as an hour, comparable to a resort wristband that expires at checkout. _Anyone comparing auth strategies for an API integration can dig deeper into these patterns on daily.dev._ ### Why shouldn't I share or expose my API key publicly, like on GitHub? Exposing an API key lets anyone impersonate your app and rack up usage under your account. Automated bots continuously scan public code repositories for leaked keys, and there are documented cases of developers waking up to unexpected charges in the tens of thousands of dollars after a key leaked and was misused. Treat an API key like a credit card number. _Developers guarding against leaked credentials can find more security context on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [A Simple Guide to API \+ Integrations](https://daily.dev/posts/a-simple-guide-to-api-integrations-ropymglil) · Medium · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#webdev](https://daily.dev/tags/webdev), [#rest-api](https://daily.dev/tags/rest-api) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-an-api-definition-examples-how-it-works-ttomveixc) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"What Is an API? 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