Building APIs doesn’t have to be complex, time-consuming, or expensive. Many businesses struggle with custom APIs that require extensive development effort, while third-party solutions often lack the flexibility to meet unique integration needs.

Here, we’ll give an overview of Celigo’s API Builder, a low-code, scalable solution that simplifies API development with an intuitive visual interface, reducing the need for complex scripting. It allows users to define requests, manage responses, and reuse existing integrations, streamlining API creation for increased speed and efficiency.

API Builder: Video demo

With API Builder, users can customize requests and responses, incorporate lookups and imports, define business logic, configure transformations, manage error handling, and test APIs—all within a user-friendly interface that makes powerful API creation accessible.

API Builder features

• Low-code API development – API Builder provides a visual, low-code environment for building APIs, making it accessible to both business users and developers.
• No complex scripting required – Users can define API requests, handle responses, and reuse integrations with minimal coding. However, advanced users can still add scripts if needed.
• Request and response customization – The API Builder allows users to define business logic, transformations, and error handling within API workflows.
• Reusability and integration – Existing lookups, imports, and integrations from the Celigo platform can be easily reused in APIs.
• Testing and debugging – Built-in API testing ensures that endpoints function as expected before deployment​.
• Security and governance — Through Celigo’s API Manager, APIs can be managed with authentication policies, access controls, and rate limits.

Example use case

Imagine launching a partner program where third-party sellers list your products on their own Shopify stores. To keep their pricing and inventory up to date, you need an API that pulls real-time data from NetSuite.

Instead of developing a custom API from scratch or dealing with the limitations of off-the-shelf solutions, you can build one in minutes with Celigo API Builder.

How to create an API with Celigo API Builder

1. Create the API

We start by selecting “Create,” choosing “API,” and launching the API Builder. This low-code interface makes it easy to design, configure, and deploy APIs—no coding required.

2. Configure the endpoint

We define the API endpoint, setting up a URL and versioning to ensure future scalability. This establishes where our partners will access pricing and inventory data.

3. Set up error handling

Celigo allows us to configure success and error responses, such as 404 Not Found or 500 Internal Server Error. This ensures partners receive clear feedback when using the API.

4. Generate the OpenAPI specification

After configuring the API request and responses, we generate an OpenAPI spec, which documents the request and response format. Partners can use this spec to easily integrate with the API.

5. Add branching and lookups

Using Celigo’s built-in logic, we add branching conditions and lookups to tailor responses:

• Filter pricing based on partner agreements
• Adjust inventory visibility by geographic location

In this example, we are building a composite API so we will fetch inventory data from NetSuite along with pricing data from Shopify.

6. Test the API with a mock request

Before deployment, we test the API by sending a mock request to verify the API processes the record successfully and everything works as expected.

7. Deploy and share the API

Once ready, we can either:

• Deploy the API in Celigo API Management for full lifecycle governance
• Copy the endpoint URL and share it directly with partners

8. Monitor API activity

Celigo provides built-in monitoring to track:

• API request and response logs
• Usage trends
• Potential errors for troubleshooting

API Builder: The easiest way to build APIs

And just like that, we’ve built and deployed a secure, scalable API to share NetSuite pricing and inventory data with Shopify partners—without writing any code.

Celigo API Builder makes integration fast, simple, and flexible, helping businesses reduce development costs and accelerate time-to-market.

Learn more about Celigo’s API Builder →