> This is the Markdown of a Backed Help Centre page, https://admin.backed.giving/help/integrations/developer-documentation.md. Every page is listed at https://admin.backed.giving/help/llms.txt.

> This page uses Backed's default terms, such as Funding Round and Application Template. An organisation may rename them, so read each as your organisation's own term if you've renamed it.

The developer site is where the people who build on the Backed API read how it works. It is at
`https://backed.giving/developers`, and it is public: it holds no organisation's data, so anyone
can read it without signing in. Point your developer, or the company that builds your
integration, at it.

## Before you start

You need no account, sign-in or permission to read the developer site or to fetch the OpenAPI
document. A credential is needed only to call the API itself: an Administrator creates one under
`Settings > Profile and terms`, on the `API Access` tab, as [API access](api-access.md) explains.
The `API Access` tab links to the developer site under `Developer documentation`.

## What the developer site holds

- **The reference.** Every operation of the API, read and write, with the request it takes and an
  example of the request and the response.
- **Guides.** How a system signs in with a credential and gets a token, how to page through a long
  list, what each error means, how idempotency keys make a retry safe, how to check a webhook
  delivery's signature, and how to connect Power BI and Tableau.
- **`Event catalogue`.** Every webhook event type, with its version, what it means and a sample
  payload. It is the same list as the `Event catalogue` on the `Webhooks` tab: see
  [Webhooks](webhooks.md).
- **`Changelog`.** Each change to the API, with its date.

The guides describe the same API as these articles: [API access](api-access.md) for credentials and
scopes, [Webhooks](webhooks.md) for setting up endpoints, and the
[OData feed](odata-feed.md) for BI tools and data warehouses.

## The OpenAPI document

The OpenAPI document is a machine-readable description of the whole API, in the OpenAPI 3.1
format most developer tools read. It covers every read and write route under `/api/v2/`, the token
endpoint at `/oauth/token`, the webhook delivery payload and event catalogue, and a pointer to the
OData reporting feed.

Fetch it from either place:

- **Your organisation's own address**, the one your team signs in at, plus `/api/v2/openapi.json`,
  such as `https://your-subdomain.backed.giving/api/v2/openapi.json`. The document names that
  address as its server, so a tool that reads it sends its requests to your organisation.
- **The developer site**, at `https://backed.giving/developers/openapi.json`. It is the same
  document.

Fetching it needs no credential. The document describes the API and holds none of your records.

### Generate a client

A developer can give the document to a code generator, such as OpenAPI Generator, or import it into
an API tool, such as Postman or Insomnia, to get a ready-made client with every route and field
typed. The client still needs a token from a credential to call the API. When the API changes, the
document changes with it, so fetch it again and regenerate.

## Pages for AI assistants

The developer site also publishes itself in forms an AI assistant, such as Claude, reads
well, so a developer can ask one to help write an integration from the real documentation:

- **`llms.txt`**, at `https://backed.giving/developers/llms.txt`: a short list of every page on the
  site, with a line on what each holds.
- **`llms-full.txt`**, at `https://backed.giving/developers/llms-full.txt`: every page's text in one
  file, to give an assistant the whole documentation at once.
- **A Markdown copy of every page**, at the page's own address plus `.md`. Give an assistant the
  one page it needs rather than the whole site.

## Versions and the changelog

The current version of the API is v2. A change that could break a system already connected, such
as removing or renaming a field or a route, is only ever published under a new version path, and
the version you use keeps working as it is. The `Changelog` lists every change with its date, so
your developer can see what is new without rereading the reference. How long a superseded version
stays, and how you are told, is in
[Versions and deprecation](api-access.md#versions-and-deprecation).

## See also

- [API access](api-access.md)
- [Webhooks](webhooks.md)
- [OData feed for BI tools and data warehouses](odata-feed.md)
- [Reporting feed for analytics tools](power-bi.md)
- [Frequently asked questions about integrations](faq-integrations.md)