What is ChainAPI?

ChainAPI enables you to integrate and deploy the open source Airnode for free with ChainAPI’s intuitive step-by-step integration and deployment tools.

The ChainAPI platform streamlines API provider data to blockchain integrations. Using ChainAPI, API providers can configure and deploy an Airnode which links their API data to several blockchains. Airnode is designed with mechanisms that eliminate both on-chain and off-chain concerns of API providers. The set-and-forget framework of Airnode is all about its ease of implementation.

ChainAPI can connect almost any API, whether open or authenticated, to Airnode. Airnode then queries your API operations to be consumed by EVM on-chain smart contracts, either by using the request/response protocol or the more popular on-chain dAPI sets.

Use the ChainAPI web based app to get started. The app will step you through the process. If needed, there are helpful hints in the User Guides of the ChainAPI documents. There are two primary functions of the app:

• Integrate: Creates and maintain a config.json file that defines an Airnode.
• Deploy: Deploys the Airnode to a cloud provider, AWS or GCP.

The ChainAPI web based app creates an Airnode configuration file that is used to deploy an Airnode to either AWS or GCP. The deployment process uses config.json parameters to build the Airnode. Airnode bootstraps itself using attributes from config.json.