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Connect to OpenAPI

You can connect to any OpenAPI API using Retool's Open API integration and make it available as a resource. Once complete, you can write queries to interact with your API.

Requirements​

All users for Retool organizations on Free or Team plans have global Edit permissions and can add, edit, and remove resources. If your organization manages user permissions for resources, you must be a member of a group with Edit all permissions.

To create your OpenAPI resource, you need:

  • The URL to an OpenAPI version 3.0 specification in JSON or YAML format.
  • Authentication credentials for your API.

1. Create an OpenAPI resource​

Retool can connect to almost any API or database, and has built-in integrations for popular data sources. Sign in to your Retool organization and create a new OpenAPI resource from the Resources tab.

2. Configure the resource​

Provide the necessary details to configure the resource so Retool can connect to your API. Not all settings are required, but refer to your API's documentation to learn what is needed.

General​

These settings configure the name and location of the resource within Retool.

Name​

The name to use for the resource (e.g., GitLab OpenAPI).

Folder​

The folder in which to save the resource.

Description​

A brief description of the resource (e.g., CI data).

Credentials​

These settings configure how Retool connects to your OpenAPI API.

Specification URL​

The URL of the JSON or YAML file containing the OpenAPI specification. This defines the available API endpoints.

Forward custom headers when fetching OpenAPI spec​

Whether to forward custom headers, such as authentication headers, when fetching the OpenAPI spec.

URL parameters​

Key-value pairs to include as URL parameters with OpenAPI requests.

Headers​

Key-value pairs to include as headers with OpenAPI requests.

Body​

Key-value pairs to include in the body of OpenAPI requests.

Cookies​

Cookies to include with OpenAPI requests.

Authentication​

The method of authentication to use with OpenAPI requests.

Forward all cookies​

Whether to forward all cookies. This is useful if you have dynamic cookie names.

3. Save the resource​

Click Create resource to complete the setup. You can then click either Create an app to immediately start building a Retool app or Back to resources to return to the list of resources.

Wrap up​

Your OpenAPI resource is now ready to use. You write queries to make API requests by specifying the request method and endpoint, additional parameters to include, and the request body.

To verify you can successfully interact with your resource, write a test query to retrieve some data.