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Without a working knowledge of APIs and webhooks, the workflow automations you create in tools like n8n or GoHighLevel won’t be able to communicate (create, read, update, delete operations) with external applications like Google Analytics, Google Sheets, Whats App etc.

Tools like n8n and GoHighLevel utilize HTTP request nodes and webhook triggers to exchange information and automate processes across dozens (or hundreds) of apps and services.

What is an API (Application Programming Interface)?

It is a software interface provided by an application that defines how other software applications can communicate with it.

This interface is made up of routines (functions or endpoints), protocols (communication rules and standards) and tools (software libraries, SDKs).

Think of API as an API URL.

API URL is a web address used to send requests (HTTP Requests) and receive responses (HTTP Responses).

Example of API:

https://api.example.com/v1/users/123?status=active&limit=10

Other Examples:

Google Sheets API URL:

https://sheets.googleapis.com/v4/spreadsheets/1A2B3C4D5E6F7G8H9I0J/values/Sheet1!A1:C5

GitHub API URL:

https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/1347

Slack API URL

https://slack.com/api/conversations.history?channel=C1234567890

Airtable API URL

https://api.airtable.com/v0/app123456/Projects/recA1B2C3D4E5F6
An API URL usually contain the letters' api' somewhere in the URL. That's one of the most common ways you can differentiate them from regular website URLs.

What is an API URL made up of?

An API URL is made up of a Base URL and an API URL Path.

For example:

https://api.example.com/v1/users/123?status=active&limit=10

Here,

https://api.example.com/ is the base URL

/v1/users/123?status=active&limit=10 is the API URL path.

The base URL identifies the starting point for all requests to the API.

The API URL path identifies a particular resource you want to communicate with.

The API URL path can contain one or more query parameters.

A query parameter is the part of the URL that comes after the '?' (question mark) character.

For example:

https://api.example.com/v1/users/123?status=active&limit=10

Here,

status=active&limit=10 is the query parameter.

  • A query parameter is made up of ‘key-value’ pairs.
  • Multiple query parameters are separated by & (ampersand).
  • Query parameters are used to customise the data you are requesting from the API.

What is an API Endpoint (also known as an endpoint)?

Whenever some says ‘API Endpoint’, remember the line of code below: