> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.plato.ae/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# API Overview

> How Plato APIs are organized, which base URL to use, and where to start.

Plato APIs let trusted tools connect to your Plato workspace.

Use them when you need to sync menu data, submit form responses, read or write CMS entries, connect a website chat experience, or pull restaurant order data into another system.

## API Families

Plato groups its documented REST endpoints into the API families below.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Base URLs" icon="globe" href="/api-reference/base-url">
    Choose the correct API host for production, Console setup, private environments, and local development.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key-round" href="/api-reference/authentication">
    Send Plato API keys safely with headers and keep keys out of public code.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Permissions" icon="settings" href="/api-reference/permissions">
    Map API keys to roles so each integration can only access what it needs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Errors And Limits" icon="life-buoy" href="/api-reference/errors-and-limits">
    Handle common errors, pagination limits, rate limits, and safe retries.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Data And Workflow APIs

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="CMS API" icon="database" href="/api-reference/cms/overview">
    Read and write structured CMS entries from websites, apps, and trusted backends.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect360 API" icon="message-circle" href="/api-reference/connect360/overview">
    Build website chat, conversation, attachment, and AI-assisted messaging flows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Restaurant APIs" icon="utensils" href="/api-reference/restaurant/menu-products">
    Read menu products, categories, and recent order feed data.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Forms API" icon="clipboard-list" href="/api-reference/forms/get-form">
    Fetch public form schemas and submit trusted form responses.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## REST Public APIs

REST public APIs are better when a website, no-code tool, or non-TypeScript backend needs plain HTTP endpoints.

Use them for:

* CMS entries.
* Menu products and categories.
* Public forms.
* Aggregator order ingestion.
* Connect360 attachments and AI replies.
* Legacy dynamic models.

REST requests go through:

```text theme={null}
https://api.plato.ae
```

Start with [Authentication](/api-reference/authentication), then open the API family you need.

## What Is Not A Public API

Some routes exist so Plato can run the Console, process webhooks, render PDFs, or authenticate users. Those routes are not stable public integration contracts.

Do not build external integrations against routes such as auth callbacks, Stripe or provider webhooks, cron jobs, Open Graph images, or internal Console browser requests.

See [Internal Routes](/api-reference/internal-routes) for the short list of routes to avoid.

## Before You Build

1. Create a dedicated role for the integration.
2. Give that role only the permissions it needs.
3. Create an API key in Console.
4. Store the key in a server-side secret store.
5. Test with a small request before sending production traffic.

Create keys from [Console API Keys](/console/api-keys).