Where to Launch an API: Directories, Postman and the Places Developers Look for Endpoints
Launch an API by publishing a machine-readable definition and a place to try it. APIs.guru lists APIs that provide an OpenAPI (or similar) definition at a stable URL, Postman’s API Network lists public workspaces, and the public-apis GitHub list takes APIs with free access or a free tier. Show HN, DevHunt and the Console newsletter then bring developers to those pages. Skip any listing that asks you to pay before it shows traffic.
What does an API need before any directory will list it?
Directories for APIs are fed by artifacts, not by pitches. APIs.guru’s add page says the most important requirement is a machine-readable definition, such as OpenAPI, RAML or API Blueprint, at a stable URL, because it aggregates definitions and keeps them up to date from that address rather than hosting them. Postman’s network is built from workspaces that contain requests a visitor can send. The public-apis list is a table of links to documentation.
So the preparation is the same for all three: a published spec, documentation that includes a copyable request, and a way to get a key in under a minute. This page’s facts were read on each service’s own pages on 13 November 2026.
Which places list or promote a new API?
The first three are catalogues, the next three are audiences, and the last is ours.
01 APIs.guru
An open directory of REST API definitions, described on its homepage as a Wikipedia for web APIs.
- Requirement
- A machine-readable definition at a stable URL, in OpenAPI, RAML, API Blueprint or similar
- What it does
- Aggregates definitions and updates them from your URL; it does not host them
- Submission
- An Add API form on its site
Because the directory polls your URL, a broken or moving spec link quietly drops you out of date. Serve the definition from a versioned path that does not change when you redeploy.
Its form can read a .well-known/ai-plugin.json address to fill in the name and logo for you, if you publish one. We did not read how long entries take to appear.
02 Postman public workspace
A shared collection of requests on the Postman API Network that anyone can open, fork and run.
- Needs
- A public team profile before others can collaborate with your team in a public workspace
- Safety
- Postman’s Secret Scanner checks public workspaces for exposed secrets
- Benefit
- Raises discovery in Postman search results and gives new users runnable examples
A visitor who can press Send and see a real response understands your API faster than any reference page. Build one folder per job a developer wants done, in the order they would do it.
Run the secret scanner before you flip the workspace to public. Rotate any key that has ever sat in a collection, even if you removed it later.
03 public-apis (GitHub list)
A community-maintained list of free public APIs that developers can use for projects, organised by category.
- Rule
- The API must have full free access or at least a free tier, and must not depend on buying a device or service
- Not accepted
- Pull requests identified as marketing attempts
- Columns
- Auth (OAuth, apiKey or none), HTTPS and CORS, each with fixed accepted values
Its contribution file is direct: pull requests that read as marketing will not be accepted, and an API that only works with a purchased smart outlet is its example of what it rejects. If your API is paid with no free tier, skip it.
Write the entry as a neutral description of what the data is, in the category where a hobby builder would look. One accurate line is enough.
04 Show HN
Hacker News’s section for things you made that other people can try.
- Fits when
- People can call the API without a sales conversation
- Off topic
- Sign-up pages, newsletters and lists
An API suits Show HN when the first call works from a terminal with one curl command. Put it in the first comment together with the one thing the API does that is hard to get elsewhere.
Rate limits and costs get asked about early. State them plainly before someone has to ask.
05 DevHunt
A launchpad for developer tools whose FAQ names APIs and SDKs among the accepted kinds.
- Free route
- A free permanent page with a nofollow link
- Voting
- Developers sign in with GitHub or Google
A data or infrastructure API fits better than a consumer API, because the voters are developers building something.
See launching a developer tool for how DevHunt compares with Console and Show HN.
06 Post your build ideas (our board)
A free launch board with no account, no queue and no paid placement.
- Use
- A permanent page that links to your docs and shows the first request in its description
- Limit
- A small audience; no API listing features of its own
Describe the endpoint, the input and an example response in plain text, since the description is plain text. People on the board are builders, so say what they could build with it.
The board’s API project ideas guide and the developer tool ideas category show uses builders keep asking for.
How should pricing and docs be shown on a launch page?
- Show the free tier first. Two of the lists above require free access, and developers filter on it too.
- Print the limits, such as requests per minute and payload size, next to the first example.
- Offer a key without a form wall. The shorter the path from the page to a 200 response, the more people reach it.
- Publish a changelog. It is the proof that someone will keep the endpoint alive.
The API launch playbook puts these on a calendar, and Show HN post templates give the wording for the opener. If you want a spec-first approach to building one, how to build an app with Claude Code shows an agent-assisted route.
Frequently asked questions
Does APIs.guru host my API definition?
No. Its add page says it only aggregates API definitions and does not host them, so you give it a stable URL to a machine-readable file in OpenAPI, RAML, API Blueprint or a similar format. It uses that URL to keep your entry up to date, which is why the address should not change between deployments.
Can I list a paid API on public-apis?
Only if it has a free tier or full free access. The list’s contribution notes say the API must not depend on buying a device or service, and that pull requests identified as marketing attempts are not accepted. A paid-only API belongs in Postman and DevHunt instead, where a trial or free call is not a rule.
Is a Postman public workspace worth building?
It gives visitors runnable requests, and Postman says public workspaces can improve discovery in its search results and help onboarding. It asks that your team has a public profile first and offers a Secret Scanner for public workspaces. Whether it brings users is not something we can promise; measure with a tagged link.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.