# The REST API[¶](https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/latest/publicapi/rest.html#the-rest-api "Permalink to this headline")

At its core, the DSS public API is a REST HTTP API. The reference HTTP documentation of the DSS REST API can be found here: https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/api/11/rest.

The API base URL is: http://dss\_host:dss\_port/public/api/

## Request and response formats[¶](https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/latest/publicapi/rest.html#request-and-response-formats "Permalink to this headline")

For POST and PUT requests, the request body must be JSON, with the Content-Type header set to application/json.

For almost all requests, the response will be JSON.

Whether a request succeeded is indicated by the HTTP status code. A 2xx status code indicates success, whereas a 4xx or 5xx status code indicates failure. When a request fails, the response body is still JSON and contains additional information about the error.

## Authentication[¶](https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/latest/publicapi/rest.html#authentication "Permalink to this headline")

Authentication on the REST API is done via the use of API keys. API keys can be managed through the DSS administration UI.

The API key must be sent using HTTP Basic Authorization:

* Use the API key as username

* The password can remain blank

## Authorization[¶](https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/latest/publicapi/rest.html#authorization "Permalink to this headline")

Each API key has access rights and scopes. DSS has a simple UI to edit API key permissions, as JSON objects.

There are two kinds of API keys for the DSS REST API.

For more information about API keys, see Public API Keys

## Methods reference[¶](https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/latest/publicapi/rest.html#methods-reference "Permalink to this headline")

The reference documentation of the API is available at https://doc.dataiku.com/dss/api/11/rest

The API base URL is: http://dss\_host:dss\_port/public/api/
