Braze API overview
Braze provides a high-performance REST API to allow you to track users, send messages, export data, and more. This reference article covers what a REST API is, the terminology, a brief overview of API keys, and API limits.
A REST API is a way to programmatically transfer information over the web using a predefined schema. Braze has created many different endpoints which perform various actions and/or return various data.
Braze manages a number of different instances for our dashboard and REST Endpoints. When your account is provisioned you will log in to one of the following URLs. Use the correct REST endpoint based on which instance you are provisioned to. If you are unsure, open a support ticket or use the following table to match the URL of the dashboard you use to the correct REST Endpoint.
Customers using Braze’s EU database should use the
https://rest.fra-01.braze.eu/endpoint. This endpoint will be used when configuring the Braze iOS, Android, and Web SDKs.
braze-instances
Braze Instances
| Instance | Dashboard URL | REST Endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| US-01 | https://dashboard.braze.com or <br>https://dashboard-01.braze.com | https://rest.iad-01.braze.com |
| US-02 | https://dashboard-02.braze.com | https://rest.iad-02.braze.com |
| US-03 | https://dashboard-03.braze.com | https://rest.iad-03.braze.com |
| US-04 | https://dashboard-04.braze.com | https://rest.iad-04.braze.com |
| US-05 | https://dashboard-05.braze.com | https://rest.iad-05.braze.com |
| US-06 | https://dashboard-06.braze.com | https://rest.iad-06.braze.com |
| US-08 | https://dashboard-08.braze.com | https://rest.iad-08.braze.com |
| EU-01 | https://dashboard-01.braze.eu | https://rest.fra-01.braze.eu |
| EU-02 | https://dashboard-02.braze.eu | https://rest.fra-02.braze.eu |
Using Braze's Postman collection
If you have a Postman account (you can download macOS, Windows, and Linux versions from the Postman website ), you can open our Postman documentation in your own Postman app by clicking the orange Run in Postman button. You can then create an environment, or use our Braze REST API environment as a template, and edit the available POST and GET requests to suit your own needs.
setting-up-your-postman-environment
Setting up your Postman environment
The Braze Postman Collection uses a templating variable, {{instance_url}}, to substitute the REST API URL of your Braze instance into the pre-built requests, and the {{api_key}} variable for your API Key. Rather than having to manually edit all requests in the Collection, you can set up this variable in your Postman environment. You can either select our templated environment (Braze REST API Environment Template) from the dropdown and replace the variable values with your own, or you can set up your own environment.
To set up your own environment, perform the following steps:
- From the Workspaces tab, select Environments.
- Click the + plus button to create a new environment.
- Give this environment a name (e.g., “Braze API Requests”) and add keys for
instance_urlandapi_keywith values corresponding to your Braze instance and Braze REST API Key. - Click Save.
using-the-pre-built-requests-from-the-collection
Using the pre-built requests from the collection
Once you have configured your environment. You can use any of the pre-built requests in the collection as a template for building new API requests. To start using one of the pre-built requests, click on it within the Collections menu of Postman. This will open the request as a new tab in the main window of the Postman app.
In general, there are two types of requests that Braze’s API endpoints accept - GET and POST. Depending on which HTTP method the endpoint uses, you’ll need to edit the pre-built request differently.
edit-a-post-request
Edit a POST request
When editing a POST request, open the request and navigate to the Body section in the request editor. For readability, select the raw radio button to format the JSON request body.
edit-a-get-request
Edit a GET request
When editing a GET request, edit the parameters passed in the request URL. To do so, select the Params tab and edit the key-value pairs in the fields that appear.
send-your-request
Send your request
Once your API request is ready, click Send. The request sends and the response data populates in a section underneath the request editor. From here, you can view the raw data returned from Braze’s API, see the HTTP response code, see how long the request took to process, and view header information.
The following documentation can be found on the Braze documentation site: