An introduction to Lattice's public API
This article will help Lattice customers learn how they can begin leveraging Lattice's public API. The API will allow users to retrieve data from Lattice and use that information in another application. This means that customers will be able to do more with their data than was previously possible. The API will allow you to request data regarding:
- Users
- Competencies
- Feedback
- Goals
- Questions
- Tasks
- Reviews
- Updates
If you are a developer and are interested in learning more about the API, you can check out the developer documentation here. This will give you or your team an introduction to the API's technical specifications, including authentication, pagination, expanding objects, and rate limits. It will also provide real-time documentation about what endpoints and fields will be available from the above sections. If you are a Lattice admin and are curious about how to begin setting up the API, please follow the documentation below to start enabling this feature.
Not a customer but want to learn more about the API? Schedule a demo!
Initial questions to consider when approaching the API
- What do you intend to use the API for?
- Do you have a timeline for the project?
- Have you identified someone (or a team) that would be responsible for the build?
Creating your API keys
To access the area to create and manage your API keys navigate to Admin > Settings > API Keys. Make sure the person creating the keys is a super admin in your Lattice account. If someone with limited privileges creates the key, it will limit what information will be retrieved. To create one, simply click on the "Generate API Key" button on the screen's top right-hand side.
Once you create your API key, it will be shown to you as a long stream of alphanumeric characters. Be sure to keep it safe, and remember that this is the only time that this API key will be shown to you. After creating the key, you will be shown a log of the key with only the last few characters of the string shown, the user that created the key (identified by their email) and when the key was created.
Sharing your API key
Once you have created an API key, you will want to share it with whoever will be responsible for your build. You will need to do so safely and securely and make sure that the key is not hosted in any place that individuals other than Lattice admins and whoever is responsible for the build will have access.
Revoking your API key
If your key's security has been compromised, you can revoke access to the key in the "API Keys" section of the admin dashboard. If you have created multiple, you will want to identify which key you need to revoke using the characteristics provided (the ending of the character string, the email and/or the date) and click the "Revoke" button.
Once revoked, the button will change to plain text, and the key will no longer be able to retrieve information from Lattice.
Using your API key
Once you have a key generated, your developer(s) will be able to retrieve data from Lattice and test the results using the "Try It" button in the API developer page.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to our support team at api-support@lattice.com!