# Backed developer documentation

> The Backed API: a REST API through which an organisation’s own systems read and change its records in Backed, the grants platform, with signed webhooks and an OData reporting feed for Power BI and Tableau. Every page below is Markdown; each is also published as HTML at the same address without `.md`.

The OpenAPI 3.1 document: https://backed.giving/developers/openapi.json. Each organisation's host serves the same document at /api/v2/openapi.json.

## Guides

- [Backed developer documentation](https://backed.giving/developers.md): What the Backed API is, a quick start from credential to first request, and a link to every guide, reference page, the event catalogue, the changelog and the OpenAPI document.
- [Authentication](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/authentication.md): Get a 5-day Bearer token from a credential with the OAuth 2.0 client-credentials grant, send it on every request, and choose the scopes a credential holds.
- [Pagination](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/pagination.md): Read a long list 50 records at a time with the limit, gt and lt parameters, in ascending id order.
- [Errors](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/errors.md): What every error code means, the status it comes with, and which ones are safe to retry.
- [Idempotency](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/idempotency.md): Make every write safe to retry with an Idempotency-Key, and update a record at the version you read with If-Match.
- [Webhook signature verification](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/webhook-signatures.md): Check the Backed-Signature header on every webhook delivery with HMAC-SHA256, in Node.js or Python, and answer in time.
- [Connect Power BI](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/power-bi.md): Load the OData reporting feed into Power BI Desktop, with Basic authentication or a token query, and refresh it on a schedule.
- [Connect Tableau](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/tableau.md): Connect Tableau Desktop to the OData reporting feed with the credential as a user name and password, and load it into other tools and warehouses.
- [Versions and deprecation](https://backed.giving/developers/guides/versioning.md): Which version is current, why a breaking change only ever comes under a new version path, and how long a superseded version stays.

## Reference

- [API reference](https://backed.giving/developers/reference.md): Every operation of the Backed API, read and write, by resource, with a link to each one’s full reference.
- [Authentication](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/authentication.md): Exchange a credential for an access token. 1 operation: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Funding Rounds](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/funding-rounds.md): The Organisation’s funding rounds. 2 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Funding Applications](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/funding-applications.md): Applications, their entries, moves, notes and tags. 5 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Registration Entities](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/registration-entities.md): Applicant organisations and individuals. 5 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Assessment Rounds](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/assessment-rounds.md): Assessor assignments. 1 operation: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Contracts](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/contracts.md): Contracts and their recorded statuses. 3 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Milestones](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/milestones.md): Milestones with their deliverables. 4 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Payments](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/payments.md): Payment batches. 1 operation: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [File Inputs](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/file-inputs.md): Downloads of files held by application and deliverable inputs. 1 operation: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Files](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/files.md): The three-step file upload. 3 operations: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.
- [Reference](https://backed.giving/developers/reference/reference.md): This document. 1 operation: parameters, request body and answers, with examples.

## Events and changelog

- [Event catalogue](https://backed.giving/developers/events.md): Every webhook event type, with its record type, version and meaning, and the delivery payload with an example.
- [Changelog](https://backed.giving/developers/changelog.md): Every change to the Backed API, newest first, with its date and version; a breaking change is published only under a new version path.

## Optional

- [Guides](https://backed.giving/developers/guides.md): Every developer guide, with a line on what each covers.