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The API Explorer is an interactive reference for every Draftable API endpoint, hosted at api.draftable.com/api-explorer. It does two jobs. It documents each endpoint’s parameters and responses in full, and it lets you run real requests from your browser without writing any code. It is the fastest way to understand the API before you build against it, and a useful way to check behaviour when something is not working as you expect.

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What you can do with it

The Explorer lists all six API operations, grouped into Comparison and Export:
That is the complete API surface. Comparisons are immutable, meaning their properties cannot be changed once created, which is why there are only POST, GET and DELETE operations and no PATCH or PUT.

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Logged out versus logged in

This is the part worth understanding before you start. Logged out, the Explorer displays a notice reading “You are not logged in. You can explore the options the API provides but the operations below won’t work until you login.” Everything is still readable, so it is perfectly usable as a reference without an account. Once you sign in, your Test Account ID and Test Auth Token appear at the top of the page, and the Try it out buttons become live.
Because the page displays your test auth token in plain text when you are signed in, take care when screen sharing, presenting, or taking screenshots of the API Explorer. Treat it the way you would any credentials page.

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It always uses your test account

This is the single most important thing to know about the Explorer, and it is a deliberate safety measure.
Requests you run from the API Explorer are authenticated with your test credentials only. There is no way to run a production request from the Explorer. Your live comparisons and production traffic cannot be affected by anything you do here.
That makes the Explorer safe to experiment in. It does not make it consequence-free: the requests are real. A comparison you create appears in your test stream, and a comparison you delete is genuinely deleted. See Test and production accounts for how the two streams relate.

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Running a request

1

Sign in

Select LOG IN at the top right. Your test credentials then appear at the top of the Explorer page.
2

Expand an operation

Select any operation row to expand it. You will see its description, every parameter with its type and whether it is required, and the possible responses.
3

Select Try it out

This unlocks the parameter fields so you can enter values.
4

Fill in the parameters

Required parameters are marked. For POST /comparisons you must supply left.file_type and right.file_type, plus either a file or a source URL for each side.
5

Execute

The Explorer sends the request and shows you the response code, the response body, and the equivalent curl command.
The generated curl command is the most useful output on the page. Get a request working in the Explorer, then copy that command as the starting point for your own integration.

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Reading the parameter list

The expanded view is the authoritative reference for each endpoint. For POST /comparisons it shows, among others:
  • left.file and right.file — the documents as file uploads
  • left.source_url and right.source_url — URLs for Draftable to fetch instead
  • left.file_type and right.file_type — required, with the accepted values listed
  • left.display_name and right.display_name — the labels shown in the viewer
  • identifier, public and expiry_time — optional comparison settings
For a fuller explanation of what each one does and when to use it, see Creating a comparison.
The parameter list adapts to your account. If your plan has redline comparisons enabled, an extra comparison_type parameter appears, letting you choose between side_by_side and redline. If you do not see it, your plan does not include redline output.

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The rest of the documentation site

The Explorer sits alongside a set of reference pages on the same site, reachable from the left-hand navigation:

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Getting a raw copy of the specification

The Explorer is generated from an OpenAPI specification, which you can download directly:
This is useful if you want to generate a client from the specification, import the API into a tool such as Postman or Insomnia, or keep a copy alongside your integration code.
The specification is generated per request and reflects your account, so download it while signed in if you want it to include plan-specific parameters such as comparison_type.

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When to use the Explorer, and when not to

Reach for the Explorer when you are learning the API, checking exactly which parameters an endpoint accepts, reproducing a problem by hand, or confirming what a response looks like. Do not use it for production work, load testing, or bulk operations. It is a browser tool bound to your test credentials, not an integration path.

Getting started with the Draftable API

Authenticating with the Draftable API

Test and production accounts

Creating a comparison