> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.blocklight.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# API Overview

> REST API for Blocklight integrations

The REST API is optional and runs alongside the core runtime security engine. Enable it with `--profile api`.

## When to Use the API

The API is useful for:

* **Dashboards & Visualization** - Build custom dashboards to query historical detections, view system metrics, and monitor rule performance
* **Programmatic Queries** - Query detections and rules programmatically from your applications or scripts
* **Historical Analysis** - Access past detections for analysis and reporting
* **System Monitoring** - Check system status, rule counts, and operational metrics via HTTP

**Note:** The core runtime security engine works standalone without the API. Real-time alerts are handled by built-in channels (Slack, Discord, Email, Webhooks), and operational monitoring is available via Prometheus metrics. Only enable the API if you need to query historical data or build custom dashboards.

## Base URL

```
http://localhost:8000
```

## Quick Start

```bash theme={null}
# Start API
docker-compose --profile api up -d

# Test connection
curl http://localhost:8000/health

# Get system status
curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/system/status
```

## Response Format

All responses are JSON. Success responses include data, errors include `error` and `details` fields.

```json theme={null}
// Success
{
  "count": 10,
  "data": [...]
}

// Error
{
  "error": "Failed to get rules",
  "details": "connection timeout"
}
```

<Note>
  **Authentication:** Currently not required. Add authentication via reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy) or API gateway if exposing publicly.
</Note>

## Rate Limiting

Default: 100 requests per minute per IP. Configure in `config/config.yaml`:

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  rate_limit:
    enabled: true
    requests_per_minute: 100
```