RESTful APIedit
A RESTful API is available with Elastic Cloud, allowing you to perform most of the operations available in the UI console through API calls.
You can create an API key to quickly and easily authenticate, and then use the API to create and manage deployments, configure remote clusters, set up traffic filters, manage extensions, and much more. Access the API from its base URL at api.elastic-cloud.com.
This section focuses on Elastic Cloud hosted deployments. If you need to manage your [serverless](https://docs.elastic.co/serverless) projects, then use the Project Management API. Learn more about using the Project Management API in the serverless documentation.
The information in this section covers:
- Principles - The basics of how the RESTful API works
- Access and authentication - How to obtain an API key
- OpenAPI specification - Details about the API specification
- Rate limiting - Time limits and quotas for API calls
- Accessing the API - Different methods for you to use the API
- API examples - Several examples to help you get started
- API reference documentation - Reference documentation for the full set of API endpoints
To get started using the Elasticsearch Service API, either directly or through the Elastic Cloud Control (ecctl) CLI, try out this introductory guide.