The entry point for every user-facing doc in APIWeave. Pick the path that matches your goal below, then follow the category index for the docs in that area.
APIWeave is a local-first desktop app. There is no server to run, no cloud account to create, no deployment to plan. You download the installer, run it, and the app opens straight into the canvas. Everything — workflows, environments, secrets, run history — lives on your machine in a single SQLite database under your user data directory.
Work is organized locally into workspaces: a personal workspace is created for you, and you can create more. No account is required, and everything stays on your computer by default.
Optional APIWeave Cloud sync and collaboration turn on when you sign in with an optional Cloud account. Cloud syncs test structure (workflows, environments, projects, and secret references) and lets multiple machines collaborate in shared Cloud Workspaces, which belong to a Cloud Team from the Cloud account; secret values and run history stay local and are rejected from sync payloads. Cloud never builds or runs tests — all execution stays on the desktop.
There is no SSO and no webhook for local use. You run a workflow by clicking Run in the app, or by having a local AI agent drive the app through the loopback MCP bridge. (Locally scheduled runs are on the roadmap.)
If you have used an earlier web build of APIWeave, the things that changed are spelled out in the changelog. The short version: no login required, no hosted backend, no webhooks, no public ports. The canvas, the variables, the environments, the projects, the secret store, and the MCP integration are all the same shape they were before. An optional Cloud account adds sync and collaboration across machines, but the desktop app is fully usable without it.
None for this page. This is the navigation hub. If you have not installed APIWeave yet, the first path below starts with the install guide.
Three paths cover almost every reason a person opens these docs. Pick the one that matches your goal.
I want to USE APIWeave (install, run, build a workflow).
Start with installation, build your first workflow, then read the concepts glossary when a term is new.
- Installation: download the installer, run it, open the app.
- Your First Workflow: build and run a workflow in five minutes.
- Concepts: glossary of every term used in the rest of the docs (workflow, node, environment, secret, run).
I want to BUILD with APIWeave (a specific feature).
Jump straight to the feature guide. Each one is self-contained: concepts, prerequisites, worked examples, and troubleshooting for that feature.
- Workflows and Nodes: canvas, the seven node types, toolbar actions, keyboard shortcuts.
- Variables and Extractors: the four placeholder namespaces and how to pull values from responses.
- Node Presets: save a node's configuration under a name and reuse it across the workspace.
- Visualization and Debugging: the run timeline, variable provenance, secret resolution confidence, and camera-follow during runs.
- Projects: ordered groups of workflows and
.awecollectionexport and import (references only). - Environments and Secrets: local environments, inheritance from a base environment, the encrypted secret store, and the metadata-only display.
- MCP Integration: the local loopback HTTP bridge for AI agents on the same machine.
- Swagger and OpenAPI Import: turn a spec into reusable request templates.
I'm having trouble (something broke or behaves wrong).
Use the central FAQ first, then the troubleshooting section in the relevant feature doc. Architecture is the right place when the failure spans processes.
- The Troubleshooting section in the matching feature guide below for symptom-to-fix Q&A.
- Architecture: how the pieces fit together when a failure spans the renderer and the main process.
Three docs that take a new user from zero to a working workflow. Read in order the first time, jump in by name after that.
- Getting Started Index
- Installation: download the installer, run it, open the app.
- Your First Workflow: build a five-step workflow against a public test endpoint.
- Concepts: short definitions for every term used in the rest of the docs.
The feature guides cover everything you can do with APIWeave. Each is a self-contained tutorial with worked examples and a troubleshooting section.
- Features Index
- Workflows and Nodes: build, edit, and run workflows on the canvas.
- Variables and Extractors: pass data between steps with the four placeholder namespaces.
- Node Presets: a saved, workspace-wide library of reusable node configurations.
- Visualization and Debugging: timeline, provenance, secret confidence, and the run camera.
- Projects: group workflows into ordered runs and export them as
.awecollectionbundles. - Environments and Secrets: local environments, inheritance, the encrypted secret store, and the metadata-only display.
- MCP Integration: the loopback HTTP bridge for local AI agents.
- Swagger and OpenAPI Import: import endpoints from a spec.
The six reference pages are lookup tables and tours, not tutorials. Use them when you need the exact syntax, the full list, or a map of the surface area.
- Reference Index
- Architecture: how the components fit together and how a run moves through the system.
- Placeholders: the four placeholder namespaces and the substitution order.
- Dynamic Functions: the functions callable inside placeholders.
- Environment Variables: every variable the app reads, with defaults.
- IPC API: the typed IPC handler registry the renderer and the local MCP bridge call.
- Release and Updates: the update channel, policies, and rollout mechanics.
A one-line guide for picking the right category when a question comes up.
- Getting started: install, first run, vocabulary. Read in order on day one.
- Features: how to do one specific thing. Self-contained tutorials with worked examples.
- Reference: lookup tables and tours. Exact syntax, full lists, surface-area maps.
If you have a goal ("I want to..."), start in Features. If you have a question ("How does...?" or "Why does...?"), start in Reference. If you have not installed yet, start in Getting started.
- If a link in this hub breaks, the doc has moved. Open the category index for that topic and pick the closest match by name.
- If you cannot find a feature, the most likely place is
features/. Skim the Features Index before searching further. - If a behavior is unexpected, the Troubleshooting section in the matching feature doc covers symptom-to-fix Q&A.
- If a failure spans processes (the renderer and the main process), read Architecture to see which component owns the step that failed.