Official API vs internal API: what is the difference?
An official API is documented, versioned and offered to developers under the site's terms. An internal API is the set of requests a site's own pages make to load their data. Wield recipes describe those internal requests and run them in your browser, with your session. Whether a site has an official API is a separate question, and the answer differs from site to site.
Official API: what you get and what you don't
An official API covers what the site chose to publish. It usually comes with documentation, keys and usage terms. It may not include the data a page shows, such as live slots, search results or listings. Many sites publish no API for consumers at all. Check each site's developer pages before you assume one exists.
Internal API: what a recipe actually calls
A recipe lists the requests a page makes, with their method, path and parameters. It can also read values the page keeps, such as a token, from the site's tab. The requests are the same ones the site's own page makes, so the recipe needs no separate access.
Internal endpoints change. Recipes in the registry show what that looks like:
| Site | What the recipe calls | Why |
|---|---|---|
| arbeitsagentur.de | The v6 job search API | The documented v4 path returned 403 when the recipe was checked on 7 November 2026. |
| Vinted | The server-rendered listing cards | The old JSON API returns 404, so the recipe reads the cards on the page. |
| Chefkoch | A public JSON gateway | The gateway allows cross-origin requests from www.chefkoch.de. |
Each recipe's status is in the registry's status file. A recipe that stops working is marked degraded, and wield-mcp falls back to the last good version.
Risks and terms of use
Internal APIs are not documented for outside use. A site can change them or block them at any time. The site's terms still apply to how you use what the recipe returns.
Every site page on Wield states the recipe's known terms in plain words. Read the site's terms before you rely on a recipe for anything beyond your own lookups. Wield does not give legal advice, and a recipe does not mean the site allows automated use.
Recipes are data, not code
A recipe is a small JSON file, not a script. Wield accepts requests only to the https origins the recipe lists, and it does not follow redirects to other hosts. Every index and recipe is signed with Ed25519, and the extension refuses unsigned or changed recipes. No JavaScript from the registry runs in the page.
FAQ
Is a site's internal API the same as its official API?
No. An official API is published for developers. An internal API is what the site's own pages call. A recipe uses the internal API, and it does not change the site's official status.
Is using an internal API allowed?
Wield does not get permission from sites, and it does not decide what a site allows. Check the site's terms. Wield acts as you, in your browser, one task at a time, which is how you would use the site by hand.
How do I find a site's internal API?
Open the site in your browser and watch the requests its pages make in the developer tools. The Wield recorder can capture the requests of one task on your device. It strips cookies, auth headers, tokens and body values before anything leaves the device. Recording is a paid-plan feature.
What happens when an internal API changes?
The recipe can fail. Wield checks health daily for public read recipes that can run from a server. A failing recipe is marked degraded, and wield-mcp uses the last good version until the recipe is updated.