Before You Begin
Although the SDK is available to anyone, access to the API of the ALANA Platform itself is restricted to members only. Even then, there are a few things you'll need before you can begin creating your application.
What you need:
- A development environment
- A membership to ALANA Development
- Your public API key and username
Development Environment
The SDK is a JavaScript library, so you'll need to be able to develop JavaScript web applications. If you're an experienced web developer, you probably have a preferred setup already in place, but if you don't, we recommend installing the following:
Visual Studio Code, an editor and integrated development environment (IDE) with an expansive ecosystem of plugins for all kinds of development.
Node.js 20 or later, a JavaScript runtime environment needed for developing with popular frameworks such as React and Vue.
What about other languages?
While the initial SDK has only this front-end JavaScript edition, Alana Development is hard at work porting it to other languages such as Python, as well as developing a powered-up version exclusively for full-stack applications.
Membership
Developers wanting to integrate the SDK into their application will need a membership to Alana Development to take full advantage of the capabilities of the ALANA Platform.
Any level of membership offers the API access needed to develop with the SDK, though higher tiers may provide access to additional features. All you need to do is create your ALANA Platform brand, and you'll be ready to go.
API Key
Once you have signed up and created your ALANA Platform brand, you can access the credentials needed for the API: the keys and the username. These can be obtained from the Alana Development Dashboard or from your ALANA Guide.
Public API key: This key is used for all front-end operations within the Platform. You'll need to provide it in your application when using the SDK. It's intended to be embedded in your code.
Secret API key: This key is only needed if you're developing full-stack applications that must access protected APIs on the ALANA Platform. In general, these protected APIs replicate functionality of the Alana Development Dashboard and those of partner sites. You don't need it for this version of the SDK.
API username: This identifies your brand in API requests using the SDK. It's unique to you, and your API keys are tied to it.
Alpha Notice
The Dashboard is not yet complete. Until it is, please contact Alana Development support to obtain your API credentials.