# Provenance stamped 2026-10-07 (roadmap#943): written by an API Evangelist sweep (undated — the file carries no date and git cannot supply one), not
# harvested from the provider. `method: generated` so the economics campaign may replace it with a
# dated, verbatim transcription; every figure below is unverified until it does.
# Coverage demoted 2026-10-07 (roadmap#942, PLAN.md Stage A): this file was written by an API Evangelist
# sweep and names no billing unit, meters or pricing category read from the provider — it restates the
# FinOps framework. It is `x-coverage: unmeasured`, and the FOCUS alignment it claimed has been removed.
x-coverage: unmeasured
method: generated
name: KEGG APIs Financial Overview
description: >
  The KEGG REST API is free for academic users with no registration required.
  Costs arise only when academic researchers need bulk FTP data downloads
  (annual subscription ~$2,000–$5,000 USD) or when commercial entities require
  a license through Pathway Solutions (pricing by inquiry). There are no
  per-call charges, no data egress fees from the REST API, and no tiered
  usage-based pricing. The primary financial consideration for high-volume
  users is the operational cost of their own infrastructure for processing
  retrieved data, and the subscription fees for FTP access if REST API rate
  limits are insufficient for their workflow.
provider: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)
url: https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/

funding:
  model: >
    KEGG is operated by the Kanehisa Laboratory at Kyoto University and the
    Human Genome Center at the University of Tokyo, with commercial licensing
    managed by Pathway Solutions (Japan). Historically funded by academic
    grants; a subscription model was introduced to sustain operations as grant
    funding declined.
  cost: Free for academic REST API access; subscription or license required for FTP and commercial use

apis:

  - name: KEGG REST API
    cost: Free (academic use only)
    apiKey: Not required
    notes: >
      All seven operations (info, list, find, get, conv, link, ddi) are free
      for academic users. No registration, API key, or credit card is needed.
      Rate limit of 3 req/s is enforced. Commercial use without a license is
      prohibited.

  - name: KEGG FTP Academic Subscription — End User
    cost: ~$2,000 USD per year
    apiKey: Not applicable (FTP credential provided on subscription)
    notes: >
      Annual subscription for a laboratory or department needing weekly-updated
      bulk FTP data. Pricing approximate; confirm via pathway.jp request form.

  - name: KEGG FTP Academic Subscription — Service Provider
    cost: ~$5,000 USD per year
    apiKey: Not applicable (FTP credential provided on subscription)
    notes: >
      Annual subscription for research groups deploying KEGG-based tools or
      web services. Includes academic service provider license. Pricing
      approximate; confirm via pathway.jp request form.

  - name: Commercial License
    cost: Pricing on request
    apiKey: Not applicable
    notes: >
      Commercial End User and Service Provider licenses available through
      Pathway Solutions (pathway.jp/en/licensing.html). Terms are
      non-negotiable. Includes optional KEGG mirror site and API access.

cost_drivers:
  - factor: REST API calls
    impact: None — REST API is free and has no per-call charge
  - factor: FTP bulk data subscription
    impact: High — required for bulk downloads or local KEGG mirror; $2k–$5k/year academic
  - factor: Commercial licensing
    impact: High — required for any non-academic production use; pricing by inquiry
  - factor: Own infrastructure
    impact: Variable — compute and storage costs for processing KEGG data are borne by the user

optimization:
  - Use the CONV and LINK operations to minimize round-trips when mapping identifiers
  - Batch up to 10 entries per GET call to maximize throughput within the 3 req/s limit
  - For academic bulk-data needs, evaluate the FTP subscription vs. repeated REST polling
  - Cache pathway images and flat-file entries locally to avoid redundant API calls