# The API Platform Core Library

API Platform Core is an easy-to-use and powerful library for creating [hypermedia-driven REST APIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HATEOAS).
It is a component of the [API Platform framework](https://api-platform.com).

It embraces [JSON for Linked Data (JSON-LD)](https://json-ld.org/) and [Hydra Core Vocabulary](https://www.hydra-cg.com/) web
standards but also supports [OpenAPI (formerly known as Swagger)](https://www.openapis.org/), [JSON:API](https://jsonapi.org/), [HAL](https://stateless.co/hal_specification.html), XML, JSON, CSV and YAML.

Build a working and fully featured CRUD API in minutes. Leverage the awesome features of the tool to develop complex and
high-performance API-first projects.

If you are starting a new project, the easiest way to get API Platform up is to install
API Platform using [API Platform for Symfony](../symfony/index.md) or [API Platform for Laravel](../laravel/index.md).

Alternatively, it's possible to [bootstrap the API Platform core library manually](../core/bootstrap.md).

![Screenshot](../symfony/images/swagger-ui-1.png)

## Features

Here is the fully featured REST API you'll get in minutes:

- [Automatic CRUD](operations.md)
- Hypermedia (JSON-LD and HAL)
- Machine-readable documentation of the API in the Hydra and [Swagger/Open API](openapi.md) formats,
  guessed from PHPDoc, Serializer, Validator, and Doctrine ORM / MongoDB ODM metadata
- Nice human-readable documentation built with Swagger UI (including a sandbox) and/or ReDoc
- [Pagination](pagination.md)
- A bunch of [filters](filters.md)
- [Ordering](default-order.md)
- [Validation](validation.md) using the Symfony Validator Component (with group support)
- Advanced [authentication and authorization](security.md) rules
- Errors serialization (Hydra and the [RFC 7807](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7807) are supported)
- Advanced [serialization](serialization.md) thanks to the Symfony Serializer Component (groups support, relation embedding, max depth...)
- Automatic route registration
- Automatic entry point generation giving access to all resources
- [User Management using Symfony](../symfony/user.md)
- [JWT](jwt.md) and [OAuth](https://oauth.net/) support
- Files and `\DateTime` and serialization and deserialization

Everything is fully customizable through a powerful [event system](events.md) and strong OOP.

This bundle is extensively tested (unit and functional). The [`Fixtures/` directory](https://github.com/api-platform/core/tree/main/tests/Fixtures) contains a working app covering all library features.

## Symfony Screencasts

<p align="center" class="symfonycasts"><a href="https://symfonycasts.com/tracks/rest?cid=apip#api-platform-3"><img src="../symfony/images/symfonycasts-player.png" alt="SymfonyCasts, API Platform screencasts"></a></p>

The easiest and funniest way to learn how to use API Platform for Symfony is to watch [the more than 60 screencasts available on SymfonyCasts](https://symfonycasts.com/tracks/rest?cid=apip#api-platform-3)!