API product FAQ

1. Finding your AppKey and AppCode

Log on to the Marketplace console and navigate to the My Services page to view this information.

2. Empty AppCode, AppKey, or AppSecret

If you are logged on as a RAM user, this may be due to missing permissions. Log on with your Alibaba Cloud account and verify that the RAM user has been granted the following permissions:

• The permission to manage Alibaba Cloud Marketplace: AliyunMarketplaceFullAccess

• The permission to manage API Gateway: AliyunApiGatewayFullAccess

For more information, see Grant permissions to a RAM user.

3. Resetting an AppSecret or AppCode

1. Log on to the API Gateway console. In the left-side navigation pane, choose API Calls > Application Management. Find your application and click its application name to go to the Application Details page.

2. Click the AppKey or AppCode tab and then click Reset AppSecret or Reset AppCode in the Actions column. The dialog box provides two options for resetting the credential. After the reset, update the new credential in your integrations.

   1. Click OK to let the system automatically generate a new AppSecret or AppCode.

   2. Click Custom, enter the new AppSecret or AppCode, and then click OK.

4. Viewing subscription package usage

• Method 1: Log on to the Marketplace console and go to the My Services page. Click Subscription Package List to view the usage of each package. Click Usage Details to see the number of calls in 10-minute intervals.

• Method 2: In addition to the Marketplace console, you can also use an OpenAPI to query your remaining quota. For more information, see Obtain API resource balance.

To troubleshoot abnormal consumption of your subscription package, see How do I troubleshoot abnormal consumption or suspected theft of an API subscription package?

5. Viewing resource package usage

Log on to the Marketplace console. On the My Services page, find the product and click Billing Details to view the usage. For more information, see Billing Details.

9. Getting remaining quota by using an OpenAPI

Yes. For instructions, see the Obtain API resource balance documentation.

7. Querying the calling IP address for metering

• Log on to the Marketplace console. From the API Center list, click API Inspector.

• In the API Call Tracking list, find the product and click Export IP Call Records in the Actions column to view the calling IP addresses. The data is available with a one-day delay (T+1).

To troubleshoot abnormal consumption of your subscription package, see How do I troubleshoot abnormal consumption or suspected theft of an API subscription package?

8. Handling an API call error

First, use the API Self-service Troubleshooting tool to diagnose the issue. The tool allows you to query logs from the last three days.

9. Setting the low-balance alert for a subscription package

Log on to the Marketplace console. In the left-side navigation pane, click API/MCP Tools under API/MCP Center. On the API/MCP Usage Alert page, on the Subscription Package tab, find the product and click Edit in the Actions column.

You can set the low-balance alert by using a System Default or a Custom Threshold:

• System Default: The alert is triggered when the remaining quota drops to 20% of the total available quota. The threshold is automatically recalculated each time you purchase a new subscription package.

  For example, if you have a remaining quota of 20,000 calls and purchase a new package with 10,000 calls, the new threshold is calculated as (20,000 + 10,000) × 20% = 6,000. The alert will be triggered when the remaining quota drops to 6,000 calls.

• Custom Threshold: You can set a custom threshold based on a Ratio or a Fixed Value.

  • Ratio: The calculation is the same as the system default, based on a percentage of your total remaining quota.

    For example, if you have 20,000 calls remaining and purchase 10,000 more, and you set the ratio to 15%, the new threshold is calculated as (20,000 + 10,000) × 15% = 4,500. The alert will be triggered when the remaining quota drops to 4,500 calls.

  • Fixed Value: You can set a specific number of calls as the threshold based on your usage patterns.

    For example, if you have 20,000 calls remaining and purchase 10,000 more, and you set a fixed value of 5,000, the alert will be triggered when the remaining quota drops to 5,000 calls.

To troubleshoot abnormal consumption of your subscription package, see How do I troubleshoot abnormal consumption or suspected theft of an API subscription package?

10. Configuring low-balance alert notifications

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud console and go to Message Center. In the left-side navigation pane, click Message Receiving Management > Basic Receiving Management. For Message Type, select Product Overdue Payment, Service Suspension, and Resource Release Notifications and select its checkbox. If this option is not selected, you will not receive low-balance alerts. The alert supports notifications by SMS and email.

11. Repurchasing an expiring package

Log on to the Marketplace console and go to the My Services page. Click Purchase Subscription Package/Purchase Resource Package to make a new purchase. After your purchase, API calls are deducted from the package that expires first. Any remaining quota in an expired subscription package or resource package is cleared and cannot be recovered. Please plan your usage accordingly.

12. Are there expiration reminders for API products?

Yes, the system sends notifications before a subscription API product expires.

• Notification method: Email and SMS. Notifications through Message Center are not supported.

• Notification logic: For each product, a notification is sent based on the expiration date of its latest-expiring subscription package. See the following example.

  • If you purchased three subscription packages for the same product (Product A) under one account, and they expire on 2025-07-01, 2025-08-01, and 2025-09-01, respectively, the system sends a notification only one week before the final expiration date, which is 2025-09-01. Reminders are sent only for packages that have a remaining quota. If the quota is zero, no reminder is sent.

13. Viewing and isolating API orders for RAM users

• By default, an Alibaba Cloud account can view all orders placed by itself and all of its RAM users.

• By default, a RAM user cannot place orders on Alibaba Cloud Marketplace or view any orders in the console. After the AliyunMarketplaceFullAccess permission is granted, the RAM user can place orders and view all orders belonging to the parent Alibaba Cloud account and all other RAM users under that account. For authorization instructions, see the instructions for RAM users to place orders: AliyunMarketplaceFullAccess.

• An API service subscribed to by an authorized RAM user can also be used by other RAM users under the same Alibaba Cloud account.

14. RAM user cannot see purchased products

For a RAM user to view purchased products on the My Services page, the following two conditions must be met:

• The parent Alibaba Cloud account has granted the AliyunMarketplaceFullAccess policy to the RAM user. This policy allows the RAM user to view orders and purchased services for the parent account and all its RAM users. For instructions, see Grant permissions to a RAM user.

• The user is logged on through the dedicated logon portal for RAM users, not the logon page for Alibaba Cloud accounts.

15. Handling a discontinued third-party API

The service provider is responsible for the operation and maintenance of third-party API products. If a third-party API product you purchased is discontinued, contact the service provider directly to confirm the reason and learn how to restore the service. You can find the service provider's contact information on the product details page in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace.

16. Reconfiguring after a new package purchase

No, reconfiguration is not required. API calls are automatically deducted from the package that expires first, ensuring a seamless transition between old and new packages. When an old package expires, its remaining quota is cleared, but this does not affect the new package or your existing configurations.

17. Configuring low-balance alerts for a resource package

Alibaba Cloud Marketplace supports low-balance alert notifications for subscription packages and resource packages of API products. The configuration involves two parts:

• Configure the low-balance alert threshold: Log on to the API/MCP Tools page and go to API/MCP Usage Alert. On the Subscription Package or Resource Package tab, set the trigger threshold for the low-balance alert. For details, see How do I set the low-balance alert threshold for a subscription package?

• Configure alert contacts and notification methods: Log on to the Alibaba Cloud console and go to the Basic Receiving Management page in Message Center. Make sure that Product Overdue Payment, Service Suspension, and Resource Release Notifications is selected, and then set the recipients.

18. Troubleshooting abnormal consumption or suspected theft

If you notice abnormal consumption of your API subscription package outside of business hours, follow these steps to investigate and block the unauthorized calls:

1. Check usage details to identify the abnormal time window. Log on to the Marketplace console and go to the My Services page. Click Subscription Package List to view usage, then click Usage Details to see the number of calls in 10-minute intervals and pinpoint the time of abnormal consumption. For details, see How do I view the usage of my subscription package for a subscription API?

2. Export IP call records to locate the source. In the Marketplace console, click API Inspector from the API Center list. In the API Call Tracking list, find the product and click Export IP Call Records in the Actions column. Compare the exported IP addresses with your own server IP addresses to identify any unknown sources. The data is available with a one-day delay (T+1). For details, see I have questions about the metering of an API product. How do I query the calling IP address?

3. Reset your AppCode or AppSecret to block unauthorized calls. If you confirm unauthorized calls, log on to the API Gateway console and go to Application Management. Find your application, click its application name to go to the Application Details page, and then click Reset AppSecret or Reset AppCode in the Actions column. After the reset, immediately update the credential in your application code. For details, see How do I reset an AppSecret or AppCode?

4. Set a low-balance alert threshold to be promptly notified of future abnormal consumption. In the Marketplace console, click API/MCP Tools under API/MCP Center. Go to the API/MCP Usage Alert page and set a low-balance alert threshold. For details, see How do I set the low-balance alert threshold for a subscription package?