OpenAPI metadata
API metadata—such as API style, supported protocols, and parameter definitions—is required for self-signing Alibaba Cloud API requests. Learn how to read and retrieve this metadata.
Cloud product metadata overview
OpenAPI metadata is the set of descriptive information for a cloud product's APIs. During signing, extract the API style, supported protocols, request methods, parameter names, types, and locations from this metadata.
Product and version overview (Info)
Includes the API style, product code, and version.
Example:
{"style":"RPC","product":"Ecs","version":"2014-05-26"}
API summary collection (apis)
A Map keyed by API name, where each value is an API summary with the following parameters:
|
Parameter name |
Description |
Example |
|
methods |
Supported request methods. |
Both POST and GET return identical results. |
|
schemes |
Supported protocols. |
Both HTTP and HTTPS are supported. |
|
parameters |
Request parameters. |
Describes each parameter's name, location (query, path, or body), type, and required status. |
Endpoint collection (endpoints)
Service endpoints for the cloud product.
How to obtain metadata
Method 1: Get cloud product metadata
On the API documentation or page, select a cloud product such as Elastic Compute Service (ECS), and click Get Metadata below the product name.
Method 2: Get metadata for a specific API
On the API documentation or page, select a cloud product such as ECS, choose the target API, and click Get Metadata in the upper-right corner.
Method 3: Call the metadata API
The metadata API is publicly accessible without authentication. Use the following endpoints to retrieve metadata. The complete API reference is in the Metadata usage guide or .
|
API description |
API URL |
Request method |
|
List all cloud product codes and versions |
https://api.aliyun.com/meta/v1/products.json?language=EN_US |
GET |
|
Get metadata for a specific product and version |
https://api.aliyun.com/meta/v1/products/{product}/versions/{version}/api-docs.json |
GET |
|
Get metadata for a specific API |
https://api.aliyun.com/meta/v1/products/{product}/versions/{version}/apis/{api_name}/api.json |
GET |