Single REST resource for geolocation, WHOIS, and currency data (one API key)
If you're building Retool apps that need to enrich data with external lookups; IP geolocation, domain/WHOIS info, currency exchange rates, that kind of thing; you're probably setting up a separate REST API resource for each provider, each with its own key and auth pattern.
Wanted to share APIFreaks as an option for anyone in that situation. It's a single API key that covers a hub of REST APIs (geolocation, WHOIS/domain data, DNS, currency, weather, and a few automation utilities), so instead of wiring up 3-4 separate Retool resources with different auth headers, you can point multiple queries at the same base auth and just change the endpoint.
Practically, in Retool this means:
- One REST API resource with the API key set as a shared header
- Different queries under that same resource for each endpoint (IP lookup, WHOIS lookup, currency conversion, etc.)
- Consistent response shape across endpoints, so your transformers don't need much per-endpoint special-casing
There's a free tier if anyone wants to test a couple of endpoints before committing to anything.
Curious if others here are doing something similar; one resource with multiple queries vs. a separate resource per provider? What's worked better for you as the number of external data sources grows?
Discussion