> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dumplingai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Unified API

> Understand DumplingAI's Unified API, when to use it, and how it differs from Direct Endpoints.

# Unified API

The Unified API is DumplingAI's `/api/v2` surface.

It is the recommended default for new focused data integrations. Direct Endpoints under `/api/v1` remain supported for legacy request shapes and Make.com compatibility.

Use it when you want:

* `capabilities` like `search_news`, `extract_document`, `extract_audio`, or `scrape_page`
* exact `endpoints` like `firecrawl.scrape` or `dataforseo.dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_ideas`
* one API key and one control surface for multiple managed providers

## How it differs from Direct Endpoints

### Direct Endpoints (`/api/v1`)

Use `/api/v1` when you want the existing endpoint-oriented Dumpling product:

* direct endpoint access
* the Direct Endpoint Playground
* legacy endpoint docs and request shapes
* current Make.com compatibility

### Unified API (`/api/v2`)

Use `/api/v2` when you want the capability- and provider-oriented platform model:

* simple capabilities for common jobs
* provider-native endpoints when the exact upstream API matters
* shared logging, policy, and spend controls across those lanes

## Two main lanes

### Capabilities

Capabilities are the default lane.

Examples:

* `google_search`
* `search_news`
* `search_places`
* `get_google_reviews`
* `crawl_site`
* `screenshot`
* `extract_web`
* `extract_document`
* `extract_image`
* `extract_audio`
* `extract_video`
* `scrape_page`
* `get_youtube_transcript`

Use them when you want DumplingAI to standardize the job and keep the request simple.

### Providers and endpoints

Providers are vendor overview pages, and endpoints are the provider-native operations under them.

Examples:

* `firecrawl`
* `serper.search`
* `serper.news`
* `serper.places`
* `serper.maps`
* `serper.autocomplete`
* `serper.images`
* `serper.videos`
* `serper.shopping`
* `serper.scholar`
* `serper.patents`
* `perplexity.search`
* `firecrawl.scrape`
* `dataforseo.dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_ideas`

Use them when you want exact provider behavior and provider-specific output.

## Best next steps

* Browse the [Workbench](https://app.dumplingai.com/workbench)
* Try a live request in [Workbench](https://app.dumplingai.com/workbench)
* Read the [API Reference](/api-reference/v2/introduction)
* See [Migrating from Direct Endpoints](/documentation/v2/migrating-from-direct-endpoints)
* Use the [MCP Server](/mcp-server) if you want to connect from Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor