---
title: Configuring ASE for API discovery
description: The following table summarizes the variables related to API discovery that you need to configure.
component: pingintelligence
version: 5.2
page_id: pingintelligence:managing_pingintelligence_for_apis:pingintelligence_configuring_ase_api_discovery
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingintelligence/5.2/managing_pingintelligence_for_apis/pingintelligence_configuring_ase_api_discovery.html
revdate: April 3, 2024
section_ids:
  about-this-task: About this task
  steps: Steps
  example: Example:
---

# Configuring ASE for API discovery

## About this task

The following table summarizes the variables related to API discovery that you need to configure.

**API discovery variables**

| Variable                    | Description                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `api_discovery`             | Set this variable to **true** to switch on API discovery. To switch off API discovery, set it to **false**. The default value is **true**.                                                      |
| `discovery_initial_period`  | The initial time in hours during which APIs are discovered in your API ecosystem. The default and minimum value is 1-hour.                                                                      |
| `discovery_update_interval` | The time interval in hours at which any new discovered APIs are reported. The default and minimum value is 1-hour.                                                                              |
| `discovery_subpath`         | The number of sub-paths that is discovered in an API. The minimum value is 1 and maximum value is 6. For more information, see [Discovery sub-paths](pingintelligence_discovery_subpaths.html). |
| `url_limit`                 | Defines the maximum number of URLs that are reported in a discovered API.                                                                                                                       |

To configure ASE for API discovery:

## Steps

* Enable ABS in ASE by running the `enable_abs` command in ASE:

  ```
  ./bin/cli.sh -u admin -p admin enable_abs
  ABS is now enabled
  ```

* To verify, run the `status` command in ASE:

  ```
  ./bin/cli.sh status
  API Security Enforcer
  status                  : started
  mode                    : sideband
  http/ws                 : port 80
  https/wss               : port 443
  firewall                : enabled
  abs                     : enabled, ssl: enabled
  abs attack              : disabled
  audit                   : enabled
  sideband authentication : disabled
  ase detected attack     : disabled
  attack list memory      : configured 128.00 MB, used 25.60 MB, free 102.40 MB
  google pubsub           : disabled
  ```

* To configure root API in ASE, define `root` API in ASE.

  |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
  | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
  |   | If you have configured other APIs in ASE along with the `root` API, ABS monitors traffic only on the root API for the discovery process. A `root` API in ASE is an API for which the API JSON file has `url` as `"/"` and `hostname` as `"*"`.If API discovery is enabled in ABS without `root` API in ASE and you run the `discovery` REST API, it displays an error message: `root API not configured in ASE. To discover APIs configure root API in ASE`. |

  ### Example:

  The following is a snippet of `root` API JSON:

  ```json
  {
      "api_metadata": {
          "protocol": "http",
          "url": "/",
          "hostname": "*",

          "cookie": "",
          "oauth2_access_token": false,
          "apikey_qs": "",
          "apikey_header": "",
          "enable_blocking": false,
          "cookie_idle_timeout": "200m",
          "logout_api_enabled": false,
          "cookie_persistence_enabled": false,
          "login_url": "",
          "api_mapping": {
              "internal_url": ""
          },
  ```

  |   |                                                                                 |
  | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  |   | A sample `root` API ships with ASE in `/pingidentity/ase/config/api` directory. |

* Configure API JSON by configuring the settings for `cookie`, `oauth2_access_token`, `apikey_qs`, or `apikey_header` in the `root` API JSON file in ASE.

  |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
  | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
  |   | API discovery process discovers these parameters in an API only when you set these in the root API. API discovery reports these attributes of an API only when it receives at least 50% of traffic having these attributes. For example, if the root API receives 100 requests and 51 requests have OAuth token, then the OAuth token is reported in the discovered API. Similarly, if the same traffic has less than 50% traffic for API keys or cookies, then they are not reported in the discovered API. |

* Configure API discovery in ABS by setting the `api_discovery` parameter to `true` using [Global configuration update REST API](../pingintelligence_reference_guide/pingintelligence_global_configuration_update_rest_api.html).

  |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
  | - | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  |   | If you want update the values on an already running system, use the `update.sh` script. For more information on the update script, see [Managing discovery intervals](pingintelligence_managing_discovery_intervals.html). |
