API & automations

This feature covers how a tool can be controlled by other software. An API, short for application programming interface, is a documented set of requests that a program can make to read or change data in the tool. Automations are built-in rules, such as when a task is marked done, notify the client. Emergent, Figma, Linear, Penpot and Sketch are tools that offer something along these lines.

Design and build tools often sit in the middle of a chain: a request comes in, work is done, and results move on to developers or customers. An API or automation rules let that chain run without anyone copying information between steps. That saves time and avoids missed handovers. A small team with simple needs can manage without. A growing team that wants to connect design, project and code tools will soon want it.

• Ask what the API can actually do, for example whether it can create and edit items or only read them.
• Check which automation triggers and actions are built in, and whether they can be customised.
• Find out whether the API and automations are included in the plan you would buy.
• Look at the vendor's public documentation to judge how well it is maintained.