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Glossary

What Is an API?

How one program asks another for data, and why outbound teams use APIs instead of CSV exports.

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An API (application programming interface) is a defined way for one program to ask another program for data or to perform an action, using a fixed set of requests and responses.

Most web APIs work over HTTP, the protocol specified in RFC 9110 (September 2026). Your code sends a request to a URL and gets structured data back, usually JSON.

Why it matters for outbound

An API takes people out of the loop on data work. A script can pull a fresh list, check a lead and write the result to your CRM without anyone exporting a file.

That changes how outbound runs. Enrichment happens the moment a lead signs up. Lists are built on a schedule instead of once a quarter. A rep never pastes a LinkedIn URL into a tab.

It also changes how you pay and plan. You need to know the rate limit, what a failed call costs and how errors are returned. Read those before you build on any vendor. The guide to B2B data APIs covers what to check.

Example

A script has a work email and wants the person record. It sends one request with an API key in a header.

code
curl -X POST https://api.leadocean.io/v1/people/enrich \
  -H "x-api-key: $LEADOCEAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "jane.doe@acme.com"}'

The server answers with a status code and a JSON body. A 200 means a record came back, with fields such as name, title and company. A 404 means nothing is held for that person. The script reads the code, then decides what to do next.

Every API call follows that shape: a method (GET or POST), a path, credentials and a response you can parse.

In LeadOcean data

LeadOcean is a B2B people and company data API at https://api.leadocean.io, authenticated with the x-api-key header. It allows 100 requests per second per key, on every plan. Paths are listed in the OpenAPI spec (September 2026).

The main endpoints are:

  • POST /v1/people/enrich and POST /v1/companies/enrich to look up one person or company.
  • /v1/people/search and /v1/companies/search to build lists from filters.
  • GET /v1/companies/{domain}/people to list the people at one company.
  • GET /v2/people/email/work, GET /v2/people/email/personal and GET /v2/people/phone for contact details.
  • POST /v1/exports to export a large list.

The same data is also available through a hosted MCP server with 12 tools, for use from an AI assistant. A person returned from a search or lookup counts as one record. The free plan gives 1,000 records, one-off, with no card, and Pro is $499 a month. See /pricing.

For a comparison of vendors, read best B2B data providers with an API.

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