Central to Toolhub will be the API, on top of which the user interface will be built. Aside from it being good practice to separate data transactions from data presentation, this also reflects our priority of gathering, organizing, and distributing high quality data. Part of realizing this vision is being able to submit and request information about tools in more places than just the official UI. For instance, once the API is online, a Wikidata gadget could be written to create an automatically updated list of Wikidata gadgets, allowing Wikidata users to learn about helpful tools without leaving the site. One hundred percent of Toolhub business will be possible through the API alone.
The API and the user interface will be developed in tandem; as API methods are implemented, so will parts of the user interface. The top priority is to achieve feature parity with Hay's directory. This includes:
* Submitting a URL of a toolinfo.json file to be crawled
* Retrieving a list of URLs of toolinfo.json files that are regularly crawled
* Retrieving a list of all tools
* Retrieving records about an individual tool