AEM APIs overview

Last update: Wed Apr 30 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
  • Applies to:
  • Experience Manager as a Cloud Service

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Learn about the different types of APIs in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) and understand which API to choose for your integration.

To create, read, update, and delete content, assets, and forms in AEM, developers can use a wide range of APIs. These APIs enable developers to create custom applications that interact with AEM.

Let’s explore the different types of APIs in AEM and understand which API to choose for your integration.

Types of AEM APIs

AEM offers following APIs for interacting with its author and publish service types.

AEM API Type
Description
Availability
Use Case
API Examples
OpenAPI-based AEM APIs
Standardized, machine-readable APIs for Assets, Sites, and Forms.
AEM as a Cloud Service only
API-first development, modern applications
RESTful APIs
Traditional REST endpoints for interacting with AEM resources.
AEM 6.X, AEM as a Cloud Service
CRUD operations, modern applications
GraphQL APIs
Optimized for retrieving structured content efficiently with flexible queries.
AEM 6.X, AEM as a Cloud Service
Headless CMS, SPAs, mobile apps
Traditional (Non-RESTful) APIs
Older APIs like JCR, Sling Models, Query Builder, and others.
AEM 6.X, AEM as a Cloud Service
Legacy integrations, backward compatibility

For more details, see the Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service APIs page.

Which API to choose

When selecting an API for your integration, consider the following factors:

  • Use Case: Determine whether the AEM API supports your use case. Whenever possible, use OpenAPI-based AEM APIs, as they provide a standardized, modern approach to interacting with AEM. If OpenAPI-based APIs are not available, consider using RESTful APIs or GraphQL APIs and as a last resort, traditional APIs.

  • Compatibility: Ensure that the selected API is compatible with your AEM version. For instance, OpenAPI-based AEM APIs are exclusive to AEM as a Cloud Service and are unavailable in AEM 6.X.

  • AEM Service Type: Author vs. Publish: The choice of API also depends on whether it runs on the Author or Publish service, as their access models are different. The AEM Author service is used for content creation and always requires authentication. The AEM Publish service is used for content delivery and may not require authentication, depending on the use case.

  • Authentication: Verify that the API supports the authentication method you plan to use. For example:

    • OpenAPI-based AEM APIs: support OAuth 2.0 authentication, including Client Credentials (Server-to-Server), Authorization Code (Web App), and Proof Key for Code Exchange (Single Page App) grant types. Other AEM APIs do not support OAuth 2.0 authentication.
    • RESTful APIs: support JSON Web Token (JWT) authentication, also knows as token-based authentication.