Installing IBM API Connect Designer Toolkit on Windows

Posted Sep 25, 2024 Updated Oct 21, 2024

By Aditya Singh

1 min read

Hello Tech Enthusiasts 👋,

Discussing toolkits, IBM API Connect (hereafter referred as APIC) provides an offline toolkit designed for development purposes, which includes an offline UI, also known as the Designer toolkit, and command-line enabled commands to automate deployment processes (CI/CD).

We can either download it from IBM Fix Central or best case, use APIC Cloud/Manager UI homepage. Here, I’m using API Manager UI to install.

I will also provide guidance on automating deployment in upcoming articles. Stay tuned.

Installation

On APIC Manager UI homepage and click ‘Download toolkit’. I prefer to set up the credentials in the first step as well, as this allows the designer UI to run immediately after installation.

APIM Manager UI Homepage

Toolkit Installation Options

Download API Designer credentials (designer_credentials.json).
Update environment variable to designer_credentials.json. Run following command from windows CMD (need admin to run). You can do the same from windows gui.

setx APIC_DESIGNER_CREDENTIALS <folderpath>\designer_credentials.json /m

Windows Environment Set Variable CMD

In case permission issue, we can use temporary set instead of setx variable.
Next, on the step-1 Download toolkit, select the windows operating system. It will download toolkit-loopback-designer-windows.zip file.
Extract the content and you can see two files as api_designer-win.exe and apic.exe {command line toolkit}.
Double click the api_designer-win.exe and follow the prompt (Next / Install).

Follow the below 👇 steps as per screenshots and you should be easily able to install the toolkit 🤞 😊

Windows Installation Prompt (click Run anyway)

Windows Installation Complete Prompt

After installation, it would request to Connect to cloud

Designer Toolkit Connect to Cloud Prompt

Enter API-Manager UI URL

Next it would ask you to ‘Open a Directory’. If this is your first time, create a project directory in your local windows folder, then browse and select it.

Designer Toolkit Open a director prompt