Launching a branded AI API portal is not complete when the homepage looks right. The real delivery moment is when a customer can register, create a credential, make one documented request, and find the matching usage record—without receiving the operator's master key.
Ace Data Cloud's white-label API Platform provides the hosted developer portal, service catalog, pricing, documentation, customer console, and branded API entry points. You configure the customer-facing experience while the platform maintains the underlying AI services. That removes the need to build and deploy a portal from scratch, but it does not create a separately isolated gateway or a separate identity system for every branded site.
This guide shows a practical first-customer handoff.
Disclosure: This product guide is adapted from current Ace Data Cloud documentation with AI-assisted drafting and human-directed requirements. Placeholder domains and credentials below are not real.
The delivery problem to solve
A weak handoff usually contains only a homepage link and a vague instruction to “get an API key.” The customer then has to guess:
- whether to register on the website or API hostname;
- which credential page creates an API Key;
- whether the model name is a marketing label or an API identifier;
- where the Base URL ends and the endpoint path begins;
- how to prove a request was charged correctly.
A usable API product should give the customer four distinct items:
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Page domain | Registration, login, docs, pricing, and console |
| API Base URL | Destination used by the customer's application |
| Public service/model name | Identifier required by the selected documentation |
| Integration document | Exact protocol, endpoint, parameters, and response flow |
Do not replace any of these with a case-study tenant, an old screenshot hostname, or the documentation page URL.
1. Create the branded developer portal
Log in with the operator account and open Site Management. Choose Create, then enter a brand name and a system-domain prefix. The current prefix accepts 3–32 lowercase letters, digits, or hyphens; it cannot start or end with a hyphen or contain consecutive hyphens.
Start with the assigned system URL. In Manage → Site Settings, add the site name, description, logo, and favicon. Then use Visit Site and inspect the portal in a private window.
A basic portal can be created in minutes when the name and prefix are ready. That quick start does not include DNS propagation, HTTPS activation for a custom domain, a complete service catalog, commercial readiness, or the first sale.
2. Publish one supportable integration path
Do not open every AI service on day one. Pick one capability your team can explain and support, then verify that its catalog entry leads to current pricing and documentation.
Prepare a handoff record like this:
portal_url: https://portal.example.com
api_base_url: https://api.example.com
service: public-service-name-from-current-docs
docs_url: https://portal.example.com/documents/example-service
support_route: https://portal.example.com/support
credential_owner: customer
first_test: one small documented request
This is a delivery checklist, not an SDK configuration. Use the protocol shown in the current service documentation rather than inventing package names or assuming every service is OpenAI-compatible.
3. Have the customer create their own Key
The customer should open the page domain, register or log in, and return to the branded portal. Existing platform accounts may log in directly because white-label branding does not create an independent user database for each site.
From the customer console, the normal path is Applications → select the application → Manage Keys/Keys → Create. The customer should name the credential by project and environment, for example checkout-staging, and apply available expiration, usage, or allowed-API restrictions as needed.
The operator should never paste a shared master Key into a tutorial. The customer should store the new Key in server-side secret management, not browser code, a public repository, screenshots, or support chat.
A sanitized local configuration might look like this:
export AI_API_BASE_URL="https://api.example.com"
export AI_API_KEY="${CUSTOMER_OWN_SECRET}"
export AI_SERVICE="public-service-name-from-current-docs"
4. Verify one minimal request and its usage record
Copy the smallest request from the selected service's current documentation. Replace only the documented Base URL, the customer's own Key, and required parameters. Confirm the price before any paid test; creating the portal is separate from paying for model usage.
Some image, music, or video APIs are asynchronous. A submission response may contain a task ID rather than the final asset. Continue polling the original task as documented—do not treat “submitted” as “completed,” and do not resubmit blindly when the result is unknown.
Acceptance requires two pieces of evidence:
- one successful response or completed task;
- one corresponding usage record in the customer's console.
Record the time, service, status, and a non-secret request/task identifier. Never copy the full authorization header into a ticket.
5. Understand the practical limits
A branded catalog is a discovery layer. Hiding a service does not automatically revoke an already valid credential. If access scope matters, configure and test the actual credential restrictions supported by the current console.
Likewise, a custom API domain is a branded entry point, not proof of an independently deployed gateway. Copy the current CNAME target from your own console when configuring DNS; do not reuse a proxy address from an old article or another tenant.
Finally, operating a portal can support earnings from eligible customer purchases, but there is no fixed-income promise. Attribution, valid orders, distribution rules, refunds, and risk controls determine the final record.
Ship the customer path, not just the homepage
The shortest useful launch sequence is:
- create and brand the portal;
- publish one clear service and its current documentation;
- let the customer register and create their own Key;
- test one small request;
- reconcile the usage record;
- only then expand the catalog or bind production domains.
Use the API Platform quick-start guide to create the portal, then follow Customer Sign-up, API Keys and API Delivery for the credential handoff. When you are ready to build, open Ace Data Cloud Site Management.
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