Running
Profound API runs on the Profound.js server. Starting, ending, and auto-starting a Profound API instance is identical to Profound.js — the same command, the same instance configuration file, and the same server job. The full procedure is documented on the Starting and Ending Profound.js Instances page.
Overview
Profound API can be run manually from a command line or configured to start automatically. The API Designer (IDE) and the API service are started together with a single command — there is no separate service to start for APIs.
Because Profound API and Profound.js share the same server runtime, there is no Profound API-specific start command. On IBM i, instances are controlled through the *PJS server, and the instance configuration file is located at /profoundjs-base/instances/INSTANCE_NAME/conf, whether the instance is used for APIs, Profound.js applications, or both.
Where to Find Start and End Instructions
All start, end, and auto-start procedures are maintained in the Profound.js documentation so that there is a single, current source for them:
What you want to do | Where it is documented |
|---|---|
Start or end an instance on IBM i using the | |
Start or end an instance on Linux, Windows, or another Node.js server. | |
Set instance configuration directives, such as | |
Auto-start and manage the instance on a non-IBM i server using a process manager. | |
Allow inbound connections to the instance when running on Windows. |
Reloading Changes Without Restarting
API files and Workspaces are hot reloaded automatically when they are saved in the API Designer, so a saved API is immediately ready to be consumed. If they are updated outside of the IDE — for example, when file copies are used to update a production instance from a development instance — they are not reloaded automatically.
Rather than ending and restarting the instance, two authenticated routes can be called to reload these files in place:
/reloadAPI - Reloads all API files that are not located in a Workspace.
/reloadWorkspaces - Reloads all files in Workspaces, including API files inside Workspaces.
Both routes require basic authentication to be configured before they can be used. Setup steps, prerequisites, and examples are on the Hot module reloading page, which covers Profound API and Profound.js together.