Billable API Calls

We track Billable API Calls as a way to ensure that customers who have very high system usage pay for their fair share of the resources consumed.

As defined in our Terms of Service, your count of Billable API Calls is simply the total count of any request sent to the Files.com API servers.

This means that any activity on your site using the web interface, Files.com apps, FTP/SFTP/DAV protocols, or our SDKs will generate API calls.

In nearly all of the cases we've seen where customers have very high API usage, the usage was the result of a buggy or inefficient scripted/automated process repeatedly making duplicate or unnecessary requests.

A common example we see is uploading 1,000 files and listing a folder after each upload, rather than at the end of the upload batch. The Files.com API returns up to 10,000 results per API list request, so in a folder with 100,000 files, that would result in 10 API calls per list. That means by running a list after every upload, you generate 11x as much API activity.

Customers using high amounts of API usage can certainly just purchase a larger plan, but what we prefer is that you audit your usage and fix the wasteful process.

Your site's File history does not provide a complete view of the activity on your site, since some of the most commonly used API operations (such as LIST operations for listing files) are not logged in history.

If you'd like assistance with identifying the source of your high API usage, please give us a call at 1-800-286-8372, ext 2 during USA business hours, or book a Zoom or phone call on our calendar.