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.

When using the supported Integrations with Files.com, Remote Servers which are using Mounts will generate API calls when working with Files and Folder actions via these same interfaces above. Files.com also supports integrations with iPaaS vendors, and any calls generated from using this integration will be counted towards the API Calls.

Starting September 26, 2023, we are counting all such calls as API calls which will be counted towards Billable API Calls count on your account.

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.

Persistently high API call usage can result from 'polling', the process of sending the same GET, LIST, or STAT request over and over again to look for changes. We recommend using Webhooks to avoid polling if your API usage is high.

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.