Introduction
ZapAPI is the Lightning platform for everyone — a payment gateway for developers, monetization tools for creators, and an AI gateway paid per query in sats.
ZapAPI is the Lightning platform for everyone. Three product surfaces on one payment core: a merchant payment gateway for developers, creator monetization tools, and an AI gateway with 500+ models paid per query in Bitcoin sats. Non-custodial by design — no subscriptions required anywhere.
Get started in minutes
Quickstart
Create an account, get an API key and accept your first payment in under 5 minutes.
AI Gateway
500+ models through one OpenAI-compatible API — paid per query in sats over Lightning.
TypeScript SDK
npm i @zapapi/sdk — every API, fully typed, zero dependencies.
API Reference
Every endpoint with request/response schemas and a live Try-it console.
The three surfaces
Payments
Invoices, payment links, refunds, customers and hosted checkout — the merchant API.
Creator
Bio pages, subscriptions, tip jars, lightning addresses and the address marketplace.
AI Gateway
Chat, image, video, TTS, STT and embedding models with live sats pricing.
Webhooks
Stripe-style signed events with retries, replay and delivery logs.
Why ZapAPI
- Built for developers. Idempotency keys, cursor pagination, deterministic errors, typed SDKs, sandboxed test mode, and signed webhooks that behave like the payment APIs you already know.
- Lightning-native, end to end. BOLT-11 invoices, LNURL-pay, NIP-57 zaps, NWC (NIP-47) subscriptions and on-chain swaps — all in one platform.
- Self-custody friendly. Connect your own node or NWC wallet; withdraw anytime. We never hold keys you don't give us.
- Pay per use, everywhere. Payments settle directly, AI is billed per query in sats, and the platform itself is priced in sats — no forced subscriptions.
Generated from a live OpenAPI spec
The API reference under API Reference is generated from the same OpenAPI spec that runs in production, so the docs always match the live API.
Where to go next
- Integrating a checkout? Start with the Quickstart, then read about Webhooks and Idempotency.
- Building with AI? Read the AI Quickstart and Models & Pricing.
- Building a creator product? Read Creator Features and the Lightning Address Marketplace.
- Operating at scale? See Rate Limits, Security & Compliance and the Platform Architecture.