FYC LABS
Embark Public API Proposal / August 27, 2026
For Kristen and the Embark team

A public API for Embark.
Documented and keyed,
live in 4 weeks.

In August a base owner connected an app he'd built to your schedule, and it raised a fair question about protecting what runs on Embark. This is the answer. One documented way in, with keys you issue and revoke.

Embark Public API 4 weeks / $7K to $8K
The Situation

You asked how to
protect what runs
on Embark.

A base owner built an application against your schedule and showed it to the AI committee in August. He did it to demonstrate what was possible, and it worked.

It also raised a fair question. As more franchise developers build on Embark, you need a way to decide who reaches what, and a way to change your mind later.

That's what an API is for. You publish the data you're willing to share, you issue a key per base, and you take it back whenever you want. Ben has already built this pattern once, for Let's Book.

The Investment
$7K to $8K Time and materials, billed monthly

The high end is a ceiling, not a target. We bill for hours worked, invoiced the 1st for the prior month, net 14.

45 to 50 Hours of design + dev

Engineering, architecture and QA. No design hours, because nothing here has a screen. Every row is v1 spine, so there's nothing to trim.

Kickoff on signature Ship: 4 weeks from kickoff
What We're Building

Read-only in v1.
Keyed, limited, documented.

01

The read endpoints

Schedule, availability, and the check-on and check-off records. Read-only in v1, so a franchise developer can build against your data with no way to write anything back into it.

02

Keys you control

Every developer gets a key scoped to one base. You issue it, you see what it pulls, and you revoke it without touching anything else on the platform.

03

A ceiling on traffic

Request limits per key, so one developer's script can't slow Embark down for the other bases. You set the quotas and we enforce them before the request reaches your database.

04

Documentation that ships with it

A published reference a franchise developer can build against without ever calling anyone at SailTime. For an API handed to outside builders, the documentation is half the product.

05

Versioning, decided up front

You add to Embark constantly. A version prefix on the API means each of those additions stops being a breaking change for the developers already building on top of you.

06

Eyes on it after launch

Error tracking and alerts on the public surface, so a broken integration reaches your inbox instead of reaching you as a phone call from a base owner on a Saturday.

The Difference

Two ways to give
someone your data.

The shortcut

Direct database access

It takes an afternoon. The developer gets a connection string and everything behind it, including the tables you never meant to share. Taking it back means changing credentials on your own systems.

“Just give him database access.”

The front door

A keyed, documented API

It takes 4 weeks. The developer gets the fields you published, at a rate you set, under a key with his name on it. Taking it back is one click.

“Here's your key and the docs.”

Ben built this pattern for Let's Book Same approach, published
In your words

“A broader discussion around how we protect any code, integrations, or other IP developed for SailTime.”

Stacey Gould
SailTime, August 13
The Timeline

4 weeks,
three tracks at once.

KickoffShip
Architecture + Spec
W1
Read Endpoints
W2-3
Keys + Scoping
W2-4
Documentation
W2-4
Limits + Monitoring
W3-4
QA + Handoff
W4

Documentation and key management run alongside the endpoint build instead of waiting for it to finish. That is how 4 weeks holds. The tradeoff is that a late change to the key model touches work already in flight, which is why week 1 settles it.

The Scope / Part 01 of 02

What a franchise developer gets.

Open any line for what's included
Endpoint / Component Type Design Dev
  • Bookings and availability returned per base, filtered to that key's scope
  • Pagination and date filters so nobody pulls the whole season at once
  • Boat and fleet detail on the same call, no second round trip
  • Read-only, so nothing external can write to your schedule
  • Check-on and check-off records readable by keyed external consumers
  • Response shapes stay stable, so a change in Embark doesn't break a caller
  • Field-level permissions applied, condition notes stay internal unless you publish them
  • No external key can write a check-on record in v1
  • Issue a key from the base profile in Embark, no ticket required
  • Each key scoped to one base and one set of endpoints
  • Revoke instantly, the key stops working on the next request
  • Sandbox keys so outside developers build against test data, not production
  • Per-key request log, so you can see who pulled what
  • Published reference covering every endpoint, parameter and response shape
  • Auth and key setup written so a developer starts without calling you
  • Working example requests a developer can paste and run
  • Error codes documented, including what a revoked key returns
Part 01 Subtotal 0h 22h
The Scope / Part 02 of 02

What protects Embark.

Endpoint / Component Type Design Dev
  • Working session with Ben on the Embark data model and its constraints
  • Key model decided, per-base scoping against per-consumer scoping, written down
  • Version prefix and a deprecation policy so v1 stays stable
  • Write surface deferred, and the contract written so it can be added
  • Request quotas per key, set by you, enforced at the edge
  • Over-limit callers get a clean 429 with a retry window
  • One franchise script can't degrade Embark for the other bases
  • Burst allowance so normal integrations never hit the ceiling
  • Sentry on the public surface, separate from internal Embark errors
  • Alerts routed so a failing integration reaches a person, not a log
  • Uptime check on the API independent of the Embark web app
  • Per-endpoint error rates visible, so you know which consumer is broken
Part 02 Subtotal 0h 12h
+ Project Management 15% of total hours 5h
+ QA + Testing 20% of dev hours 7h
Project Total 0h 46h
FYC LABS
Next step

Ready when you are, SailTime.

Say the word and we start with the working session between Ben and our architect. Everything here is v1 and read-only. The maintenance endpoints and the fuel ingestion wait until you've watched a franchise developer use this, and none of it waits on the mobile app decision.

Contact

Brian Hammond
VP of Sales, FYC Labs

Reach Me

bhammond@fyclabs.com
fyclabs.com

Proposal valid 14 days August 27, 2026
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