At a Glance:
Orbital is a data gateway that automates API and data source integration using existing API specs enriched with semantic metadata, eliminating the need for glue code and adapting automatically as services evolve.
Overview:
Orbital is a data gateway designed to automate the orchestration, integration, and transformation of data and services across an enterprise. It works by leveraging existing API specifications, such as OpenAPI or Protobuf, that have been enriched with semantic metadata using Taxi. Rather than requiring engineers to write and maintain glue code for each integration, Orbital composes APIs on demand in response to queries. This approach allows it to function as a single federated API for multiple data sources without requiring a shift to GraphQL. It is intended for environments with diverse technology stacks where services change independently, as it automatically adapts its integration flows when the underlying API specs are updated.
Key Decision Points:
Powered by existing API specs: Orbital integrates by reading API specifications you already maintain, eliminating the need for a separate integration codebase.
Spec-first, decentralized federation: Integration logic is defined directly in API specs, allowing different teams to ship changes independently without a central mapping layer.
On-demand query composition: It builds and composes the necessary API calls for each query at runtime, rather than relying on pre-built, brittle integration code.
Query server foundation: Under the hood, Orbital operates as a TaxiQL query server, processing requests based on the semantic relationships defined in your specs.
Core Features:
Automatic integration flow adaptation: Integration logic adjusts automatically as your API specifications change.
On-the-fly query composition: Multiple APIs are composed in real-time to fulfill a single data request.
Multi-specification support: Works by embedding metadata in OpenAPI, Protobuf, Avro, and other spec formats.
Technology-agnostic connectivity: Connects to REST, gRPC, SOAP, and Kafka sources without requiring them to be the same protocol.
API specification publishing: Supports having Orbital poll an OpenAPI spec, read from a Git repository, or receive pushed specs directly.
Decentralized semantic scalars: Allows teams to use different ID schemes and models, composing them through shared semantic scalars without forcing common data models.
Use Cases:
Developers who need to unify data from REST, gRPC, and message broker sources into a single API without migrating to GraphQL.
Decentralized teams that want to evolve their services and API specs independently while still providing a unified data access layer.
Architects looking to remove hand-written integration glue code that breaks when upstream APIs change.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Orbital provides an open-source approach to API federation and integration that is built on a spec-first, decentralized model. Its value comes from using semantic metadata within existing API specifications to automate what is typically a manually coded process. The project offers a self-hosted runtime that can be spun up using Docker, allowing users to test and operate the gateway locally. As an alternative, it differentiates itself from resolver-based federation tools by eliminating the need for a dedicated integration or middleware team to maintain custom glue code between disparate services.
