API definitions can be complex and span across multiple REST resources and methods, or SOAP operations for an API. To reduce the complexity of an API definition, you can define scopes and impose a set of policies on each scope to suit your requirements.

A scope represents a logical grouping of REST resources, methods, or both, and SOAP operations in an API. You can then enforce a specific set of policies on each individual scope in the API.

An API can have a set of declared scopes. The available scopes for an API are listed in the Scopes tab of the API details page.

For information on the usage scenarios of scopes in an API, see Example: Usage Scenarios of API Scopes.