# Infor VISUAL REST API: what exists, the API Toolkit and how to wrap it > Source: https://netray.co/erp-help/infor-visual-rest-api-and-api-toolkit-options > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: ERP Help ## Short answer Classic Infor VISUAL integrates through the VISUAL API Toolkit (COM objects that apply business logic), direct SQL access for reads, and flat-file or EDI imports. A native REST API is not the traditional route. Most teams expose REST themselves by wrapping the Toolkit or SQL reads in a small service, or use Infor ION where their version and licence support it. ## Kind how-to ## System infor-visual ## Erp Infor VISUAL (VISUAL Manufacturing) ## Module Integration / API ## Query infor visual rest api ## Alternate Queries - infor visual api documentation - infor visual api toolkit - infor visual integration options ## Applies To Infor VISUAL on SQL Server, various versions. Confirm Toolkit availability and ION support for your release with Infor. ## Steps ### Choose and build a VISUAL integration **Items:** - List the use case: read-only reporting, creating orders or receipts, or two-way sync with another system. - For reads, use SQL views or a reporting database rather than the live tables where you can. - For writes, use the VISUAL API Toolkit so VISUAL business rules and validations run. Avoid direct INSERT or UPDATE on VISUAL tables. - Get the Toolkit documentation and licence from Infor through your support portal or reseller. - Write a small service (for example .NET on the same Windows host) that calls the Toolkit and exposes a REST endpoint to the outside world. - Secure the endpoint with authentication and network restrictions, and log every call. - Test in a copy of the database with realistic data before any production write. - Monitor for failures and queue retries, since Toolkit calls can fail on locks or validation. ## Sections ### The VISUAL API Toolkit **Body:** The API Toolkit is a COM-based set of objects installed with or alongside VISUAL that lets external programs create and change VISUAL transactions the same way the application does. Because it runs VISUAL's own rules, it is the supported way to write data. It is typically called from VBScript, VB, or .NET through COM interop. Documentation and the object reference are provided by Infor to licensed customers, so search your Infor support portal rather than relying on public forum snippets. Treat any example you find in a forum as a hint, and verify method names against the reference for your version. ### Direct SQL access: when it is safe **Body:** VISUAL stores its data in SQL Server, so reading with SQL is common and fine for reports and dashboards. Typical tables include CUSTOMER_ORDER, CUST_ORDER_LINE, WORK_ORDER, OPERATION, LABOR_TICKET and PART. Use a read-only login, ideally on a replica or restored copy, so a heavy query never slows the shop floor. Writing directly into these tables bypasses validations, numbering and audit logic and can corrupt data in ways that surface weeks later. Keep writes behind the Toolkit. ### Putting REST in front **Body:** If you need a REST interface, build a thin service that accepts JSON, validates it, and calls the Toolkit or runs a parameterised read. Keep the service stateless, run it on Windows because the Toolkit is COM, and queue writes so a burst from an upstream system does not overload VISUAL. If your organisation uses Infor ION, check whether a VISUAL connector or BOD flow is supported for your version before building your own. Where it is, it can reduce custom code. Where it is not, the wrapper approach is usually quicker. **Code:** POST /api/visual/receipts { "workOrderId": "W1234", "partId": "ABC-100", "qty": 10 } -> service validates -> service calls VISUAL API Toolkit receipt object -> returns 200 with transaction number, or 422 with the VISUAL error text ## Pitfalls - Writing to VISUAL tables with SQL instead of the Toolkit. - Running Toolkit calls from a machine without the correct VISUAL client install and database access. - Unthrottled integration traffic locking tables during shop floor hours. - Exposing a wrapper service to the internet without authentication. - Copying Toolkit examples written for a different VISUAL version. ## Ai Angle For read use cases, an AI layer over VISUAL needs no new API: a governed read-only SQL connection plus a model that knows the schema is enough to answer questions such as which work orders are late. For writes, it should go through the Toolkit wrapper with human approval. Netray builds this pattern for VISUAL and other on-prem ERPs so the model runs on your own hardware. ## Faq ### Does Infor VISUAL have a REST API? **Answer:** Not as its traditional integration route. The established options are the API Toolkit, SQL reads and file imports. REST is usually provided by a wrapper you build or through ION where supported. Check your version with Infor. ### Where is the API documentation? **Answer:** The Toolkit reference is distributed to licensed customers through Infor support and your reseller. Public documentation is limited, so check your support portal. ### Can I just insert rows into the database? **Answer:** Not for transactional data. Direct inserts skip business logic and can break numbering and integrity. Use the Toolkit for writes and SQL for reads. ### Is the Toolkit usable from Python or Node? **Answer:** It is COM, so it works best from Windows with .NET, VB or similar. Other languages can call it through a small Windows service that exposes REST. ## Search terms infor visual rest api, infor visual api documentation, visual api toolkit, visual manufacturing integration, infor visual sql tables, visual manufacturing api, infor visual ion, visual erp web service --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json