Just got my first real platform integration merged: Obolus → Pipedream 🚀
Obolus is a cross-country salary + payroll API I originally built around a simple question:
“Where does the same salary actually go furthest once taxes and living costs are factored in?”
Over time it evolved into:
payroll calculations
salary comparison tools
public API
MCP server
OpenAPI endpoints
This was actually my first deeper experience adapting an API to another platform’s ecosystem and conventions.
Interesting lessons:
“good API” and “good integration” are very different things
workflow UX matters a lot
platform conventions matter more than personal preferences
automation tools want deterministic, structured outputs
advanced flexibility can easily overwhelm normal users
The Pipedream review process was surprisingly helpful because it forced me to:
clean up auth handling
redesign request abstractions
standardize naming
improve component ergonomics
Still early, but feels like an important step from:
“tool/project”
→ toward
“developer platform”
Curious if others here have gone through similar “API → ecosystem integration” transitions.
