Embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods are described for creating and managing an abstract, API-based infrastructure base model. The API-based model can abstract infrastructure assets, such as infrastructure components or connections between components, into a metadata model using standardized syntax and interfaces, for defining and building an infrastructure. Using a modeling document, connections and components of an infrastructure can be abstracted into an API-based model having semantics that covers them all. Connections and infrastructure components can be made available for selection, arrangement, and grouping to build complex infrastructure models without requiring complex API coding by the user. Other infrastructure models having different API definitions can be by abstracted to standardize the assets for building new APIs. The APIs can be further modified and exported to another or the same implementation project.