This document introduces plone.api, which provides a simple Python API for common Plone development tasks. It aims to cover 20% of tasks developers do 80% of the time through clear and discoverable API methods. The goals are to keep everything in one place, stay introspectable and discoverable, and be Pythonic. It was developed using test-driven development, sprint sessions helped contribute. Examples show how it can get the portal root or check permissions in a cleaner way than before. Future work may include more methods to make additional common tasks simpler.