I browsed the VSAM file. Why is there still no API?

I opened the dataset, attached the copybook, and expected an API. Callers get nothing. What is left?

Publish. Browsing the dataset and associating COBOL copybooks builds the catalog layout. Published layouts become callable dataset APIs. Browse alone does not expose an API. Writes, if you need them, also require the write surface and the caller's RACF authority. Read-by-key does not open that write surface.