APIS FOR DEVELOPERS

How to make your first API call on RapidAPI in 5 minutes

Updated

Short answer

Sign up on RapidAPI, open the API's page, subscribe to its Basic plan (it has a free monthly allowance), then go to the Endpoints tab, fill in a value and click Test Endpoint. The answer shows in your browser. Open Code Snippets, pick your language and copy the code. It already includes your X-RapidAPI-Key and the API's X-RapidAPI-Host headers.

1. Sign up (1 minute)

  1. Go to rapidapi.com and click Sign Up at the top right. Signing in with Google or GitHub is fastest.
  2. RapidAPI makes a default app for you, which holds your key. You don't need to set anything up.

2. Subscribe to the free plan (1 minute)

  1. Open the API's page. For this example, use Dnsward Domain Security Check (our APIs page links to it).
  2. Open the Pricing tab and choose the Basic plan. It has a small monthly allowance at no charge, with a hard limit, so you can't run up a bill by accident.
  3. Confirm the subscription. Many APIs on RapidAPI work the same way: if an API has plans, you pick one before you can call it.

3. Test an endpoint in the browser (2 minutes)

  1. Go back to the Endpoints tab and choose an endpoint. For Dnsward, pick GET /check.
  2. Type a value in the parameters: for domain, enter a domain you own, such as example.com.
  3. Click Test Endpoint. The response appears on the right. For Dnsward, it's a grade from A to F with every finding and its fix.

4. Copy the code (1 minute)

  1. Open Code Snippets and choose your language (curl, JavaScript fetch, Python requests and many more).
  2. Copy the snippet into your project. It already has the two headers every call needs: X-RapidAPI-Key (your key) and X-RapidAPI-Host (the API's address on RapidAPI).
  3. A curl call looks like this (your real host and key are in the snippet):
curl --url 'https://<api-host>.p.rapidapi.com/check?domain=example.com' \
  --header 'X-RapidAPI-Key: <your key>' \
  --header 'X-RapidAPI-Host: <api-host>.p.rapidapi.com'

Keep your key safe and watch your usage

  1. Your key is like a password. Keep it on your server or in an environment variable; don't put it in a web page, a public repo or an app people can download.
  2. If a key leaks, make a new one for your app in the Developer Dashboard and stop using the old one.
  3. See your calls and what's left of your monthly allowance in the Developer Dashboard. Each response's headers also show how many calls you have left.

Tips

  • Use the playground to try odd inputs (an empty value, a typo) before you write error handling.
  • Every Dnsward response carries an X-Request-Id header. Quote it if you write to us about a call.
  • Ready for more calls? Change plans on the API's Pricing tab; your key and code stay the same.

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Questions

Do I need a credit card for the Basic plan?

That's up to RapidAPI and the API's plan. Our Basic plans are free, with a hard monthly limit and no overage. RapidAPI shows what it needs when you subscribe.

Where do I find my X-RapidAPI-Key?

In any endpoint's code snippet on RapidAPI, or under your app in the Developer Dashboard.

Why do I get a 403 or "not subscribed" error?

You haven't subscribed to a plan for that API yet, or the key belongs to a different app. Subscribe on the Pricing tab and use the key shown in that API's snippet.

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