Getting Started with Platform API

Welcome to the Platform API documentation. This guide will help you understand the core concepts, set up your environment, and make your first API request in under 5 minutes.

Overview

The Platform API provides a robust set of endpoints for building scalable applications. It follows RESTful principles and returns JSON responses. All endpoints are versioned and backward-compatible within major versions.

Whether you are building a web application, mobile app, or integrating with third-party services, our API is designed to be intuitive and developer-friendly. View the full API reference .

Figure 1: API integration workflow overview

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following requirements met:

An active Platform account with API access enabled
Node.js version 18 or higher installed on your machine
A valid API key from your dashboard settings
Basic understanding of REST APIs and JSON data format
Git installed for version control (optional but recommended)

API Key Security

Never expose your API key in client-side code or public repositories. Use environment variables to store sensitive credentials securely.

Installation Steps

Follow these steps to set up the SDK in your project:

Install the SDK

Use npm or yarn to install the official SDK package into your project.

# Using npmnpm install @platform/sdk

# Using yarn
yarn add @platform/sdk

Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in your project root and add your API key.

# .env
PLATFORM_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
PLATFORM_API_URL=https://api.platform.com/v3

Initialize the Client

Import and initialize the SDK client in your application entry point.

import { PlatformClient } from '@platform/sdk';

const client = new PlatformClient({
  apiKey: process.env.PLATFORM_API_KEY,
  environment: 'production'
});

Verify Connection

Run a health check to confirm your setup is working correctly.

const health = await client.health.check();
console.log(health.status); // Output: "ok"

Rate Limiting

Exceeding 1000 requests per minute will result in a temporary IP ban. Implement exponential backoff for retry logic in your applications.

Making Your First Request

Once the SDK is installed and configured, you can start making API calls. Here is an example of fetching user data:

// Fetch user profile
const user = await client.users.get('user_12345');

console.log(user.name);      // "John Doe"
console.log(user.email);     // "john@example.com"
console.log(user.plan);      // "pro"

Figure 2: Example API response in terminal

Success Response

A successful request returns HTTP 200 with a JSON payload. All responses include a request_id for debugging and support purposes.

Key Features

The Platform API comes packed with features designed to accelerate your development workflow:

Auto-pagination - Handle large datasets with built-in cursor-based pagination
WebSocket support - Real-time updates for events and notifications
TypeScript definitions - Full type safety out of the box
Retry logic - Automatic retries with exponential backoff on transient failures
Request logging - Debug and audit all API calls with detailed logs
Webhook signatures - Verify webhook authenticity with HMAC signatures

Figure 3: Platform dashboard with API analytics

Next Steps

Now that you have made your first request, explore the following resources to deepen your understanding:

For any questions or issues, feel free to reach out via our community forum or open a ticket on our support portal .