Your first 10 minutes

What this is for

This is the shortest path from “I have never opened the dashboard” to “I sent a real request to the API and watched it arrive”. You do not need to know anything about FHIR (the healthcare data standard ClinikAPI is built on). By the end you will have a test key, a successful request, and a practice record you created yourself, all using invented data.

Before you start

A ClinikAPI account that you can sign in with, and access to dashboard.clinikapi.com.
You must be an organization owner or admin to create a key. If you are a member, ask an owner to create one for you.
A terminal for the cURL example (macOS Terminal, Linux, or Windows PowerShell), or a Node.js project for the TypeScript example. You only need one of them.
About 10 minutes. Everything here uses the free practice environment (the sandbox), so you cannot break anything and nothing is billed.

Step by step

Open the dashboard and find your project

Sign in and open the dashboard. It takes you to the project you used last, or to your organization’s Projects page. An organization is your team or company; a project lives inside it and holds your API keys and the records they create. A new organization starts with one project called Default project. If you land on Projects, select its card. You arrive on Overview.Look at the top bar: it shows your organization name, then the project name, so you always know where you are. See The console layout if you want a tour.

Create a test key

Choose Access in the sidebar, then select Create test key. In the panel that opens, type a Name such as My first key, leave both Read and Write ticked, and select Create key.The panel changes to Key created. Select Copy key and paste it somewhere safe, such as a password manager. This is the only time you will ever see it: “For your security it is shown only this once.” If you lose it, you revoke it and make another. Then select Done.Your key begins with clk_test_. A test key works only against the sandbox. A live key (clk_live_) touches real data and needs a paid plan. See Access: API keys.

Send your first request

Go back to Overview. In the Connect card choose the cURL or TypeScript tab and select Copy code. The key in the snippet is shortened (for example clk_test_AbCd123…), so replace it with the full key you just copied.cURL (paste into a terminal; replace the key):

curl -X GET https://api.clinikapi.com/v1/patients \
  -H "x-api-key: clk_test_AbCd123…"

TypeScript (run on a server, never in a browser; npm install @clinikapi/sdk first):

import { Clinik } from '@clinikapi/sdk';

// Server-side only. Keep the key in an environment variable.
const clinik = new Clinik(process.env.CLINIKAPI_SECRET_KEY!);

const result = await clinik.patients.search();

Set CLINIKAPI_SECRET_KEY to your full test key before you run it. The request asks the API for a list of patients. A new project has none, so an empty list is the correct answer. That means it worked.

See your request in Logs

Choose Logs in the sidebar. Your request appears in the API requests tab with the method (GET), the path (/v1/patients), the status (200, in green) and how long it took. Select the path to see the details, including a Request ID you can quote to support. The log never stores what you sent or received.

Create a practice record and watch it in Realtime

Open Data browser, select Patients, paste your test key into Test key, and select Load records. You will see No records yet. Select New record, and in Record (JSON) enter invented details:

{ "firstName": "Jane", "lastName": "Doe" }

Select Validate and save. Record created appears and the new patient is in the table. Now open Realtime: within about 15 seconds you will see a patient.created event for it. If the API had refused your record, a list under the box would have named the field to fix. Read more in Data browser and Realtime.Use only made-up data here. The sandbox is not for real patient information, and records not touched for 90 days are cleaned up. See Sandbox rules.

Check your usage

Open Usage. The Requests this month meter has moved: on the Free plan, test requests count toward your 1,000 requests a month. Try the 24 hours chart to see your requests plotted.

Pick your next step

You have a key, a working request and a record. The cards below take you further.

What you’ll see

If the sandbox is not answering when you try step 5, the Data browser shows Sandbox coming soon instead of an empty table, and the project’s status reads Sandbox unavailable. Your key and the API are fine; try again in a few minutes. If your first request returns an authentication error, the key was copied with the shortened … or an extra space; paste the full key from when you created it.

Common questions

Do I need to understand FHIR first?

No. You can create and read records with plain JSON. FHIR simply gives each kind of record (a patient, a visit, a measurement) a standard shape, which the guides explain one at a time.

Can I lose my key?

You cannot recover it, but you can replace it: revoke it on Access and create a new one. Nothing else is lost.

Is this costing me anything?

No. Test keys are free. On the Free plan you get 1,000 requests a month; the Usage page shows how many you have used.

When do I switch to a live key?

When your code works against the sandbox and you are ready for real patients. Live keys need a paid plan and should live only on your own server. Until then keep everything on test keys.

Where do I get help?

The help menu (question-mark icon) has Documentation, System status and Contact support.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
Authentication error on the first request	Check the `x-api-key` header holds your full, unshortened key, with no spaces.
You cannot find Create test key	Only owners and admins see it. Ask one, or check you are on Access in the right project.
That key was not accepted in the Data browser	Use an active test key with Read (and Write to save records).
Sandbox coming soon	The practice environment is not answering right now. Retry later.
”Test keys are limited to 60 requests per minute”	Your organization’s test traffic is too fast. Wait a minute.

Next steps

Add a webhook

Get a signed message at your server whenever a record changes.

Understand your keys

Scopes, revoking, and test versus live.

Explore the API

Copy-ready requests for every resource.

Learn the words

A plain-language glossary of dashboard terms.

Dashboard

Account & access

Organizations & billing

Projects & keys

Working with data

Your first 10 minutes

Your first 10 minutes

What this is for

Before you start

Step by step

What you’ll see

Common questions

Troubleshooting

Next steps

Add a webhook

Understand your keys

Explore the API

Learn the words

​Your first 10 minutes

​What this is for

​Before you start

​Step by step

​What you’ll see

​Common questions

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Add a webhook

Understand your keys

Explore the API

Learn the words

​Related

Your first 10 minutes

What this is for

Before you start

Step by step

What you’ll see

Common questions

Troubleshooting

Next steps

Related