> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ambit.gitbook.io/developer/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ambit.gitbook.io/developer/getting-started/quick-start.md).

# Quick Start

## Getting your API key

API keys are used to authenticate requests to the API. Any request that doesn't include an API key will return an error.

You can generate an API key by going to **Settings** → **API keys** → **Create new key** on a paid plan.

## Using your API key

The Ambit Developer API uses the `Bearer` authentication scheme to authenticate incoming requests.

The API key should be included in the `Authorization` header of any HTTP request in the following format:

```
Authorization: Bearer <API key>
```

where `<API key>` is the key from the [Getting your API key](#getting-your-api-key) section.

## Example request

Let's take a look at how to create a [contact](/developer/reference/contacts.md) using the API.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="curl" %}

```
curl -X POST https://app.ambit.so/api/v1/contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <API key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "alex@example.com", "name": "Alex", "status": "ACTIVE"}'
```

{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

Here, we hit the `/v1/contacts` endpoint with a POST request to create a new contact named Alex.

## API reference

For detailed info on each API resource and available HTTP operations, see the [Reference](/developer/reference/user.md) section of the documentation.