> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.myhamlet.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Make your first authenticated request to the Hamlet Public API in a few minutes.

This guide walks you from an API key to your first successful response.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get an API key">
    API keys are issued by Hamlet. Reach out to your account contact to obtain a key
    for your organization. Keys are prefixed with `hmlt_` and grant access to a
    specific set of locations (your **entitlements**).

    <Warning>
      Treat your API key like a password. Send it only over HTTPS, never embed it in
      client-side code, and store it in a secret manager rather than source control.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your first request">
    Every `/v1` endpoint requires an `Authorization: Bearer <key>` header. List the
    locations your key is entitled to:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl https://api.myhamlet.com/v1/locations \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer hmlt_your_api_key"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the response">
    List endpoints return a cursor-paginated envelope — a `data` array plus a
    `next_cursor`:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "data": [
        {
          "uuid": "5f2b0c3a-1d4e-4a8b-9f6d-2a1c3e4b5d6f",
          "type": "CITY",
          "name": "Palo Alto",
          "state_name": "California",
          "state_abbreviation": "CA",
          "county_names": ["Santa Clara"],
          "created_at": "2025-01-10T00:00:00.000Z",
          "updated_at": "2026-05-01T18:22:10.000Z"
        }
      ],
      "next_cursor": "eyJ1IjoiMjAyNi0wNS0wMSAxODoyMjoxMCIsImkiOjQyfQ"
    }
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/authentication">
    How Bearer keys and entitlements work.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Rate limits" icon="gauge-high" href="/rate-limits">
    Per-key limits, budget headers, and handling 429s.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pagination" icon="layer-group" href="/pagination">
    Page through large result sets with opaque cursors.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Incremental sync" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/incremental-sync">
    Pull only what changed since your last run.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Errors" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/errors">
    The error envelope and the codes your client should branch on.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API reference" icon="code" href="/api-reference/locations/list-locations">
    Every endpoint with request and response schemas.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>