# Quickstart Get a key (a free trial with $0.10 of credit), make one call, read the answer: about 2 minutes, and each of the 21 platforms after this works the same way. ## Three steps ### 1. Get a key [Sign in](https://dataxapi.com/signin/) with a 6-digit code sent to your email, or with Google. There is no password. A new account can try it free ($0.10 of credit), once per email: enough for 50 calls at $0.0020. Your first key is shown once, right after sign-up. Copy it then: it cannot be read back later. Keep it in the environment variable `DATAXAPI_API_KEY`, never in code. ```bash export DATAXAPI_API_KEY="" ``` ### 2. Make a call This calls `tiktok.videos.search`, [TikTok video search](https://dataxapi.com/apis/tiktok/videos/search/). Every other endpoint is called the same way. cURL ```bash curl -G "https://api.dataxapi.com/v1/tiktok/videos/search" \ --data-urlencode "query=space station" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $DATAXAPI_API_KEY" ``` Python ```python from dataxapi import DataXAPI dx = DataXAPI() # reads DATAXAPI_API_KEY result = dx.tiktok.videos.search(query="space station") print(result["data"]["items"]) ``` TypeScript ```ts import { DataXAPI } from "@dataxapi/sdk"; const dx = new DataXAPI(); // reads DATAXAPI_API_KEY const result = await dx.tiktok.videos.search({ query: "space station" }); console.log(result.data.items); ``` CLI ```bash dataxapi call tiktok.videos.search 'query=space station' ``` The Python and TypeScript forms use the [SDK](https://dataxapi.com/docs/sdk/); the last one uses the [command line](https://dataxapi.com/docs/cli/). The price is $0.0020 a call. A call that fails costs nothing. [Run it in the Playground](https://dataxapi.com/console/playground/): it needs a sign-in and runs on your own balance. This is a recorded response, cut to its first item. Names, text, IDs and links are examples, not the recorded ones; the figures are as recorded, and the request ID, the cursor and the balance are made up. ```json { "code": "ok", "request_id": "eecdbf3f-64ce-4b11-b396-ee190d7ff728", "data": { "items": [ { "id": "7566364515678793552", "url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@trail_and_lens/video/7566364515678793552", "type": "video", "text": "My honest take on space station, a month in.", "lang": "en", "published_at": "2026-10-11T23:17:34.000Z", "author": { "id": "6279025233109159764", "username": "trail_and_lens", "name": "Maya Chen", "avatar_url": "https://p16-sign-va.tiktokcdn.com/tos-maliva-avt-0068/fff322a0d982cccf1e82~c5_100x100.jpeg", "followers": 92601 }, "metrics": { "likes": 353, "comments": 11, "shares": 19, "favorites": 40, "views": 7561 }, "hashtags": [ "weekendvibes", "gearreview" ], "mentions": [] } ] }, "page": { "next_cursor": "c1.bGY_kn5Dxsgl6MN3VXHyMcLAdlxPxQw-FwjswIlE", "cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T20:17:24.000Z", "has_more": true, "returned": 30 }, "warnings": [], "meta": { "capability": "tiktok.videos.search", "result_status": "complete", "fetched_at": "2026-10-12T19:17:24.000Z", "cached": false, "replayed": false, "unavailable": { "title": "platform", "images": "capability", "author.verified": "capability", "metrics.reposts": "capability", "mentions.username": "capability", "mentions.name": "capability", "post_id": "platform", "parent_id": "platform", "root_id": "platform", "is_pinned": "capability" }, "billing": { "amount": "0.002", "currency": "USD", "balance_after": "9.998" } } } ``` Four things to know: - `data.items`: The data: a list of standard objects, here [post](https://dataxapi.com/docs/objects/post/). The same object has the same fields on every platform. - `page.next_cursor`: Pass it back as `cursor` to get the next page; `null` when there is none. Each page is a call of its own. - `meta.unavailable`: The fields this endpoint cannot give, each with the reason. A field that is absent from `data.items` and listed here is not a fault. - `meta.billing`: What this call was charged (`amount`) and the balance after it (`balance_after`). > A call that fails answers in one structure instead: `code`, `message`, `charged`, `retry`. Too little balance, for one, is [`insufficient_balance`](https://dataxapi.com/docs/errors/#insufficient_balance) with `charged` false: nothing was taken. Every code is on the [error codes](https://dataxapi.com/docs/errors/) page. ### 3. Connect your AI No code needed: copy this sentence into an AI that can act, such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. It reads the setup page and connects the MCP server; from then on you ask in plain words. ```text Read https://dataxapi.com/agents.md and set up DataXAPI in this agent. My API key is dx_…; use it for every DataXAPI call. ``` > Put your own key where `dx_…` is. The Console's [connect page](https://dataxapi.com/console/connect/) copies the same sentence with a key made for that agent. To set it up by hand, the MCP address is `https://api.dataxapi.com/mcp`. Once connected, your AI gets 5 tools: - `find`: Finds the endpoint for a question. - `describe`: Reads up to 5 endpoints in full: parameters, fields, price. - `call`: Runs one endpoint and returns one page of data. - `read_more`: Re-reads a result for 24 hours. - `account`: Balance, usage and receipts. ## Next - [Authentication](https://dataxapi.com/docs/authentication/): more keys, each with its own limit, expiry and scope. - [Requests and responses](https://dataxapi.com/docs/requests/): the parameter names and the envelope, the same on all 21 platforms. - [Pagination](https://dataxapi.com/docs/pagination/) and [billing](https://dataxapi.com/docs/billing/): what the next page is and what it costs. - [Rate limits](https://dataxapi.com/docs/rate-limits/) and [error codes](https://dataxapi.com/docs/errors/): when to wait and when to stop. - [SDKs](https://dataxapi.com/docs/sdk/), the [command line](https://dataxapi.com/docs/cli/) and the [MCP server](https://dataxapi.com/docs/mcp/). - [All 207 endpoints](https://dataxapi.com/apis/), each on a page with its price. --- Catalog revision c48ce454ae6c4c65. [HTML version](https://dataxapi.com/docs/quickstart/)