> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.january.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.january.ai/docs/quickstart.md).

# Quickstart

Make your first January REST API request with an API key and `curl`.

{% hint style="info" %}
**No API key yet?** [Try it live](https://try.january.ai/): analyze a meal photo, a description, or a barcode in your browser. Each result shows the JSON response and the request that returned it.
{% endhint %}

## 1. Create an API key

Open the [January Developer Dashboard](https://dashboard.january.ai), select **API keys**, and create a key. Copy the secret when it is shown; the full value is displayed only at creation time.

API keys begin with `sk-`. Keep the key on a backend or another machine you control, never in browser or mobile app code.

## 2. Store it for this terminal session

```bash
export JANUARY_API_KEY="sk-your-key"
```

Do not commit the key to source control.

## 3. Search for a food

```bash
curl --get 'https://partners.january.ai/v1.2/foods' \
  --data-urlencode 'query=greek yogurt' \
  --data-urlencode 'limit=5' \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${JANUARY_API_KEY}" \
  --header 'Accept: application/json'
```

A successful response lists matching foods, best match first, trimmed here:

```json
{
  "items": [
    { "id": "70376084", "name": "greek yogurt", "type": "generic", "nutrients": { … }, "servings": [ … ], … }
  ]
}
```

A `401` means the key is missing, malformed, or not recognized. A `403 forbidden` means the key was issued for API v1.1.

## Next steps

* [Let a mobile or web app call January with client tokens](/docs/authentication.md)
* [Analyze a meal photo or description](/rest-api/food-analysis.md)
* [Predict a meal's glucose response](/rest-api/glucose.md)
* [Explore all REST endpoints](/rest-api/api-overview.md)
* [Connect a coding agent to the MCP server](/docs/mcp-server.md)