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

# Quick Start

> Get started with the Chariow API in minutes

This guide will help you make your first API request to Chariow in under 5 minutes.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, you'll need:

<Check>A Chariow account with an active store</Check>
<Check>An API key from your store settings</Check>

## Step 1: Get Your API Key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Log in to your dashboard">
    Go to [app.chariow.com](https://app.chariow.com) and sign in to your account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate to API Settings">
    Click on **Settings** → **API Keys** in your store dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new API key">
    Click **Create API Key**, give it a name (e.g., "Development"), and copy the generated key.

    <Warning>
      Your API key will only be shown once. Make sure to copy and store it securely.
    </Warning>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step 2: Make Your First Request

Let's verify your API key by fetching your store information:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.chariow.com/v1/store" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here"
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const response = await fetch('https://api.chariow.com/v1/store', {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'
    }
  });

  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  response = requests.get(
      'https://api.chariow.com/v1/store',
      headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'}
  )

  print(response.json())
  ```

  ```php PHP theme={null}
  $ch = curl_init();
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.chariow.com/v1/store');
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
      'Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'
  ]);

  $response = curl_exec($ch);
  curl_close($ch);

  print_r(json_decode($response, true));
  ```
</CodeGroup>

You should receive a response like this:

```json Response theme={null}
{
  "message": "success",
  "data": {
    "id": "str_abc123xyz",
    "name": "My Awesome Store",
    "description": "Selling digital products",
    "logo_url": "https://cdn.chariow.com/stores/logo.png",
    "url": "https://mystore.chariow.com",
    "status": "active"
  },
  "errors": []
}
```

## Step 3: List Your Products

Now let's fetch your published products:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "https://api.chariow.com/v1/products" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here"
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const response = await fetch('https://api.chariow.com/v1/products', {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'
    }
  });

  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Step 4: Initiate a Checkout

Create a checkout session to process a sale:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.chariow.com/v1/checkout" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "product_id": "prd_abc123",
      "email": "customer@example.com",
      "first_name": "John",
      "last_name": "Doe",
      "phone": {
        "number": "1234567890",
        "country_code": "US"
      }
    }'
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const response = await fetch('https://api.chariow.com/v1/checkout', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      product_id: 'prd_abc123',
      email: 'customer@example.com',
      first_name: 'John',
      last_name: 'Doe',
      phone: {
        number: '1234567890',
        country_code: 'US'
      }
    })
  });

  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/en/introduction/authentication">
    Learn more about API authentication
  </Card>

  <Card title="Products Guide" icon="box" href="/en/guides/products">
    Learn how to work with products
  </Card>

  <Card title="Checkout Guide" icon="shopping-cart" href="/en/guides/checkout">
    Master the checkout flow
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pulses" icon="webhook" href="/en/guides/pulses">
    Set up real-time notifications
  </Card>
</CardGroup>