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

# manual API calls

> make your first authenticated request to the edgeful API. generate a key, call an ORB report, and explore session-level stats.

<Steps>
  <Step title="get your API key">
    1. sign in to <a href="https://www.edgeful.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">edgeful</a>.
    2. go to the <a href="https://www.edgeful.com/api-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">API dashboard</a> → API Keys.
    3. click generate API key, name it (e.g. "edgeful-api"), and copy the plaintext value. store it securely, it is shown only once.

    <Warning>never commit API keys. use environment variables.</Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="make your first call">
    if the API Reference asks for a Bearer token, paste your API key itself.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash curl theme={null}
      curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $EDGEFUL_API_KEY" \
        "https://api.edgeful.com/intraday_calculation/opening-range-breakout-standard/futures/ES?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-01-31&start_time=09:30:00&end_time=16:00:00&timezone=America/New_York"
      ```

      ```python Python theme={null}
      import os, requests
      r = requests.get(
          "https://api.edgeful.com/intraday_calculation/opening-range-breakout-standard/futures/ES",
          params={
              "start_date": "2024-01-01",
              "end_date": "2024-01-31",
              "start_time": "09:30:00",
              "end_time": "16:00:00",
              "timezone": "America/New_York",
          },
          headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['EDGEFUL_API_KEY']}"},
      )
      print(r.json())
      ```

      ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
      const apiKey = process.env.EDGEFUL_API_KEY;
      const res = await fetch(
        "https://api.edgeful.com/intraday_calculation/opening-range-breakout-standard/futures/ES?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-01-31&start_time=09:30:00&end_time=16:00:00&timezone=America/New_York",
        { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}` } }
      );
      console.log(await res.json());
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    expected response (truncated):

    ```json theme={null}
    { ... }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="next steps">
    * browse the API Reference section in the left navigation for the full endpoint catalog.
    * choose explicit intraday session values from [session presets](/api-reference/session-presets).
    * read [authentication](/api-reference/authentication) for error handling, rotation, and quotas.
    * download our <a href="https://app.edgeful.com/storage/v1/object/public/skills/dashboard-skill.zip" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dashboard skill</a>.
  </Step>
</Steps>