---
title: "Quick Start"
description: "Get your first Sealmetrics API call working in 5 minutes — generate a token, find your Site ID, and pull traffic data via REST in three steps."
canonical_url: "https://docs.sealmetrics.com/api/quick-start"
lang: "en"
date_generated: "2026-08-09T18:18:16.203Z"
source_hash: "67bd7395addc09065db215f2dafa4e52ecdf628f35fc235413e4fdfed1a2e3c7"
content_type: "api-reference"
owner: "engineering"
llm_priority: "critical"
source_file: "api/quick-start.mdx"
publisher: "Sealmetrics"
---

# Quick Start

Canonical page: https://docs.sealmetrics.com/api/quick-start

To make your first Sealmetrics API call, create an API key under **Settings → API Keys** (it starts with `sm_`), grab your Site ID from **Settings → Sites**, then send a `GET` request to `https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/overview` with the key in the `X-API-Key` header and your `site_id` as a query parameter. The three steps below get you a JSON response in about 5 minutes.

## Prerequisites

1. A Sealmetrics account with at least one site
2. An API key (generate in Settings → API Keys)
3. Your Site ID (found in Settings → Sites → [your site])

## Step 1: Get Your API Key

1. Log in to [Sealmetrics Dashboard](https://my.sealmetrics.com)
2. Go to **Settings** → **API Keys**
3. Click **Create Token**
4. Copy the token (starts with `sm_`)

**Warning:**

## Step 2: Find Your Site ID

1. Go to **Settings** → **Sites**
2. Click on your site and copy the **Site ID** (e.g., `acme-corp`)

## Step 3: Make Your First Request

### Using cURL

```bash
curl -X GET "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/overview?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=7d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

### Using Python

```python
import requests

API_KEY = "sm_your_api_key_here"
SITE_ID = "your-account-id"

response = requests.get(
    "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/overview",
    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY},
    params={
        "site_id": SITE_ID,
        "period": "7d"
    }
)

print(response.json())
```

### Using JavaScript

```javascript
const API_KEY = 'sm_your_api_key_here';
const SITE_ID = 'your-account-id';

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  site_id: SITE_ID,
  period: '7d'
});

const response = await fetch(
  `https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/overview?${params}`,
  {
    headers: { 'X-API-Key': API_KEY }
  }
);

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

## Step 4: Check the Response

A successful response looks like:

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "date_range": {
      "start_date": "2025-01-01",
      "end_date": "2025-01-07",
      "days": 7
    },
    "traffic": {
      "entrances": 12543,
      "engaged_entrances": 7234,
      "page_views": 28976,
      "microconversions": 892,
      "conversions": 156,
      "revenue": "12450.00",
      "bounce_rate": 42.3,
      "pages_per_session": 2.31
    },
    "conversions": {
      "conversions": 156,
      "revenue": "12450.00",
      "microconversions": 892,
      "conversion_rate": 1.24,
      "average_order_value": "79.81"
    }
  },
  "meta": {},
  "timestamp": "2025-01-08T00:00:00Z"
}
```

Traffic metrics live under `data.traffic` and conversion metrics under `data.conversions`.

Check the rate limit headers:

```http
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 59
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1704067200
```

## Common Use Cases

### Get Top Pages

```bash
curl "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/pages?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=30d&page_size=10" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

### Get Traffic Sources

```bash
curl "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/sources?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=30d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

### Get Conversions

```bash
curl "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/conversions?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=30d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

### Get Funnel Data

```bash
curl "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/funnel?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=30d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

### Get Geographic Data

```bash
curl "https://my.sealmetrics.com/api/v1/stats/geo/countries?site_id=YOUR_SITE_ID&period=30d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: sm_your_api_key_here"
```

## Troubleshooting

### 401 Unauthorized

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "invalid_api_key",
    "message": "The provided API key is invalid or has been revoked"
  }
}
```

**Solution:** Check that your API key is correct and hasn't been revoked.

### 403 Forbidden

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "forbidden",
    "message": "Access denied to account: acme-corp"
  }
}
```

**Solution:** Verify your API token has access to the specified site.

### 404 Not Found

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "Site not found"
  }
}
```

**Solution:** Verify your Site ID is correct.

### 429 Too Many Requests

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded",
    "message": "Too many requests. Please retry after 15 seconds."
  }
}
```

**Solution:** Wait for the `Retry-After` seconds and reduce request frequency.

## Next Steps

- [Authentication](./authentication) - Learn about API keys and JWT tokens
- [Rate Limits](./rate-limits) - Understand limits per plan
- [Stats Endpoints](./stats) - Complete analytics endpoint reference
- [Sites](./sites) - Manage sites and settings