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

# Quickstart

> Make your first API call in under a minute

# Quickstart

Get up and running with PolyHistorical in three steps.

## Step 1: Get your API key

[Sign up](https://polyhistorical.com/dashboard?tab=api-keys) and create an API key from your dashboard.

## Step 2: List active markets

Fetch the latest active BTC prediction markets:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
    "https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets?coin=BTC&resolved=false&limit=5"
  ```

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

  API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
  headers = {"X-API-Key": API_KEY}

  response = requests.get(
      "https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets",
      params={"coin": "BTC", "resolved": False, "limit": 5},
      headers=headers
  )

  markets = response.json()
  for market in markets["markets"]:
      print(f"{market['slug']} | {market['market_type']} | winner={market['winner']}")
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY";

  const res = await fetch(
    "https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets?coin=BTC&resolved=false&limit=5",
    { headers: { "X-API-Key": API_KEY } }
  );

  const { markets } = await res.json();
  markets.forEach(m => console.log(`${m.slug} | ${m.market_type}`));
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Step 3: Get snapshots for a market

Pick a market slug from the previous response and fetch its snapshots:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
    "https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets/btc-updown-5m-1774581000/snapshots?coin=BTC&limit=10"
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  slug = "btc-updown-5m-1774581000"
  response = requests.get(
      f"https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets/{slug}/snapshots",
      params={"coin": "BTC", "limit": 10, "include_orderbook": True},
      headers=headers
  )

  data = response.json()
  for snap in data["snapshots"]:
      print(f"{snap['time']} | BTC: ${snap['btc_price']} | Up: {snap['price_up']} | Down: {snap['price_down']}")
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const slug = "btc-updown-5m-1774581000";
  const res = await fetch(
    `https://api.polyhistorical.com/v1/markets/${slug}/snapshots?coin=BTC&limit=10&include_orderbook=true`,
    { headers: { "X-API-Key": API_KEY } }
  );

  const { snapshots } = await res.json();
  snapshots.forEach(s =>
    console.log(`${s.time} | BTC: $${s.btc_price} | Up: ${s.price_up} | Down: ${s.price_down}`)
  );
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Example response

```json theme={null}
{
  "market": {
    "slug": "btc-updown-5m-1774581000",
    "market_id": "1724470",
    "event_id": "308810",
    "market_type": "5m",
    "start_time": "2026-03-27T03:10:00Z",
    "end_time": "2026-03-27T03:15:00Z",
    "btc_price_start": 87234.50,
    "btc_price_end": null,
    "condition_id": "0xabc123",
    "clob_token_up": "71321",
    "clob_token_down": "71322",
    "winner": null,
    "final_volume": null,
    "final_liquidity": null,
    "resolved_at": null,
    "created_at": "2026-03-27T03:09:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2026-03-27T03:10:05Z"
  },
  "snapshots": [
    {
      "time": "2026-03-27T03:10:05Z",
      "btc_price": 87234.50,
      "price_up": 0.52,
      "price_down": 0.48,
      "orderbook_up": {
        "bids": [{"price": "0.51", "size": "1500"}],
        "asks": [{"price": "0.53", "size": "1200"}]
      }
    }
  ],
  "total": 1,
  "limit": 10,
  "offset": 0
}
```

## What's next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="API Reference" icon="book" href="/api-reference/overview">
    Explore all available endpoints, parameters, and response formats.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Rate Limits" icon="gauge" href="/guides/rate-limits">
    Understand request limits and how to handle 429 responses.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>