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

# Quickstart

> Get up and running with the Outhire API in minutes.

## Get your API key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open API key settings">
    Navigate to **Settings > API Keys** in the Outhire app, or go directly to `/settings/api-keys`.

    API key management is available to **admin users only**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a key">
    Click **Create API key** and give it a descriptive name (e.g. "Production ATS sync").

    Outhire generates a key in the format:

    ```
    outh_a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678901234567890abcd
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Copy your key immediately">
    <Warning>
      Your API key is only displayed once. After you close the creation dialog, the raw key cannot be retrieved — only a short prefix is stored for identification.
    </Warning>

    Store the key securely (e.g. in a secrets manager or environment variable).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Make your first request

All API requests use Bearer token authentication in the `Authorization` header:

```bash theme={null}
curl https://app.outhire.ai/api/v1/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer outh_a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678901234567890abcd"
```

A successful response returns your company's jobs. If the key is missing, invalid, or revoked, you'll receive a `401`:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": {
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "Missing or invalid API key."
  }
}
```

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="key" href="/api-reference/authentication">
    How API keys work, scoping, and key management.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API reference" icon="terminal" href="/api-reference/introduction">
    Browse available endpoints for jobs and candidates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Webhooks" icon="webhook" href="/webhooks/overview">
    Receive real-time candidate events via HTTP callbacks.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>