# Utility Quickstart API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/utility/quickstart)

> Everything needed for a first successful API call in one response: authentication, base URL, the response envelope, the credit billing model, the error taxonomy, rate limits, pagination rules, and a copy-paste first request. Pass platform to tailor the first-call example. Free to call.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/utility/quickstart` costs Free (0 credits) and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `platform` | no | Tailor the first-call example and links to one platform slug |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/utility/quickstart" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### What does the quickstart endpoint return?

One JSON payload with everything a first call needs: the x-api-key auth header, base URL, the response envelope for success and error, the credit billing model with its three tiers, the full error taxonomy, rate limits, pagination rules, and a copy-paste curl for a first request.

### How fast can I make my first SocialCrawl call?

Two requests: GET /v1/utility/quickstart, then the copy-paste first_call curl it returns. There is nothing to read first, so a developer or an agent goes from API key to a successful data response in under a minute.

### Is the quickstart free to call?

Yes, 0 credits, like all the developer-experience endpoints (endpoints, endpoint, and llms). Checking the rules costs nothing; credits are only spent when you start calling data endpoints.

### Can the quickstart be tailored to one platform?

Pass platform (for example platform=tiktok) and the first-call example, its usage-guide link, and the related links are scoped to that platform, which is handy when your integration only cares about one source.

### Why use a quickstart endpoint instead of reading the docs?

Because machines onboard too. Scripts, CI checks, and AI agents consume the quickstart as structured JSON and self-onboard without scraping HTML. Human-readable docs still exist; this endpoint is the same starting knowledge in the shape a program wants.

See the full Utility API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/utility

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- What is the fastest way to onboard onto the SocialCrawl API?
- Which API endpoint returns auth, billing, and error rules in one response?