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

# Quickstart

> Connect an Instagram account, track your first media, and read its stats.

This walkthrough takes you from a new API key to tracked media with a growing
time series. Every request uses your workspace key as a Bearer token.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a key and pick a project">
    Create a workspace key in the [Console](https://console.clipstake.com/keys),
    then list the projects that key can reach. A project groups tracked media.
    Every submission operation names one.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl "https://api.clipstake.com/v1/projects" \
      --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLIPSTAKE_API_KEY"
    ```

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "data": [
        {
          "id": "3f1c9f0a-2f2c-4c0f-9a7d-8a1c0c4e5b21",
          "name": "Production",
          "archived_at": null,
          "created_at": "2026-09-01T10:04:11.000Z"
        }
      ]
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send your end user to Instagram">
    Mint an authorization URL for one of your own users. `external_user_id` is
    your id for that person. ClipStake stores it and never parses it.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl --request POST "https://api.clipstake.com/v1/connect-links" \
      --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLIPSTAKE_API_KEY" \
      --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
      --data '{
        "external_user_id": "your-user-123",
        "redirect_uri": "https://your-app.com/instagram/connected"
      }'
    ```

    Open the returned `url` in the user's browser. When they approve, ClipStake
    stores the connection and sends them to your `redirect_uri`.

    <Note>
      The link expires after 10 minutes. Mint it when the user is ready to
      click it, not in advance. Read [Connecting accounts](/api-reference/connecting-accounts)
      for the account picker and reconnect cases.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Track your first media">
    Submit canonical Instagram URLs for a connected account. One request takes
    up to 100 URLs.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl --request POST "https://api.clipstake.com/v1/submissions" \
      --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLIPSTAKE_API_KEY" \
      --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
      --data '{
        "project_id": "3f1c9f0a-2f2c-4c0f-9a7d-8a1c0c4e5b21",
        "username": "creator_handle",
        "urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAbc123XyZ/"]
      }'
    ```

    Each URL gets its own result, so a partly valid request still succeeds:

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "data": [
        {
          "shortcode": "DAbc123XyZ",
          "status": "created",
          "submission": {
            "username": "creator_handle",
            "media_id": "17912345678901234",
            "shortcode": "DAbc123XyZ",
            "status": "active",
            "next_read_at": "2026-09-20T18:00:00.000Z"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the time series">
    ClipStake reads the media on your plan's cadence and keeps every reading.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl --get "https://api.clipstake.com/v1/submissions/DAbc123XyZ/stats" \
      --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLIPSTAKE_API_KEY" \
      --data-urlencode "project_id=3f1c9f0a-2f2c-4c0f-9a7d-8a1c0c4e5b21" \
      --data-urlencode "limit=100"
    ```

    The first reading lands when the media is first resolved. The next one lands
    one cadence interval later.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connecting accounts" icon="instagram" href="/api-reference/connecting-accounts">
    Connect links, the account picker, and connection states.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tracking media" icon="chart-line" href="/api-reference/tracking-media">
    Submission results, statuses, pausing, and resuming.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Audience and insights" icon="users" href="/api-reference/audience-and-insights">
    Country, age, and gender shares, and daily account metrics.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Errors" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/api-reference/errors">
    The error envelope and every code you can branch on.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>