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

# Make your first API request

> Authenticate with a sandbox key and verify your NorthFond business environment in under five minutes.

This quickstart confirms that your server can authenticate with NorthFond. It does not move funds or create a payment.

## Before you begin

You need a NorthFond business account and a sandbox API key with at least one scope. Create the key in the [business dashboard](https://business.northfond.xyz/api-keys). The secret is shown once.

<Warning>Keep API keys on your server. Never expose them in browser code, mobile applications, screenshots, logs, or source control.</Warning>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Export your sandbox key">
    Store the secret in your shell for this session.

    ```bash theme={null}
    export NORTHFOND_API_KEY="nf_test_replace_with_your_key"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Request your account context">
    ```bash theme={null}
    curl --request GET \
      --url https://payment.gideondevrel.xyz/api/v1/business/account \
      --header "Authorization: Bearer $NORTHFOND_API_KEY"
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the environment">
    A successful response identifies the business, environment, credential prefix, and granted scopes.

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "id": "8d15d149-51a1-4b0e-a7e0-4a9ec5ea6970",
      "name": "Acme Payments",
      "environment": "sandbox",
      "credential": {
        "id": "7eafef9a-07cf-486a-91f1-c494190e6fd4",
        "prefix": "nf_test_V2nJ64JC",
        "scopes": ["customers:read", "customers:write"]
      }
    }
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>The current public sandbox origin is `https://payment.gideondevrel.xyz`. NorthFond will publish the production NorthFond-owned API hostname before general availability.</Note>

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a customer" icon="user-plus" href="/customers">
    Provision a reusable managed EVM wallet from your own customer reference.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Explore the API" icon="brackets-curly" href="/api-reference">
    Open the generated endpoint reference, schemas, and request builder.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Common failures

| Response | Check                                                      |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| `401`    | The key is missing, malformed, expired, or revoked.        |
| `403`    | The key lacks permission or your source IP is not allowed. |
| `429`    | Wait for `Retry-After`, then retry with backoff.           |