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

# Quickstart

> Authenticate and make your first successful Tether API request in minutes.

This quickstart is for API customers integrating with Tether endpoints.

## 1. Set your API base URL

Use your hosted environment URL (not localhost for customer integrations).

```bash theme={null}
export TETHER_API_BASE_URL="https://your-instance.example.com"
```

## 2. Obtain a bearer token

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "$TETHER_API_BASE_URL/api/auth/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "email": "your-email@example.com",
    "password": "your-password"
  }'
```

Store the returned token:

```bash theme={null}
export TETHER_TOKEN="<paste-jwt-token>"
```

## 3. Verify authentication

```bash theme={null}
curl "$TETHER_API_BASE_URL/api/auth/verify-token" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TETHER_TOKEN"
```

Expected result: `200` with a valid auth response payload.

## 4. Make your first resource request

```bash theme={null}
curl -G "$TETHER_API_BASE_URL/api/contacts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TETHER_TOKEN" \
  -d page=1 \
  -d size=20
```

Expected result: `200` with a contacts list payload.

## 5. Handle common errors quickly

* `401 Unauthorized`: missing/expired/invalid bearer token.
* `403 Forbidden`: authenticated but role lacks access.
* `400 Bad Request`: invalid request payload/parameters.

## Next steps

* Review [Authentication](/guides/authentication).
* Use [API guides](/api-guides/contacts) for workflow examples.
* Use [API reference](/api-reference/introduction) for exact endpoint contracts.