Your First API Integration

This hands-on guide walks you through building your first API integration step by step. By the end, you will have a working integration that queries building data and handles errors gracefully.

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

Install the SDK for your preferred language and configure your API credentials. Create a .env file with your API key:

CONNECTBASE_API_KEY=sk_test_your_key_here

Step 2: Initialize the Client

const client = new ConnectbaseClient({\n  apiKey: process.env.CONNECTBASE_API_KEY\n});

Step 3: Make Your First API Call

Query a building by address to get structured data:

const result = await client.buildings.lookup({\n  street: "123 Main St",\n  city: "Austin",\n  state: "TX"\n});\nconsole.log(result.building_id, result.coordinates);

Step 4: Handle Errors

Wrap API calls in try/catch and handle common error types:

try {\n  const result = await client.buildings.get(id);\n} catch (err) {\n  if (err.status === 404) {\n    console.log("Building not found");\n  } else if (err.status === 429) {\n    console.log("Rate limited, retry after", err.retryAfter);\n  }\n}

Step 5: Deploy to Production

Switch from test to live API key and enable retry logic for production reliability.