# How to use the Tally API

### Get an API key

To get started, you'll need an API key. Sign in to Tally. On your [User Settings Page](https://www.tally.xyz/user/settings), see the "Tally API" section. Generate an API key, and keep it somewhere safe.

You'll need to **include that API key as an HTTP header with every request**, i.e. `{"Api-Key": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"}` 

<figure><img src="https://883959685-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQO0N_aitpkSUyz4BYE%2Fuploads%2FZBHyBB13PXEcH7wzEpcX%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7ee33d7a-fdef-404a-a602-5e882cd08353" alt=""><figcaption><p>User Settings Page</p></figcaption></figure>

### Quickstart example

To get started quickly, check out the [Tally API quickstart example](https://github.com/withtally/tally-api-quickstart). This simple React app uses Tally's API to list DAOs and their proposals.

### API docs

The public API is documented on [this site](https://apidocs.tally.xyz/). The API is a graphql API lets you request exactly the data you need.

### Graphql playground

One big advantage of graphql is that it's self-documenting. Check out the [Graphql API Playground](https://api.tally.xyz/playground). You'll need to **add your API key in the "Request Headers" section**, like this: `{"Api-key": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"}`&#x20;

Note that the playground also includes undocumented endpoints. Using them is not recommended for production apps, because they are subject to change without notice.

<figure><img src="https://883959685-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MQO0N_aitpkSUyz4BYE%2Fuploads%2FTKw3O34dzpk1inBiqeYV%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c1973519-5221-4c1b-ab9e-16ab6c489325" alt=""><figcaption><p>Graphql Playground</p></figcaption></figure>

### Rate limits

Free Tally API keys are rate-limited to \~1 request per second. If you'd like to switch to the paid tier to increase your rate limit, reach out on the [#support channel on Discord](https://discord.com/invite/sCGnpWH3m4).