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Quick Start Guide

Get started with the Financial Context API in just a few minutes. This guide will walk you through making your first API call and building a simple application.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • A Financial Context API account (sign up here)
  • Your API key (available in your dashboard)
  • Basic knowledge of HTTP requests and JSON

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Step 1: Get Your API Key

1

Sign Up

Create your account at financialcontext.com/signup
2

Verify Email

Check your email and verify your account
3

Access Dashboard

Log in to your dashboard and navigate to the API Keys section
4

Generate Key

Click “Generate New Key” and copy your API key
Keep your API key secure and never share it publicly. Store it as an environment variable in your applications.

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Step 2: Make Your First API Call

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Using cURL

Test your API key with a simple quote request: 
curl -X GET "https://api.financialcontext.com/api/quote/AAPL" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"
Expected Response: 
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "price": 185.50,
    "change": 2.30,
    "changePercent": 1.26,
    "volume": 45678900,
    "marketCap": 2890000000000,
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T16:00:00Z"
  }
}

​
Using JavaScript

const API_KEY = 'your-api-key-here';
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.financialcontext.com';

async function getStockQuote(symbol) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/api/quote/${symbol}`, {
      headers: {
        'X-API-Key': API_KEY,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    });
    
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`);
    }
    
    const data = await response.json();
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error fetching quote:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Usage
getStockQuote('AAPL')
  .then(quote => {
    console.log(`AAPL: $${quote.data.price} (${quote.data.changePercent}%)`);
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.error('Failed to get quote:', error);
  });

​
Using Python

import requests
import os

API_KEY = os.getenv('FINANCIAL_CONTEXT_API_KEY')
BASE_URL = 'https://api.financialcontext.com'

def get_stock_quote(symbol):
    headers = {
        'X-API-Key': API_KEY,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
    
    response = requests.get(f'{BASE_URL}/api/quote/{symbol}', headers=headers)
    response.raise_for_status()
    
    return response.json()

# Usage
try:
    quote = get_stock_quote('AAPL')
    data = quote['data']
    print(f"AAPL: ${data['price']} ({data['changePercent']}%)")
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
    print(f"Error fetching quote: {e}")

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Step 3: Explore Core Endpoints

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Get Company Information

curl -X GET "https://api.financialcontext.com/api/company/profile/AAPL" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"

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Get Financial Statements

curl -X GET "https://api.financialcontext.com/api/financials/AAPL?period=annual&limit=3" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"

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Get Technical Analysis

curl -X GET "https://api.financialcontext.com/api/technicals/AAPL?interval=1d" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"

​
Get Latest News

curl -X GET "https://api.financialcontext.com/api/news?symbol=AAPL&limit=5" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key-here"

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Step 4: Build a Simple Dashboard

Let’s create a simple stock dashboard using HTML and JavaScript: 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Stock Dashboard</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            max-width: 1200px;
            margin: 0 auto;
            padding: 20px;
            background-color: #f5f5f5;
        }
        .dashboard {
            display: grid;
            grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(300px, 1fr));
            gap: 20px;
        }
        .card {
            background: white;
            border-radius: 8px;
            padding: 20px;
            box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
        }
        .symbol {
            font-size: 24px;
            font-weight: bold;
            color: #333;
        }
        .price {
            font-size: 32px;
            font-weight: bold;
            margin: 10px 0;
        }
        .positive { color: #22c55e; }
        .negative { color: #ef4444; }
        .change {
            font-size: 18px;
            font-weight: 500;
        }
        .loading {
            text-align: center;
            color: #666;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Stock Dashboard</h1>
    <div id="dashboard" class="dashboard">
        <div class="loading">Loading stock data...</div>
    </div>

    <script>
        const API_KEY = 'your-api-key-here'; // Replace with your API key
        const BASE_URL = 'https://api.financialcontext.com';
        const SYMBOLS = ['AAPL', 'MSFT', 'GOOGL', 'AMZN', 'TSLA'];

        async function fetchQuote(symbol) {
            const response = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/api/quote/${symbol}`, {
                headers: {
                    'X-API-Key': API_KEY,
                    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
                }
            });
            
            if (!response.ok) {
                throw new Error(`Failed to fetch ${symbol}`);
            }
            
            return response.json();
        }

        function createStockCard(data) {
            const { symbol, price, change, changePercent } = data;
            const isPositive = change >= 0;
            
            return `
                <div class="card">
                    <div class="symbol">${symbol}</div>
                    <div class="price ${isPositive ? 'positive' : 'negative'}">
                        $${price.toFixed(2)}
                    </div>
                    <div class="change ${isPositive ? 'positive' : 'negative'}">
                        ${isPositive ? '+' : ''}${change.toFixed(2)} 
                        (${isPositive ? '+' : ''}${changePercent.toFixed(2)}%)
                    </div>
                </div>
            `;
        }

        async function loadDashboard() {
            const dashboard = document.getElementById('dashboard');
            
            try {
                const quotes = await Promise.all(
                    SYMBOLS.map(symbol => fetchQuote(symbol))
                );
                
                const cards = quotes.map(quote => 
                    createStockCard(quote.data)
                ).join('');
                
                dashboard.innerHTML = cards;
            } catch (error) {
                dashboard.innerHTML = `
                    <div class="card">
                        <h3>Error</h3>
                        <p>Failed to load stock data: ${error.message}</p>
                        <p>Please check your API key and try again.</p>
                    </div>
                `;
            }
        }

        // Load dashboard on page load
        loadDashboard();
        
        // Refresh every 30 seconds
        setInterval(loadDashboard, 30000);
    </script>
</body>
</html>

​
Step 5: Error Handling

Implement proper error handling for production applications: 
class FinancialContextAPI {
    constructor(apiKey) {
        this.apiKey = apiKey;
        this.baseUrl = 'https://api.financialcontext.com';
    }

    async makeRequest(endpoint) {
        try {
            const response = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}${endpoint}`, {
                headers: {
                    'X-API-Key': this.apiKey,
                    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
                }
            });

            if (!response.ok) {
                const errorData = await response.json().catch(() => ({}));
                throw new APIError(
                    response.status,
                    errorData.error?.message || 'Unknown error',
                    errorData.error?.code
                );
            }

            return response.json();
        } catch (error) {
            if (error instanceof APIError) {
                throw error;
            }
            throw new APIError(0, 'Network error', 'NETWORK_ERROR');
        }
    }

    async getQuote(symbol) {
        return this.makeRequest(`/api/quote/${symbol}`);
    }

    async getFinancials(symbol, options = {}) {
        const params = new URLSearchParams(options);
        return this.makeRequest(`/api/financials/${symbol}?${params}`);
    }
}

class APIError extends Error {
    constructor(status, message, code) {
        super(message);
        this.status = status;
        this.code = code;
        this.name = 'APIError';
    }
}

// Usage with error handling
const api = new FinancialContextAPI('your-api-key');

try {
    const quote = await api.getQuote('AAPL');
    console.log('Quote:', quote.data);
} catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof APIError) {
        switch (error.status) {
            case 401:
                console.error('Invalid API key');
                break;
            case 429:
                console.error('Rate limit exceeded');
                break;
            case 404:
                console.error('Symbol not found');
                break;
            default:
                console.error('API Error:', error.message);
        }
    } else {
        console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
    }
}

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Next Steps

Explore API Reference

Browse all available endpoints and their parameters

Authentication Guide

Learn about API keys, security, and rate limiting

Company Data

Access comprehensive company information and profiles

Market Data

Get real-time quotes and historical price data

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Common Use Cases

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Portfolio Tracking

const portfolio = ['AAPL', 'MSFT', 'GOOGL'];
const quotes = await Promise.all(
    portfolio.map(symbol => api.getQuote(symbol))
);

const totalValue = quotes.reduce((sum, quote) => {
    return sum + (quote.data.price * getShares(quote.data.symbol));
}, 0);

console.log(`Portfolio Value: $${totalValue.toFixed(2)}`);

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Price Alerts

function checkPriceAlerts(quotes, alerts) {
    quotes.forEach(quote => {
        const alert = alerts[quote.data.symbol];
        if (alert && quote.data.price >= alert.targetPrice) {
            sendNotification(
                `${quote.data.symbol} reached $${quote.data.price}`
            );
        }
    });
}

​
Market Screening

const symbols = ['AAPL', 'MSFT', 'GOOGL', 'AMZN', 'TSLA'];
const quotes = await Promise.all(
    symbols.map(symbol => api.getQuote(symbol))
);

// Find stocks with > 5% daily gain
const winners = quotes.filter(quote => 
    quote.data.changePercent > 5
);

console.log('Top performers:', winners);

​
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