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

# API Authentication

> Learn how to obtain and use an API token to authenticate your requests to the Darling API.

## Creating an API token

To interact with any endpoint in the Darling API, you'll first need to authenticate. This is done by signing in as a user and generating an API token.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign into the Darling app">
    Go to the [Darling App](https://app.darlinganalytics.ai/) to sign in

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/darlinganalytics/XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j/assets/common/screen-sign-in.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j&q=85&s=06d79cdeaf47364bac8104a12e1870b1" width="2000" height="1412" data-path="assets/common/screen-sign-in.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate to Account settings">
    Click on your avatar on the top-right and then on your name / email to access [your account settings page](https://app.darlinganalytics.ai/app/account)

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/darlinganalytics/XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j/docs/api/main/assets/screen-account-button.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j&q=85&s=8dc37f2f5ba923de7982aae24b0f3c6f" width="1280" height="640" data-path="docs/api/main/assets/screen-account-button.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new API token">
    Scroll down to the 'API Tokens' section and click 'New Token' to generate your API token.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/darlinganalytics/XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j/docs/api/main/assets/screen-api-tokens-area.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=XSAWKe4Hnj7sF36j&q=85&s=b116ab72b5874d6c71e82e5b3032b2b4" width="1280" height="640" data-path="docs/api/main/assets/screen-api-tokens-area.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set as header in your requests">
    Include your new API token in the `Authorization` header of your requests, prefixed with `Bearer `, to authenticate with the Darling API.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl \
    https://api.darlinganalytics.ai/[my-endpoint] \
    --header "Authorization: Bearer [my-api-token-value]"
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

🎉 Congratulations! You are ready to get started using the Darling API!

As a next step, consider exploring how to [start a conversation](/docs/api/conversations/create-conversation).