# Quickstart

From a new key to real responses in four steps.

## 1. Get a key

Create a free Developer key on the [sign-up page](https://sockodds.com/signup/). The key is shown once, so copy it somewhere safe straight away. If you lose it, sign in to [your account](https://sockodds.com/account/) and rotate it.

The Developer plan covers a set of leagues and bookmakers so you can build and test for free. [Pricing](https://sockodds.com/pricing/) lists what each plan includes.

## 2. Keep the key in an environment variable

Every example on this site reads the key from `SOCKODDS_API_KEY`, so you never paste it into code. In a macOS or Linux terminal:

```bash
export SOCKODDS_API_KEY="paste-your-key-here"
```

In Windows PowerShell:

```powershell
$env:SOCKODDS_API_KEY = "paste-your-key-here"
```

Keep the key on your server. Never put it in browser or mobile app code, or in a URL. [Authentication](https://sockodds.com/docs/authentication/) explains why.

## 3. Make your first request

List the sports your key can read. Send the key as a bearer token in the `Authorization` header; that is the only place the API looks for it.

```bash
curl -sS "https://api.sockodds.com/v1/sports" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCKODDS_API_KEY"
```

```javascript
const response = await fetch("https://api.sockodds.com/v1/sports", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SOCKODDS_API_KEY}` },
});
console.log(JSON.stringify(await response.json(), null, 2));
```

```python
import json, os, urllib.request

request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.sockodds.com/v1/sports",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SOCKODDS_API_KEY"]},
)
with urllib.request.urlopen(request) as response:
    print(json.dumps(json.load(response), indent=2))
```

Response (from a local copy of the API with invented test prices):

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "australian_football",
      "name": "Australian football",
      "participants": "teams"
    },
    {
      "key": "rugby_league",
      "name": "Rugby league",
      "participants": "teams"
    },
    {
      "key": "american_football",
      "name": "American football",
      "participants": "teams"
    },
    {
      "key": "baseball",
      "name": "Baseball",
      "participants": "teams"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "count": 4,
    "cursor": null
  },
  "links": {
    "next": null
  }
}
```

A Developer key sees only the sports its plan covers. A paid key sees more. The JavaScript runs on Node 18 or later as an ES module (save it as `first.mjs`), and the Python uses only the standard library, so there is nothing to install.

Now ask for prices: the winner market for the next Rugby League World Cup game, from one bookmaker.

```bash
curl -sS "https://api.sockodds.com/v1/odds?league=rlwc&markets=winner&bookmakers=sportsbet&limit=1&starts_after=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCKODDS_API_KEY"
```

```javascript
const response = await fetch(`https://api.sockodds.com/v1/odds?league=rlwc&markets=winner&bookmakers=sportsbet&limit=1&starts_after=${new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 19)}Z`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SOCKODDS_API_KEY}` },
});
console.log(JSON.stringify(await response.json(), null, 2));
```

```python
import json, os, urllib.request
from datetime import datetime, timezone

request = urllib.request.Request(
    f"https://api.sockodds.com/v1/odds?league=rlwc&markets=winner&bookmakers=sportsbet&limit=1&starts_after={datetime.now(timezone.utc):%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ}",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SOCKODDS_API_KEY"]},
)
with urllib.request.urlopen(request) as response:
    print(json.dumps(json.load(response), indent=2))
```

Response (from a local copy of the API with invented test prices):

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "ev_000ckk0nc1tg",
      "name": "Australia v New Zealand",
      "league": {
        "key": "rlwc",
        "name": "Rugby League World Cup"
      },
      "scheduled_start": "2026-10-15T09:05:00.000Z",
      "status": "scheduled",
      "participants": [
        {
          "role": "away",
          "identity": {
            "key": "new_zealand_rugby_league",
            "name": "New Zealand"
          }
        },
        {
          "role": "home",
          "identity": {
            "key": "australia_rugby_league",
            "name": "Australia"
          }
        }
      ],
      "markets": [
        {
          "id": "mk_qpcfjj74vm67qng3",
          "key": "winner",
          "name": "Winner",
          "period": "full",
          "subject": null,
          "alternate": false,
          "outcomes": [
            {
              "id": "oc_2eq7ejh9tvepckre",
              "name": "Australia",
              "side": "home",
              "line": null,
              "prices": [
                {
                  "bookmaker": "sportsbet",
                  "decimal_odds": 1.72,
                  "implied_probability": 0.581395,
                  "available": true,
                  "observed_at": "2026-10-15T07:58:00.000Z"
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "id": "oc_43ctd7dv6hy4dqjz",
              "name": "New Zealand",
              "side": "away",
              "line": null,
              "prices": [
                {
                  "bookmaker": "sportsbet",
                  "decimal_odds": 2.12,
                  "implied_probability": 0.471698,
                  "available": true,
                  "observed_at": "2026-10-15T07:58:00.000Z"
                }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "count": 1,
    "cursor": null
  },
  "links": {
    "next": null
  }
}
```

## 4. Read the response

### The envelope

Every successful response has the same three parts.

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `data` | The result. A list for list routes such as `/v1/odds`, one object for single routes such as `/v1/events/{event_id}`. |
| `meta.count` | How many items this page holds. |
| `meta.cursor` | An opaque cursor for the next page, or `null` on the last page. |
| `links.next` | The full URL of the next page, or `null`. Follow it unchanged; see [Pagination](https://sockodds.com/docs/pagination/). |

### An event

Each item in `data` is an event with its prices attached.

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `id` | The event's SockOdds id, such as `ev_000ckk0nc1tg`. Store it to come back to the event; see [Identifiers](https://sockodds.com/docs/identifiers/). |
| `name` | The event's name, home side first in team sports. |
| `league` | The league's `key` and `name`. |
| `scheduled_start` | The scheduled start, in UTC. |
| `status` | `scheduled`, `live`, `final`, `postponed` or `cancelled`. |
| `participants` | Who is playing. Each has a `role` (`home` and `away` in team sports, `competitor_1` and `competitor_2` in tennis and UFC) and an `identity` with a `key` and `name` for a team, or an `id` and `name` for a player. |
| `markets` | The markets quoted on this event right now, each with every bookmaker's prices. |

### A market

Each market appears once, however many bookmakers quote it. Each has:

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `id` | The market's id. The same market has the same id everywhere, including in results. |
| `key` | The market type from the [market catalogue](https://sockodds.com/docs/markets/), such as `winner` or `handicap`. |
| `name` | The market's display name. |
| `subject` | `null` for a market on the whole event; the team or player for a team or player market. |
| `period` | The part of the game it covers, such as `full` or `half_1`. |
| `alternate` | `true` for an alternate line, `false` for the main line. |
| `outcomes` | The selections, each with its prices. |

### An outcome

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `id` | The outcome's id. Results use the same id, so you can settle against it. |
| `name` | The selection's display name, such as `Australia`. |
| `side` | Which side of the market it is: `home`, `away`, `over`, `under`, `draw` and so on. |
| `line` | The handicap or total line, or `null` for a market without one. |
| `prices` | One price per bookmaker, best first, so `prices[0]` is the best price. |

### A price

| Field | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `bookmaker` | The bookmaker's key, such as `sportsbet`. `/v1/bookmakers` gives each key's display name. |
| `decimal_odds` | The price in decimal odds, exactly as the bookmaker showed it. |
| `implied_probability` | `1 / decimal_odds`, rounded to six places. It still includes the bookmaker's margin. |
| `available` | Whether the price is current and can be shown. |
| `observed_at` | When we saw this price at the bookmaker, in UTC. |

Add `group_by=bookmaker` for one block per bookmaker, each with its own markets, instead.

A price we have not seen for ten minutes is withheld from current responses rather than shown as current. [Reading prices](https://sockodds.com/docs/odds/) covers this and every filter in detail.

## Next steps

- [Authentication](https://sockodds.com/docs/authentication/): keeping your key safe, and what 401 and 403 mean.
- [Reading prices](https://sockodds.com/docs/odds/): filters, lines, alternates and why a price can be missing.
- [Pagination](https://sockodds.com/docs/pagination/): reading every page of a list.
- [Errors](https://sockodds.com/docs/errors/): the problem format and what to do about each status.
- [History and snapshots](https://sockodds.com/docs/history/) and [Results](https://sockodds.com/docs/results/) when you are ready for more.
- The [API reference](https://sockodds.com/docs/) lists every operation, parameter and field.