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

# Quick Start Guide

> Get started with BlockDB in minutes — connect, authenticate, run your first onchain data query, and verify lineage.

<Tip>
  Just want the data? 10+ years of Ethereum datasets are published for free on Hugging Face — no account or API key needed. See [Free Research Datasets](/free-datasets/home).
</Tip>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get an API key">
    API access is available on a [custom plan](/pricing/home). Email [support@blockdb.io](mailto:support@blockdb.io) with the datasets and chains you need — your **API key** is issued when your plan is activated.

    <Check>
      You can have up to **five** active keys per account—use separate keys for production and staging when possible. Store keys only in environment variables or a secret manager (for example `BLOCKDB_API_KEY`) and never commit them to version control. See [Authorization](/api-reference/overview/authorization) for key rotation and [Rate Limiting](/api-reference/overview/rate-limiting) for RPS and compute units.
    </Check>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Call the API with your key">
    Use **`Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>`** on every request. No token endpoint and no refresh flow—the key issued to you is the credential. Example: query a small block range on Ethereum mainnet:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -X POST https://api.blockdb.io/v1/evm/raw/blocks \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $BLOCKDB_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "chain_id": 1,
        "from_block": 21000000,
        "to_block": 21000001,
        "limit": 1
      }'
    ```

    A successful response returns `{ "data": [...], "cursor": null, "page_count": 1 }`. If you get a `401`, confirm the key is copied correctly, not revoked, and still allowed for that dataset (see [Authorization](/api-reference/overview/authorization)).

    <Check>
      You received a JSON response with a `data` array containing block records.
    </Check>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Explore the data catalog">
    Use the [Dataset Index](/data-catalog/evm/dataset-index) to find the tables and schemas relevant to your use case. Each dataset page documents available fields, lineage keys, and example queries.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  For bulk workloads, start with an archive backfill, then switch to API/WebSocket for deltas.
</Tip>


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