Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Universal API in 5 minutes.

Step 1: Create an Account

1. Go to universalapi.co
2. Sign up with your email
3. Navigate to your dashboard

Step 2: Get Your Credentials

In your dashboard, you'll find:

• User ID: Your unique identifier (looks like abc123-def456...)
• Secret Universal Key: Your API key (starts with uni-)

Keep these secure - they authenticate all your API requests.

Step 3: Test the Connection

Verify your credentials work:

curl "https://api.universalapi.co/user/info" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

Expected response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "userId": "your-user-id",
    "credits": 100,
    "createdAt": "2025-01-13T00:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

Step 4: Explore Available Actions

List public actions:

curl "https://api.universalapi.co/action/list?visibility=public" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

Step 5: Execute Your First Action

Run the "Hello World" action:

curl "https://api.universalapi.co/action/act-458dfb350d314769?name=Developer" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "statusCode": 200,
    "body": {"message": "Hello, Developer!"}
  },
  "meta": {
    "executionTime": 245,
    "creditsUsed": 1
  }
}

Step 6: Create Your First Action

Create a custom action via the API:

curl -X POST "https://api.universalapi.co/action/create" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "actionName": "Add Numbers",
    "description": "Adds two numbers together",
    "runtime": "python3.12",
    "category": "Utilities",
    "sourceCode": "def handler(event, context):\n    p = event.get(\"queryStringParameters\", {}) or {}\n    a = float(p.get(\"a\", 0))\n    b = float(p.get(\"b\", 0))\n    return {\"statusCode\": 200, \"body\": {\"result\": a + b}}"
  }'

Or use the web UI at universalapi.co/actions.

Step 7: Connect to Claude (Optional)

If you use Claude, add an MCP server:

Claude Code CLI:

Edit ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "universalapi": {
      "url": "https://api.universalapi.co/mcp/universalapi-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop:

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "universalapi": {
      "url": "https://api.universalapi.co/mcp/universalapi-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

What's Next?

Build Tools for AI

• MCP Servers Overview - Create Claude tools
• Creating MCP Servers - Step-by-step guide
• MCP Examples - Code templates

Create Serverless Functions

• Actions Overview - Understanding actions
• Creating Actions - Build your own
• OAuth Integration - Connect Google services

API Integration

• AI Agents Guide - For agent developers
• API Reference - Full endpoint docs
• Authentication - Auth details

Troubleshooting

"Authentication Required" Error

Check that you're including both headers:

X-Uni-UserId: your-user-id
X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: your-secret-key

"Insufficient Credits" Error

Check your balance:

curl "https://api.universalapi.co/user/credits" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY"

Action Not Found

Verify the action ID exists:

curl "https://api.universalapi.co/action/info/YOUR_ACTION_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-UserId: YOUR_USER_ID" \
  -H "X-Uni-SecretUniversalKey: YOUR_SECRET_KEY"