# API Quickstart

The Taostats API is a read-only HTTP API over the Bittensor network: accounts, blocks, subnets, validators, miners, dTao pools, EVM, OTC, and live RPC.

_Source: https://beta.taostats.io/docs/api-reference/quickstart_

_Last reviewed: 2026-09-23_

The Taostats API is a read-only HTTP API over the Bittensor network: accounts, blocks, subnets, validators, miners, dTao pools, EVM, OTC, and live RPC. This page gets you from zero to your first successful request in a couple of minutes.

## 1. Get an API key

Sign up and grab a key at [taostats.io/pro](https://taostats.io/pro). A free tier is available for evaluation; paid tiers unlock higher rate limits and additional endpoints.

## 2. Authenticate

Every request must include an `Authorization` header carrying your API key directly (no `Bearer` prefix, no other scheme):

```
Authorization: <YOUR_API_KEY>
```

## 3. Base URL

```
https://api.taostats.io/api/
```

All endpoint paths documented in this reference are relative to that base. For example, the endpoint listed as `/api/subnet/latest/v1` is reached at `https://api.taostats.io/api/subnet/latest/v1`.

## 4. Your first request

Fetch the latest subnet snapshot:

```bash
curl -H "Authorization: <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  "https://api.taostats.io/api/subnet/latest/v1?limit=5"
```

You should get back a JSON payload with a `pagination` block and a `data` array of subnet objects.

## 5. Rate limits

Rate limits vary by plan. See your current tier, quota, and usage on the [billing dashboard](https://taostats.io/pro/billing).

When you exceed your quota, the API returns HTTP `429 Too Many Requests`. Honour any `Retry-After` header in the response before retrying.

## 6. Explore the endpoints

- [API Reference overview](https://beta.taostats.io/docs/api-reference) — every endpoint, organised by domain.
- Use the sidebar to jump straight to a category (Accounts, Subnets, Validators, EVM, OTC, RPC, and more).

## Troubleshooting

- **401 / 403**: check the `Authorization` header carries your key verbatim, with no `Bearer` prefix and no quoting.
- **429**: you've hit your rate limit — check [billing](https://taostats.io/pro/billing) and back off with `Retry-After`.
- **404 on an endpoint path**: confirm you included the `/api/` prefix and the correct version suffix (usually `/v1`).