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Getting Started Using the Client-Server API

The Client-Server API allows a user to perform any action they could via a Matrix client programatically. In order to make use of the API you will need to retrieve an access token for your account.

Getting your access_token

In order to use the Client-Server API you will need to authenticate your calls to the API using an access_token from your user account. You can find your access_token from the Help & About section of your settings. Check out the Help & About page from the Element Web/Desktop Client Settings chapter for more guidance.

Making a Client-Server API request

Using your preferred method, you will need to authenticate each request to a Client-Server API endpoint by providing the token as either a query parameter or a request header. To add it as a request header in cURL, you can use the following, replacing syt_AjfVef2_L33JNpafeif_0feKJfeaf0CQpoZk with your own access_token:

curl --header "Authorization: Bearer syt_AjfVef2_L33JNpafeif_0feKJfeaf0CQpoZk" -X GET https://HOMESERVER_URL/_matrix/client/v0/profile/@user:example.com

Here is the equivalent action using Python and the requests library:

import requests

headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer syt_AjfVef2_L33JNpafeif_0feKJfeaf0CQpoZk',
}

response = requests.get('https://HOMESERVER_URL/_matrix/client/v0/profile/@user:example.com', headers=headers)

Further details on the using the API are out-of-scope for this documentation, please consult the Client-Server API documentation.

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