Quickstart

This quickstart walks through three short steps to go from zero to a working API request:

Generate an API key
Make a request
Read the response

1. Generate an API key

Sign in to your Cryosphere Innovation account and open user settings. Under API Keys, click Generate new key and copy the value somewhere safe — you won't be able to see it again once you close the dialog.

Your key is a 32-character string. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it can make requests on your behalf.

For a deeper dive into keys, private deployments, and CORS, see the Authentication page.

2. Make a request

Every request must include your key in the Authorization header, formatted as Bearer <key>. The snippets below fetch the first page of public deployments.

curl

curl "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

curl

curl "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

quickstart.py

import requests
 
url = "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/"
headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
 
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

quickstart.py

import requests
 
url = "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/"
headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
 
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

Any HTTP-capable runtime works the same way — Python, MATLAB, JavaScript, C/C++, Arduino, and so on.

3. Read the response

The list endpoint returns a paginated envelope. Results are under results; count is the total number of deployments visible to your key, and next / previous are cursor URLs for the adjacent pages.

response

{
  "count": 142,
  "next": "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/?page=2",
  "previous": null,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "SIMB3 2023A",
      "status": "deployed",
      "location": "Beaufort Sea",
      "slug": "300434066157890",
      "data_uuid": "e11478e8-8bda-4494-a796-08b82334dfa0",
      "deployment_description": "Spring deployment from USCGC Healy.",
      "deployment_notes": null,
      "deployment_start_date": "2023-04-12T00:00:00Z",
      "deployment_end_date": null,
      "details": { "ice_thickness_at_deployment_cm": 145 }
    }
  ]
}

response

{
  "count": 142,
  "next": "https://api.cryosphereinnovation.com/public/deployments/?page=2",
  "previous": null,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "SIMB3 2023A",
      "status": "deployed",
      "location": "Beaufort Sea",
      "slug": "300434066157890",
      "data_uuid": "e11478e8-8bda-4494-a796-08b82334dfa0",
      "deployment_description": "Spring deployment from USCGC Healy.",
      "deployment_notes": null,
      "deployment_start_date": "2023-04-12T00:00:00Z",
      "deployment_end_date": null,
      "details": { "ice_thickness_at_deployment_cm": 145 }
    }
  ]
}

Each deployment carries a slug (the canonical identifier — for SIMB3s this is the instrument IMEI) and a data_uuid (the identifier used to fetch the deployment's raw sensor data). You'll use both of those on the pages below.

Where to next

Endpoints — every URL, query parameter, and response field
Fetching deployments — filtering, search, sort, pagination
Fetching sensor data — query raw data by data_uuid and select fields