Get Started

Understand how to get started with APIs.

Quick Start

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This guide shows you how to sign up for a self-service trial, get your API credentials, and make your first request.

Make Your First Request

1

Create an account

Go to the sign-up page, enter your company email address, accept the terms and conditions, and click Create Account.

Open the verification email we send you and click the link to confirm your email address. This activates your account.

2

Create an application and copy your credentials

Sign in, go to your profile, and create an application. A client ID and client secret are generated for the application when you create it.

Copy both values and store them somewhere secure. You can view the client ID in your application at any time, but the client secret is shown only once. If you lose the client secret, delete the application and create a new one.

An application holds your API access and the credentials you use to authorize requests. Credentials belong to the application, not to your account. Each trial account can have one application.

3

Choose a trial API

Go to the API catalog and open any API with the Trial label. All trial APIs are added to your application automatically, so there's nothing to enable.

4

Get an access token

In the API reference, open the token endpoint (POST /token/oauth) in the Authentication section, enter your client ID and client secret, and click Try it!.

The response contains a JSON Web Token (JWT). Copy the token value. Tokens expire after 60 minutes, so if a later request returns 401 Unauthorized, get a new token.

5

Make a request

Open any endpoint in the same API reference, paste your token into the authentication field, and click Try it!.

The response shows the data returned for your request. You've made your first API call.

Build with an AI Assistant

If you use an AI assistant to write code, connect it to our MCP server. Through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the server gives your assistant direct access to our API specifications, data points, and guides, so the code it writes is based on current documentation rather than what it learned in training or pages you paste in.

The MCP server provides documentation only. Your own code and credentials still make the API requests and return the data.

To connect, add this server URL to your assistant's MCP settings:

https://dws.morningstar.com/discovery-assistant/mcp
Set Up the MCP Server