API access
Generate an API key in Outercite to pull citation data, visibility scores, and competitor snapshots into your own tools.
The Outercite API lets you query your citation and visibility data from any tool or system. Once you have an API key, you can pull data into your own dashboards, trigger automations, or feed Outercite results into a wider data pipeline.
What you'll learn
- How to generate an API key in your workspace settings
- How authentication works
- Where to find the full API reference
Generating an API key
API keys are created and managed in your workspace settings.
- Go to Settings > API in your Outercite workspace.
- Click Generate new key.
- Give the key a descriptive name so you can identify it later (for example, "Data warehouse export" or "Zapier integration").
- Copy the key immediately. For security reasons, Outercite shows the full key only once at creation time.
- Store the key securely, such as in an environment variable or a secrets manager.
Do not commit your API key to version control or include it in client-side code. If a key is exposed, revoke it immediately from Settings > API and generate a replacement.
You can generate multiple keys (for example, one per integration) and revoke any key at any time without affecting the others.
Agency accounts
If you manage multiple client workspaces, you can generate separate API keys per client workspace or a single parent-org key with access to all workspaces. Check Settings > API in the relevant workspace for the key scope options available on your plan.
How authentication works
Every API request must include your key in the Authorization header:
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEYAll requests must be made over HTTPS. Requests without a valid key, or made over plain HTTP, will be rejected.
GET /v1/citations
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Accept: application/jsonIf your key is valid but the request is rejected with a 403 Forbidden response, the key may not have permission for that resource. Check the key scope in Settings > API.
What you can query
The API exposes the same data you see in the Outercite dashboard:
- Citations: verified citation records including platform, confidence score, citation tier, sentiment, and the keyword that triggered the check
- Visibility score: your overall visibility score and per-engine citation rates
- Competitors: competitor records with threat score, threat level, and share of voice
- Keywords: your tracked prompts and their performance data
Full API reference
The API reference at /learn/reference/api-v1 documents the available endpoints, query parameters, and example response shapes. Note that the reference is an illustrative stub showing the structure of requests and responses; confirm exact shapes against your workspace.
The API is actively evolving. Response shapes and available endpoints may change between releases. Where stability matters, check the reference page for any notes on versioning.
Revoking a key
To revoke a key, go to Settings > API, find the key by name, and click Revoke. Revoked keys stop working immediately. Any integration using a revoked key will start receiving 401 Unauthorised responses until it is updated with a new key.
Try this in Outercite
Generate your first API key in settings and make a test request to confirm authentication is working before building your integration.
Related
API v1 reference
Endpoint documentation with example request and response shapes for citations, visibility, and competitors.
Webhooks
Receive citation events pushed to your endpoint in real time, without polling the API.
Integrations overview
A summary of all the connections available in Outercite and where each setting lives.
Data definitions
Precise definitions for every metric and field returned by the API.