> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tracefinance.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Make your first API request to Trace Finance in under five minutes.

## Prerequisites

* A **client ID** and **client secret** provided during onboarding.
* [curl](https://curl.se/) or any HTTP client.

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get an access token">
    Follow the [Authentication](/guides/authentication) guide to exchange your client credentials for a JWT. Copy the `access_token` from the response.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your first request">
    List accounts in the sandbox:

    ```bash theme={"theme":"tokyo-night"}
    curl --request GET \
      --url https://api.sandbox.tracefinance.com/v1/accounts \
      --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the response">
    You should see a paginated response:

    ```json theme={"theme":"tokyo-night"}
    {
      "data": [],
      "meta": {
        "previousCursor": null,
        "nextCursor": null,
        "total": 0
      }
    }
    ```

    An empty `data` array is expected — you haven't created any accounts yet. You're connected and authenticated.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's next

* [Open an account](/journeys/open-account) — create your first account
* [Authentication](/guides/authentication) — learn about token management
* [Environments](/guides/environments) — understand sandbox vs production