Getting Started

Go from zero to your first API query in under 5 minutes.

1. Get your API key

Request a free API key to start querying. The free tier includes 50 queries per month across all endpoints.

Email: owen@prospectorlabs.com with subject "Free API Key Request" and we'll send you a key within minutes.

Include your key in every request via the X-API-Key header:

          Authentication header
        
X-API-Key: pk_your_key_here

The API also works without a key when auth is not required, but authenticated requests get higher rate limits and usage tracking.

2. Your first query

Let's search for solar projects in New Jersey. Choose your language:

              Search solar projects in NJ
              python
            

import requests

BASE = "https://prospector-platform-production.up.railway.app"
API_KEY = "pk_your_key_here"

resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/projects", params={
    "state": "NJ",
    "fuel_type": "Solar",
    "per_page": 5,
}, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})

data = resp.json()
for p in data["data"]:
    print(f"{p['queue_id']}: {p['name']} — {p['capacity_mw']} MW")
            

              Search solar projects in NJ
              javascript
            

const BASE = "https://prospector-platform-production.up.railway.app";
const API_KEY = "pk_your_key_here";

const resp = await fetch(
  `${BASE}/projects?state=NJ&fuel_type=Solar&per_page=5`,
  { headers: { "X-API-Key": API_KEY } }
);
const { data } = await resp.json();

data.forEach(p =>
  console.log(`${p.queue_id}: ${p.name} — ${p.capacity_mw} MW`)
);
            

              Search solar projects in NJ
              bash
            
curl -H "X-API-Key: pk_your_key_here" \
  "https://prospector-platform-production.up.railway.app/projects?state=NJ&fuel_type=Solar&per_page=5"

The response includes paginated results with a meta object:

          Response format
          json
        

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 12345,
      "queue_id": "AE2-123",
      "name": "Sunrise Solar Farm",
      "region": "PJM",
      "state": "NJ",
      "capacity_mw": 25.0,
      "type": "Solar",
      "status": "Active",
      "developer": "Sunrise Energy LLC",
      ...
    }
  ],
  "meta": { "total": 847, "page": 1, "per_page": 5, "pages": 170 }
}
        

3. Common workflows

WORKFLOW 1

Screen ITC investment deals

Find pre-screened investable projects with high tax credit rates.

resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/investable", params={
    "min_score": 70,
    "state": "NJ",
    "per_page": 10,
}, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})

deals = resp.json()["data"]
for d in deals:
    print(f"{d['queue_id']}: {d['name']} — Score {d['investability_score']}, "
          f"Credit {d['effective_credit_rate']}%")
            

curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" \
  "$BASE/investable?min_score=70&state=NJ&per_page=10"
            

WORKFLOW 2

Calculate tax credits for a project

Get the full ITC/PTC breakdown including energy community, low-income, and domestic content bonuses.

resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/tax-credits/calculate", params={
    "technology": "Solar",
    "capacity_mw": 2,
    "state": "WV",
    "county": "McDowell",
    "cod_year": 2027,
}, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})

credit = resp.json()["data"]
print(f"Base rate: {credit['base_rate']}%")
print(f"Effective rate: {credit['effective_rate']}%")
print(f"Bonuses: {credit['bonuses']}")
            

curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" \
  "$BASE/tax-credits/calculate?technology=Solar&capacity_mw=2&state=WV&county=McDowell&cod_year=2027"
            

WORKFLOW 3

Research a developer

Search by name, get their full profile and project portfolio.

# Search for a developer
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/developers/search",
    params={"q": "NextEra"},
    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})
devs = resp.json()["data"]

# Get their full profile
dev_id = devs[0]["id"]
profile = requests.get(f"{BASE}/developers/{dev_id}",
    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY}).json()["data"]

print(f"{profile['canonical_name']} — {profile['tier']}")
print(f"Projects: {profile['total_projects']}, Completion: {profile['completion_rate']}%")

# List their projects
projects = requests.get(f"{BASE}/developers/{dev_id}/projects",
    headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY}).json()["data"]
            

# Search
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "$BASE/developers/search?q=NextEra"

# Profile (replace 42 with actual ID)
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "$BASE/developers/42"

# Their projects
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "$BASE/developers/42/projects"
            

WORKFLOW 4

Export data to CSV

Bulk download project data filtered by state, technology, or capacity.

resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/export/projects", params={
    "state": "TX",
    "type": "Solar",
    "limit": 10000,
}, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})

with open("tx_solar.csv", "w") as f:
    f.write(resp.text)
print(f"Exported {len(resp.text.splitlines())-1} projects")
            

curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" \
  "$BASE/export/projects?state=TX&type=Solar&limit=10000" \
  -o tx_solar.csv
            

WORKFLOW 5

Run custom SQL queries

Execute read-only SQL against any of our 9 databases for ad-hoc analysis.

resp = requests.post(f"{BASE}/query", json={
    "sql": """
        SELECT state, COUNT(*) as projects, ROUND(SUM(capacity_mw)) as total_mw
        FROM projects
        WHERE type_std = 'Solar' AND status_std = 'Active'
        GROUP BY state
        ORDER BY total_mw DESC
        LIMIT 10
    """,
    "database": "master",
}, headers={"X-API-Key": API_KEY})

for row in resp.json()["data"]:
    print(f"{row['state']}: {row['projects']} projects, {row['total_mw']} MW")
            

curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"sql": "SELECT state, COUNT(*) as n FROM projects WHERE type_std = '\''Solar'\'' GROUP BY state ORDER BY n DESC LIMIT 10", "database": "master"}' \
  "$BASE/query"
            

4. Pagination and filtering

All list endpoints support these standard parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`page`	int	Page number (default: 1)
`per_page`	int	Results per page (default: 50, max: 500)
`sort`	string	Sort field (e.g., `capacity_mw`, `queue_date`)
`order`	string	`asc` or `desc`

Common filters on /projects:

Filter	Example	Description
`state`	`NJ`	Two-letter state code
`iso`	`PJM`	ISO/RTO region
`fuel_type`	`Solar`	Technology type (Solar, Wind, Storage, Gas, etc.)
`status`	`Active`	Project status
`developer`	`NextEra`	Developer name (partial match)
`capacity_min`	`100`	Minimum capacity in MW
`capacity_max`	`500`	Maximum capacity in MW
`energy_community`	`true`	Energy community eligible
`investable`	`true`	Pre-screened investable projects
`min_score`	`70`	Minimum investability score (0-100)

5. Rate limits and errors

Tier	Monthly queries	Rate limit	Price
Free	50	10/min	$0
Growth	2,500	60/min	$49/mo
Scale	20,000	200/min	$199/mo
Enterprise	Unlimited	Custom	Contact us

Error responses

Status	Meaning
`200`	Success
`400`	Bad request (invalid parameters)
`403`	Invalid or missing API key
`404`	Resource not found
`429`	Rate limit exceeded
`500`	Server error

All errors return JSON with a detail field:

          Error response
          json
        
{ "detail": "Monthly query limit exceeded. Upgrade at owen@prospectorlabs.com" }

6. Next steps

Interactive API Reference — try every endpoint in your browser
ReDoc — detailed endpoint documentation
API Overview — features, pricing, and data coverage
Contact us — questions, upgrade requests, or enterprise inquiries