API quickstart

Score products programmatically using the Dacard.ai API.

Authenticate with a Bearer token, drop a URL, get a scored product back. Full endpoint reference at API Reference. Rate limits and credit costs depend on your plan.

API quickstart

Our API lets you score products, retrieve results, and manage your account programmatically. This page walks you through auth, your first call, and key concepts.

Authentication

All authenticated endpoints accept a Bearer token in the Authorization header. You can obtain tokens in two ways:

API Key

Generate an API key under Settings > API Keys in the platform. API keys are long-lived and suitable for server-to-server integrations.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  https://app.dacard.ai/api/scores

Session Token

If you are building a client-side integration, use Clerk’s getToken() method to obtain a short-lived JWT.

const token = await clerk.session?.getToken();
const res = await fetch('https://app.dacard.ai/api/scores', {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` },
});

Never expose API keys in client-side code or public repositories. Use environment variables for all credentials.

Score a product

Send a POST request to /api/score with the product URL:

curl -X POST https://app.dacard.ai/api/score \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://linear.app",
    "context": "Linear is a project management tool for software teams"
  }'

The response includes the full scoring result:

{
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "url": "https://linear.app",
  "companyName": "Linear",
  "totalScore": 78,
  "stageName": "Leading",
  "dimensions": [
    {
      "dimensionId": "market_intelligence",
      "dimensionName": "Market Intelligence",
      "score": 4,
      "stageName": "Compounding",
      "evidence": "...",
      "confidence": "high",
      "reasoning": "..."
    }
  ],
  "strengths": ["delivery_velocity", "experience_design", "architecture_systems"],
  "gaps": ["cost_token_economics", "data_strategy_flywheel", "pricing_packaging"],
  "createdAt": "2026-04-07T12:00:00.000Z"
}

The optional context field helps the scoring engine understand the product better, especially for products with minimal public-facing content. Include a brief description of what the product does and who it serves.

Retrieve results

Scoring results are accessible by ID. This endpoint is public (no auth required), supporting shareable result URLs.

curl https://app.dacard.ai/api/score/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

To list your score history:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  https://app.dacard.ai/api/scores

Product Assessment

Score a product using the Product Assessment framework:

curl -X POST https://app.dacard.ai/api/score/product \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://linear.app",
    "context": "Linear is a project management tool with assistive features"
  }'

Lifecycle assessment

Retrieve lifecycle stage definitions (public, no auth):

curl https://app.dacard.ai/api/lifecycle/stages

Submit a lifecycle self-assessment:

curl -X POST https://app.dacard.ai/api/lifecycle/assessment \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "productId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "answers": {
      "task_define_problem": "completed",
      "task_user_research": "in_progress",
      "task_competitive_analysis": "not_started"
    }
  }'

Rate limits and credits

Resource	Limit
URL score	10 credits per score
Chat message	1 credit per message
API call	0.1 credits per call
Rate limit	Plan-dependent (see Settings > Usage)

Credits reset monthly. Monitor your usage with the usage endpoint:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer dac_your_api_key_here" \
  https://app.dacard.ai/api/usage

Error codes

Code	Status	Description
AUTH_REQUIRED	401	Missing or invalid authentication
FORBIDDEN	403	Insufficient permissions
NOT_FOUND	404	Resource not found
INVALID_URL	400	URL is malformed or unreachable
CRAWL_FAILED	400	Failed to crawl the target URL
QUOTA_EXCEEDED	429	Monthly credit limit reached
ANON_RATE_LIMIT	429	Anonymous rate limit (1 per IP per hour)

Health check

Verify the platform is operational:

curl https://app.dacard.ai/api/health

Returns component-level status for database, auth, billing, scoring, and environment checks.

Next steps

Full API Reference

Complete endpoint documentation with request/response schemas.

SDKs

Client libraries for TypeScript and other languages.