Quick Start

Chat with your first document in under 5 minutes

Overview

This guide walks you through the core API workflow:

1. Authenticate with your API key
2. Ingest a file or URL to get a file_id
3. Chat with the content using the file_id

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Step 1: Get Your API Key

1. Sign in to Skimming AI

   Go to skimming.ai and log in to your account.

   
2. Navigate to API Settings

   Open your dashboard and find the API section in the left sidebar.

   
3. Generate Key

   Click Create API Key. Copy and store it securely — you won’t see it again.

   

Keep your API key private. Never expose it in client-side code or public repositories.

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Step 2: Ingest a Document

Upload a file to get a file_id that you’ll use for all chat operations.

Required Headers

All API requests require these headers:

Header	Value	Description
Authorization	Bearer YOUR_API_KEY	Your API key
Content-Type	application/json or multipart/form-data	Request content type

Example: Ingest a PDF

curl -X POST https://app.skimming.ai/back/source/v1/api/document \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key" \
  -F "source=@document.pdf"

Response

{
  "success": {
    "file_id": "abc123-def456-ghi789",
    "file_name": "document.pdf",
    "user_id": "user123",
    "createAt": "2025-01-22T10:30:00Z"
  },
  "error": null
}

Save the file_id from the response — you’ll need it for all chat requests.

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Step 3: Chat with the Document

Use the file_id to ask questions about your content.

Example: Ask a Question

curl -X POST https://app.skimming.ai/back/chat/v1/api/document/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "file_id": "abc123-def456-ghi789",
    "question": "What are the main points of this document?",
    "streaming": false
  }'

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": "The main points discussed in this document are...",
  "error": null
}

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Enable Streaming

For real-time responses, set streaming: true. The response will be delivered as Server-Sent Events (SSE).

curl -X POST https://app.skimming.ai/back/chat/v1/api/document/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "file_id": "abc123-def456-ghi789",
    "question": "Summarize this document",
    "streaming": true
  }'

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Choose Your Model

Specify which AI model to use with the model and model_type parameters:

{
  "file_id": "abc123-def456-ghi789",
  "question": "What is this about?",
  "model": "gpt-4o",
  "model_type": "openai",
  "streaming": false
}

Available Models

Provider	Models	Credits/Question
OpenAI	gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4o, gpt-4, gpt-3.5-turbo	1 – 100
Anthropic	claude-3-sonnet, claude-3.5-sonnet	25
Google	gemini-1.5-flash, gemini-1.5-pro	1 – 16

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Supported Content Types

Documents

• PDF, Excel (.xlsx, .csv), PowerPoint (.pptx), Text (.txt), EPUB

Media

• Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF, SVG, HEIC
• Audio: MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC, FLAC, M4A
• Video: MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, WebM, FLV, MKV

Web Content

• YouTube: Paste video URL → /source/v1/api/youtube
• Websites: Any webpage URL → /source/v1/api/website
• Social Media: Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook posts

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Next Steps

API Reference

Explore all endpoints with request/response examples.

Ingest Endpoints

Learn about all ingestion options.

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Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Invalid or missing API key	Check your Authorization header
400 Bad Request	Missing required fields	Ensure file_id and question are provided
402 Question limit exceeded	Out of credits	Upgrade your plan or wait for reset

Need Help?

Contact support at [e-mail]