Quick Start

Get up and running with OilPriceAPI in under 5 minutes.

Overview

This guide will help you:

  1. Get your API key
  2. Make your first API request
  3. Understand the response format
  4. Explore next steps

Step 1: Get Your API Key

Sign Up

  1. Visit oilpriceapi.com/signup
  2. Create your account (free tier available)
  3. Verify your email address

Generate API Key

  1. Log into your dashboard
  2. Navigate to API Keys section
  3. Click Create New Key
  4. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Production App")
  5. Copy your key immediately - it won't be shown again!
**Tip**: Create separate keys for development and production environments

Step 2: Make Your First Request

Let's fetch the latest oil prices:

Step 3: Understanding the Response

Here's what you'll receive:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "WTI_USD": {
      "price": 78.45,
      "currency": "USD",
      "unit": "barrel",
      "timestamp": "2025-07-18T10:30:00Z",
      "change_24h": 0.82,
      "change_percent_24h": 1.05
    },
    "BRENT_CRUDE_USD": {
      "price": 82.31,
      "currency": "USD",
      "unit": "barrel",
      "timestamp": "2025-07-18T10:30:00Z",
      "change_24h": 0.95,
      "change_percent_24h": 1.17
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_abc123",
    "response_time_ms": 42
  }
}

Key Fields Explained

FieldDescriptionExample
priceCurrent spot price78.45
currencyPrice currencyUSD
unitMeasurement unitbarrel
timestampLast update time2025-07-18T10:30:00Z
change_24h24-hour price change0.82
change_percent_24h24-hour percentage change1.05

Step 4: Common Use Cases

Get Specific Commodities

# Only get WTI and Natural Gas prices
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD,NATURAL_GAS_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Get Multiple Commodity Prices

# Get WTI and Brent prices together
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD,BRENT_CRUDE_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Get Historical Data

# Get past 24 hours of WTI data
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/past_day?by_code=WTI_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Step 5: Best Practices

1. Store API Keys Securely

Never hardcode API keys:

// ❌ Bad
const apiKey = 'opa_live_abc123';

// ✅ Good
const apiKey = process.env.OILPRICE_API_KEY;

2. Handle Errors Gracefully

try {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD,BRENT_CRUDE_USD', {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${apiKey}` }
  });
  
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status}`);
  }
  
  const data = await response.json();
  return data;
  
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Failed to fetch prices:', error);
  // Implement fallback logic
}

3. Implement Caching

API updates every 5 minutes, so cache responses:

import time
from functools import lru_cache

@lru_cache(maxsize=1)
def get_cached_prices(cache_key):
    response = requests.get(
        'https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD,BRENT_CRUDE_USD',
        headers={'Authorization': f'Token {API_KEY}'}
    )
    return response.json()

# Generate new cache key every 5 minutes
cache_key = int(time.time() // 300)
prices = get_cached_prices(cache_key)

Step 6: Direct API Integration

The API is simple to integrate directly into your application without any additional libraries:

Quick Examples

Price Alert System

async function checkPriceThreshold() {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=WTI_USD', {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${process.env.OILPRICE_API_KEY}` }
  });
  
  const data = await response.json();
  const wtiPrice = data.data.WTI_USD.price;
  
  if (wtiPrice > 80) {
    sendAlert(`WTI above $80: Currently $${wtiPrice}`);
  }
}

// Check every 5 minutes
setInterval(checkPriceThreshold, 5 * 60 * 1000);

Simple Dashboard

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Oil Prices</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Live Oil Prices</h1>
  <div id="prices">Loading...</div>
  
  <script>
    async function updatePrices() {
      // Note: In production, proxy through your backend
      const response = await fetch('/api/prices');
      const data = await response.json();
      
      document.getElementById('prices').innerHTML = `
        <p>WTI: $${data.data.WTI_USD.price}</p>
        <p>Brent: $${data.data.BRENT_CRUDE_USD.price}</p>
        <p>Last Updated: ${new Date(data.data.WTI_USD.timestamp).toLocaleString()}</p>
      `;
    }
    
    updatePrices();
    setInterval(updatePrices, 60000); // Update every minute
  </script>
</body>
</html>

What's Next?

Now that you've made your first request, explore:

Need Help?