# Quick start

This page helps you make your **first successful request** to the Distribution API.

In a few steps, you will:

- Get your API key
- Use the sandbox environment
- Call your first endpoint
- Inspect your first response


This is the simplest way to confirm your credentials and connectivity.

## 1. Requirements

To begin, you need:

* A **Distribution API key** (provided by MeetingPackage)
* The **base URL** for your environment
  * Sandbox: `https://sandbox.meetingpackage.co`
* A tool for making HTTP requests (Postman, curl, or any HTTP client)


> **Note:** Environment availability and behaviour may vary by partner configuration.
During assisted onboarding, you may be asked to validate parts of your integration
against production.


## 2. Authenticate your request

All requests require an API key passed in the `X-API-KEY` header.

Example:


```bash
curl -X GET \
  "https://sandbox.meetingpackage.co/v2/configuration/venues" \
  -H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

If your key is valid, you will receive a list of **venues visible to your partner account**.

## 3. Why this endpoint?

[Get venue configurations](/openapi/distro-openapi#tag/Configuration) (`GET /v2/configuration/venues`) is the recommended **first call** because:

* It does **not** require any IDs or prior setup
* It reflects your partner’s actual **venue visibility**
* It returns configuration values required for downstream workflows
* It confirms your authentication and environment setup


A typical response includes the venue IDs you’ll use in later workflows:


```json
{
  "venues": [
    {
      "id": 25465,
      "name": "MP test",
      "external_id": "ICMSP571",
      "configuration": {
        "market_segments": [
          {
            "id": 1,
            "name": "corporate"
          }
        ],
        "booking_types": [
          {
            "id": 1,
            "name": "corporate"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

These venue identifiers are required for availability, bookings, and RFP operations.

## 4. What next?

Once you have confirmed your connection and retrieved your venue list, you can proceed to the relevant workflow:

* **Using the RFP model?**
Explore the [RFP workflow](/docs/workflows/rfp)
* **Fetching content?**
Continue with the [Venue content](/docs/workflows/venue-content) workflow
* **Planning to implement Direct bookings?**
Continue with the [Direct booking](/docs/workflows/direct-booking) workflow


If you need assistance at any point, please contact your MeetingPackage Partnerships or Technical contact, or drop us a line at [integrations@meetingpackage.com](mailto:integrations@meetingpackage.com).