Test your setup

Let's make sure everything is working with a simple test call.

Option A: Using cURL (Recommended for Beginners)

Open your terminal and copy and paste in and then run this command (replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your actual key):

curl -X POST "https://api.simpler.grants.gov/v1/opportunities/search" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "pagination": {
      "page_offset": 1,
      "page_size": 5,
      "sort_order": [
        {
          "order_by": "opportunity_id",
          "sort_direction": "descending"
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Option B: Using Postman

1. Create a new request:

   • Method: POST

   • URL: https://api.simpler.grants.gov/v1/opportunities/search

2. Add headers:

   • X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

   • Content-Type: application/json

3. Add request body (select "raw" and "JSON"):

   {
     "pagination": {
       "page_offset": 1,
       "page_size": 5,
       "sort_order": [
         {
           "order_by": "opportunity_id",
           "sort_direction": "descending"
         }
       ]
     }
   }

4. Click Send

What Should Happen

If everything worked, you should see a response like this:

{
  "message": "Success",
  "data": [
    {
      "opportunity_id": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012",
      "opportunity_number": "EPA-R9-SFUND-23-003",
      "opportunity_title": "Environmental Research Grant Program",
      "agency_name": "Environmental Protection Agency",
      "post_date": "2024-01-15",
      "close_date": "2024-06-30",
      "opportunity_status": "posted"
    }
  ],
  "pagination_info": {
    "page_offset": 1,
    "page_size": 5,
    "total_pages": 247,
    "total_records": 1234
  }
}

Congratulations You just made your first API call and retrieved grant opportunities!

Something not working as expected? Check out common issues & solutions.