Before you Begin

Get started with the Altitude API by generating an API key, understanding the REST endpoint model, and choosing how to make API calls.

What you need

Before making your first API call, you need:

An Altitude account with API access enabled
An API key generated from your user profile in the Altitude portal. See Getting Altitude Credentials to learn more.

How the API works

The Altitude API is a RESTful API. Each analytical module exposes dedicated endpoints, there is no longer a single GetAltitudeData method with a queryType parameter. Instead, each query type maps to its own endpoint under https://altitudeapis.geotab.com/api/v2/.

Most analytical endpoints follow a two-step async pattern:

Submit a job with POST /api/v2/{endpoint} - returns 202 Accepted with a job ID.
Poll for results with GET /api/v2/jobs/{id} - returns 200 with a status field. Poll until status is DONE.

For a full walkthrough of this pattern, see API Workflow.

Ways to make an API call

You can interact with the Altitude API in two ways:

Python SDK: recommended. Install altitude-sdk and use typed domain methods. See Making an API Request with the Altitude Python Package.
Direct REST calls: use any HTTP client. See Making an API Request with a POST Request.

Business rules

Altitude tables store sub-state or provincial geographies as counties. This is a standard definition for the United States. However, for Canada, the designation of county covers census subdivisions or various boundaries, such as counties, cities, or townships.

Getting Altitude Credentials

Generate an API key from your user profile in the Altitude portal to authenticate API requests.

Generating an API key

All Altitude API requests are authenticated with an API key. To generate one:

Log in to the Altitude portal.
Open User Management.
Select your user profile.
Under API Access, select Generate API Key.
Copy and store your key securely. It is only shown once.

Using your API key

Pass your API key in the Authorization header of every request:

Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>

If you are using the Python SDK, install the package and pass the key when initializing the client:

pip install altitude-sdk

from altitude_sdk import AltitudeClient

client = AltitudeClient(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")