API Quick Start
InfluxDB offers a rich API and client libraries ready to integrate with your application. Use popular tools like Curl and Postman for rapidly testing API requests.
This section guides you through the most commonly used API methods.
For detailed documentation on the entire API, see the InfluxDB v2 API Reference.
If you need to use InfluxDB Cloud with InfluxDB 1.x API clients and integrations, see the 1.x compatibility API.
Bootstrap your application
With most API requests, you’ll need to provide a minimum of your InfluxDB URL and Authorization Token (API Token).
Install InfluxDB OSS v2.x or upgrade to an InfluxDB Cloud account.
Authentication
InfluxDB uses API tokens to authorize API requests.
-
Before exploring the API, use the InfluxDB UI to create an initial API token for your application.
-
Include your API token in an
Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKENHTTP header with each request.
#######################################
# Use a token in the Authorization header
# to authenticate with the InfluxDB 2.x API.
#######################################
curl --get "http://localhost:8086/api/v2" \
--header "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
--header 'Content-type: application/json' \
--data-urlencode "db=mydb" \
--data-urlencode "q=SELECT * FROM cpu_usage"
/**
* Use a token in the Authorization header
* to authenticate with the InfluxDB 2.x API.
*/
const https = require('https');
function queryWithToken() {
const options = {
host: 'localhost:8086',
path: "/api/v2",
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Token YOUR_API_TOKEN',
'Content-type': 'application/json'
},
};
const request = https.get(options, (response) => {
let rawData = '';
response.on('data', () => {
response.on('data', (chunk) => { rawData += chunk; });
})
response.on('end', () => {
console.log(rawData);
})
});
request.end();
}
Postman is another popular tool for exploring APIs. See how to send authenticated requests with Postman.
Buckets API
Before writing data you’ll need to create a Bucket in InfluxDB.
Create a bucket using an HTTP request to the InfluxDB API /buckets endpoint.
INFLUX_TOKEN=YOUR_API_TOKEN
INFLUX_ORG_ID=YOUR_ORG_ID
curl --request POST \
"http://localhost:8086/api/v2/buckets" \
--header "Authorization: Token ${INFLUX_TOKEN}" \
--header "Content-type: application/json" \
--data '{
"orgID": "'"${INFLUX_ORG_ID}"'",
"name": "iot-center",
"retentionRules": [
{
"type": "expire",
"everySeconds": 86400,
"shardGroupDurationSeconds": 0
}
]
}'
Write API
Write data to InfluxDB using an HTTP request to the InfluxDB API /api/v2/write endpoint.
Query API
Query from InfluxDB using an HTTP request to the /api/v2/query endpoint.
Was this page helpful?
Thank you for your feedback!
Support and feedback
Thank you for being part of our community! We welcome and encourage your feedback and bug reports for InfluxDB and this documentation. To find support, use the following resources:
Customers with an annual or support contract can contact InfluxData Support.