> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vtulab.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Making your First Request

> A step-by-step guide to sending your first authenticated request.

In this guide, we will use `curl` to fetch the data catalog. This is the best way to verify that your API key and IP whitelisting are configured correctly.

## 1. Prepare your API Key

Copy your **Test Key** from the VTULab Dashboard. It should look like `test_...`.

## 2. Construct the Request

We will call the `GET /v1/vtu/data` endpoint. This endpoint does not require any parameters and is used to retrieve available data plans.

```bash theme={null}
curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.vtulab.com/v1/vtu/data \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TEST_KEY' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json'
```

## 3. Analyze the Response

A successful response will return a `200 OK` status and a JSON body containing `networks` and `data_plans`.

```json theme={null}
{
  "status": true,
  "message": "Data catalog fetched successfully",
  "data": {
    "networks": [...],
    "data_plans": [...]
  }
}
```

## Common Issues

If your request fails, check the following:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="401 Unauthorized" icon="lock">
    Ensure you are passing the key correctly in the `Authorization` header as a Bearer token.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="403 Forbidden" icon="shield-xmark">
    Verify that the IP address of the machine making the request is added to your whitelist in the VTULab Dashboard.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="429 Too Many Requests" icon="timer">
    You have exceeded the rate limit. Wait a few seconds and try again.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Info>
  Once you've successfully fetched the catalog, you're ready to start [Purchasing Data](/vtu/data#purchase-data).
</Info>