Quickstart

1. Create a free key

Sign up at app.heimdallresearch.com (opens October 2026). Your key is shown once, on the screen after you create it. Store it in a password manager or a secrets file.

• Live keys start with hr_live_.
• Test keys start with hr_test_ and never touch billing.

A free key reads every free dataset through the API and the MCP server. See Keys and security for how keys are stored and revoked.

2. Make a call

export HEIMDALL_API_KEY=hr_live_...
curl https://api.heimdallresearch.com/v1/storms/AL152017 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HEIMDALL_API_KEY"

GET /v1/datasets lists everything your key can read, and GET /v1/usage shows the calls you have left.

3. Or ask your AI assistant

Add the MCP server once and ask questions in plain language. See Use it in your AI assistant.

What comes back

Every data response carries dataset_version, doi and citation, so any number can be traced to an archived release. Before a dataset’s first release, dataset_version and doi are null. See Responses.

Errors share one format, and each links to a page that says what to do. See Errors.