Authentication

All API requests require an API key passed via the X-API-Key header.

That key is one of three independent auth systems. This page covers the first — the X-API-Key header used by the public REST API. Developer endpoints (/api/v2/developer/*) instead take a Bearer credential (session JWT or API key), and platform ↔ runner traffic is HMAC-signed (Security & Auth):

Getting an API Key

1. Connect your wallet at chaindaddy.io
2. Open the API dashboard at chaindaddy.io/_api
3. Click Generate Key
4. Copy your key immediately, it won't be shown again

Store Your Key Securely

API keys grant access to your account's API quota. Never commit keys to source control or expose them in client-side code.

Key Format

Keys follow the format cd_live_ followed by 64 hexadecimal characters:

cd_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6...  (64 hex chars)

Making Authenticated Requests

Include your key in the X-API-Key header on every request:

curl

curl -H "X-API-Key: cd_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE" \
  https://api.chaindaddy.io/api/v2/search?symbol=PEPE

JavaScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.chaindaddy.io/api/v2/search?symbol=PEPE',
  {
    headers: {
      'X-API-Key': 'cd_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE'
    }
  }
);
const data = await response.json();

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.chaindaddy.io/api/v2/search',
    params={'symbol': 'PEPE'},
    headers={'X-API-Key': 'cd_live_YOUR_KEY_HERE'}
)
data = response.json()

Rate Limiting

Each API tier has daily request limits and per-second rate limits:

Tier	Price	Requests/Day	Rate Limit
Free	$0	100	1 req/sec
PRO	$5/mo	5,000	5 req/sec
PRO+	$12/mo	15,000	10 req/sec
Developer	$22/mo	50,000	15 req/sec
Partner	$49/mo	250,000	50 req/sec

Free, PRO, and PRO+ limits are included with their respective plan tiers. Developer and Partner are standalone API plans.

API Feature Matrix

Endpoint access by tier:

Feature	Free	PRO	PRO+	Developer	Partner
Search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Token data	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Registration status	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Listing export	—	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Webhooks	—	—	—	Yes	Yes
Bulk endpoints	—	—	—	Yes	Yes
SLA guarantee	—	—	—	—	99.9%

Partner

For custom rate limits, dedicated infrastructure, priority support, or SLA requirements, contact the team via the dashboard.

Rate Limit Headers

Every response includes rate limit headers:

Header	Description
X-RateLimit-Limit	Daily request limit
X-RateLimit-Remaining	Remaining requests today
X-RateLimit-Reset	Unix timestamp when limit resets
Retry-After	Seconds to wait (only on 429 responses)

Handling 429 Responses

When you exceed your rate limit, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests response:

{
  "error": "rate_limit_exceeded",
  "message": "Too many requests per second",
  "retry_after": 1
}

Retry Strategy

Read the Retry-After header and wait that many seconds before retrying. Implement exponential backoff for repeated 429 responses.

JavaScript

async function fetchWithRetry(url, options, maxRetries = 3) {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < maxRetries; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(url, options);

    if (response.status === 429) {
      const retryAfter = parseInt(response.headers.get('Retry-After') || '1');
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, retryAfter * 1000));
      continue;
    }

    return response;
  }
  throw new Error('Max retries exceeded');
}

Python

import time
import requests

def fetch_with_retry(url, headers, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

        if response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = int(response.headers.get('Retry-After', '1'))
            time.sleep(retry_after)
            continue

        return response
    raise Exception('Max retries exceeded')

Error Response Format

All error responses follow a consistent JSON format:

{
  "error": "error_type",
  "message": "Human-readable description of what went wrong",
  "code": "MACHINE_READABLE_CODE"
}

Field	Type	Description
error	string	Error type identifier
message	string	Human-readable description
code	string	Machine-readable error code (optional)

Common Error Codes

HTTP Status	Error	Description
400	bad_request	Missing or invalid parameters
403	forbidden	Invalid API key or insufficient tier
404	not_found	Resource does not exist
409	conflict	Symbol already claimed on this chain
429	rate_limit_exceeded	Too many requests

Base URL

All endpoints in this reference are served from the production API:

https://api.chaindaddy.io

There is no separate sandbox environment. For development and testing, use a Free-tier API key — read endpoints (search, token data, registration status) are safe to call, and write endpoints only return unsigned transaction data (nothing happens on-chain until you sign and submit). See the API Explorer to try endpoints interactively.