# Access the API

You can access the Ebay API via the official API endpoint:

* `https://ecom.webscrapingapi.com/v1`

### The API key

Authorizing requests sent to the official API endpoint is done via passing the <mark style="color:yellow;">**required**</mark> `api_key` parameter to the request. You can request your API key upon [registration](https://docs.webscrapingapi.com/readme/registration), by subscribing to the Ebay API service, available in the Dashboard.

In the following documentation, we will refer to the API key by using this syntax:**`<YOUR_API_KEY>`**

{% hint style="warning" %}
Do not store your API key in publicly available scripts (i.e. public GitHub repositories). Your API key is strictly linked to your account and using it directly impacts your subscription plan!
{% endhint %}


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.webscrapingapi.com/ebay-search-api/getting-started/access-the-api.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.