Connect in a few lines.

1. Get your API key

Create an account, choose a plan and submit the M-Pesa transaction code. After the payment is verified, open My account and create an API key. Copy the full key when it appears; it is only displayed once.

2. Make a request

Pass the key in the X-API-Key request header. A Bearer token in the Authorization header is also accepted.

import requests

barcode = "ENTER_BARCODE"
api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"

response = requests.get(
    f"https://YOUR-DOMAIN/api/v1/barcode/{barcode}",
    headers={"X-API-Key": api_key},
    timeout=10,
)
print(response.status_code)
print(response.json())

const barcode = "ENTER_BARCODE";
const response = await fetch(
  `https://YOUR-DOMAIN/api/v1/barcode/${barcode}`,
  { headers: { "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY" } }
);
const product = await response.json();
console.log(product);

Replace YOUR-DOMAIN with your deployed Render URL or custom domain.

3. Response format

{
  "barcode": "your-product-barcode",
  "name": "Product name",
  "brand": "Brand name",
  "pack_size": "500 ml",
  "category": "Dairy",
  "price_kes": null,
  "verified": false,
  "source": "",
  "updated_at": "timestamp",
  "usage": { "limit": 1000, "used": 1, "remaining": 999 }
}

The values above are illustrative. Actual fields and values come from the current catalogue; price may be empty where no reliable price is available.

4. Common errors

5. Usage and data quality

Lookup limits are tied to your approved plan. The API does not invent missing data, and a syntactically valid barcode is not proof that a product is genuine. Treat the verified field and source information accordingly.