1. API keys
Let’s test out running Vital locally by cloning the Quickstart app. You can get API keys by signing up in the Dashboard. Once registered, you can create a team. A team is associated with a region (eitherEU or US),
the region dictates where data is stored. You can learn more at regions.
To create a team and get your API keys, you first need to sign up for a Vital account in the Dashboard.
Once registered, you can create a team by hovering over your username at the bottom of the Dashboard sidebar.
A team is associated with a region (either EU or US), the region dictates where data is stored.
You can learn more at regions.
To create your API keys, go to the configuration section of the Dashboard.
For each region, you’ll have access to two environments Sandbox and Production.
We’ll start in the Sandbox environment, so create a new Sandbox API key.
If you get stuck at any point in the Quickstart, help is just a click away!
Join our Slack channel or send us a message to
support@tryvital.io
| Environment | ||
|---|---|---|
sandbox | Testing, Connect up to 10 live users | api.sandbox.tryvital.io |
production | Live environment to use with real customers | api.tryvital.io |
2. Running Quickstart locally
Once you have your API keys, it’s time to run the Vital Quickstart locally! The instructions below will guide you through the process of cloning the Quickstart repository, customizing the.env file with your own Vital API_KEY and finally, building and running the app.
1. Clone quickstart and run locally
http://localhost:3000.
2. Run quickstart frontend
3. Creating your first User
When retrieving data or connecting devices, Vital will require auser_id as input.
A user_id is a unique representation that we hold for a user. It allows you to fetch data for that user.
To create a user, you need to pass an unique id (client_user_id). This represents the user in your system. Our recommendation is
to store the Vital user_id in your db against the user row.
Personally identifiable information (PII), such as an email address or phone number, should not be used as input for the
user_id parameter.client_user_id and tap Create:

4. Connecting a source
A source, at Vital, is a medical device, wearable, or lab. It is a source of information for health data. To connect a source tap the connect button, this will launch the Junction Link Widget for that user. Once you have entered your credentials and moved to the next screen, you have connected your first source! You can now make API calls to retrieve data for that Source.How it works
As you might have noticed, you use both a server and a client-side component to access the Junction APIs. A more detailed explanation on how linking works can be found in link flow The first step is to create a newlink_token by making a /link/token request and passing in the
required configuration. This link_token is a short lived, one-time use token that authenticates your
app with Junction Link, our frontend module.
Generating a Link Token
link_token, you can use it to initialize Link. Link is a drop-in client-side
module available for web, iOS, and Android that handles the authentication process.
The Quickstart uses Link on the web, which is a pure JavaScript integration that you trigger via your own client-side code.
Generating a Link Token

5. Making your first API request
We can now explore what happens when you press the analyze button in the Quickstart to make an API call. As an example, we’ll look at the Quickstart’s call to/summary/sleep, which retrieves sleep
summary data for a user. The request is simple and requires the Vital
user_id, start_date and end_date.
Getting user sleep data
6. SDK’s and Libraries
We offer different SDKs so you can start building your app right away:| vital-python | Python library for calling Junction API on your backend |
| vital-link | React Library for initializing link |
| vital-node | Vital Node Client |
| vital-ios | Junction iOS Client |
| Java | Soon to be added |
| Go | Soon to be added |
Next Steps
Congratulations, you have completed the Vital Quickstart! There are a few directions you can go in now:Junction Link
A client-side component your users will interact with in order to link their
accounts with Vital. It allows you to access their accounts via the Junction API.
Vital SDKs
Native toolkits to integrate Vital into iOS, Android, and Flutter
Vital Webhooks
Webhooks are a way to receive data from Vital. We frequently poll to receive
data from the various providers.