> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.forager.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> Forager is a REST API for B2B people, company and job post data: contact lookups (phone numbers, personal emails, work emails), person, company and job post search, and bulk data feeds.
> Server: https://api-v2.forager.ai. Send the API key in the X-API-KEY header. Most paths include {account_id}. Read FORAGER_API_KEY and FORAGER_ACCOUNT_ID from the environment; never put the key in client-side code, logs or prompts.
> To add Forager to a project, follow https://www.forager.ai/docs/guides/agent-quickstart.md. To pick an endpoint, read https://www.forager.ai/docs/guides/choose-an-endpoint.md. For end-to-end builds, see https://www.forager.ai/docs/recipes/overview.md.
> Most requests spend credits. Do not guess costs; use https://www.forager.ai/docs/api-overview/credit-pricing.md and ask the user before spending credits.
> Use only endpoints and fields defined in https://www.forager.ai/docs/openapi.yaml. Forager has no MCP server for the API yet; the /mcp endpoint on this site searches the documentation only.

# Production checklist

> Before going live with the Forager API: protect the key, control credit spend, handle 403 and 429, use bulk endpoints for volume and report bad data.

![API production checklist: keys, credits, rate limits, data quality and monitoring](https://mintcdn.com/forager/EGsWCxLOYv1Cb__c/images/illustrations/api-production-checklist-keys-credits-limits.svg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=EGsWCxLOYv1Cb__c\&q=85\&s=ba93aae1d584d6e63d4ce0efcdb798c3)

Check each item before you send production traffic.

## Keys and access

* [ ] The API key lives in a server-side secret store and is read from the environment, never from source code or browser code. See [authentication](https://www.forager.ai/docs/api-overview/authentication.md).
* [ ] You know how to rotate it: create a new key on the [API](https://app.forager.ai/keys) page, deploy it, then delete the old key.
* [ ] A `403` is surfaced as a configuration error, not retried. A missing or invalid key returns `403` with `{"detail": "Authentication credentials were not provided."}`.

## Credits

![Production pattern: cache Forager results so retries and duplicates do not buy the same lookup twice](https://mintcdn.com/forager/EGsWCxLOYv1Cb__c/images/illustrations/api-production-cache-and-retry-flow.svg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=EGsWCxLOYv1Cb__c\&q=85\&s=0a09e3d57049cbc45bd2bfece227138b)

* [ ] You know the cost of every call you make. See [credits and pricing](https://www.forager.ai/docs/api-overview/credit-pricing.md). For example, a phone number lookup is 15 credits and a person role search is 1.
* [ ] You cache results you've already paid for, so a retry, page refresh or duplicate job doesn't buy the same lookup twice.
* [ ] You only call contact lookups for the people you'll actually use. Search first (1 credit), then look up contacts for the results you keep. See [Choose the right endpoint](https://www.forager.ai/docs/guides/choose-an-endpoint.md).
* [ ] Spend is monitored with the [credit usage endpoints](https://www.forager.ai/docs/guides/credits-and-usage.md), with an alert when a day's total is unusual.
* [ ] Agents and automations that call Forager have a credit limit or a human approval step.

## Rate limits and retries

* [ ] `429` responses back off before retrying. Autocomplete allows 10 requests per second and feedback 60 per minute, per account. See [API errors and rate limits](https://www.forager.ai/docs/errors-and-rate-limits.md).
* [ ] Work email enrichment for many people uses the [bulk work email lookup](https://www.forager.ai/docs/openapi/work-emails/v2_datastorage_person_contacts_lookup_work_emails_bulk_create.md), not a loop over the single lookup.
* [ ] Polling a single work email lookup follows its `Retry-After` header; batch polls back off between requests. Polling a lookup or batch never consumes credits.

## Data quality

* [ ] An empty result is handled as "not found", with a fallback in your product.
* [ ] Call and email outcomes are sent back with the [feedback endpoints](https://www.forager.ai/docs/guides/report-bad-data.md).
* [ ] You handle personal data under your own privacy obligations. See Forager's [privacy policy](https://forager.ai/privacy) and [security and privacy](https://www.forager.ai/docs/security.md).

## Monitoring

* [ ] You log the endpoint, status code and latency for each request, never the API key or full response bodies containing personal data.
* [ ] Someone on your team follows [status.forager.ai](https://status.forager.ai/) and the [changelog](https://www.forager.ai/docs/changelog.md), which has an RSS feed.


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