> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shovels.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Get City Details > Return city details and related location hierarchy. ## OpenAPI ````yaml https://api.shovels.ai/spec/v2/openapi.production.yaml get /cities openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: The Shovels API v2 description: > The Shovels REST API makes it easy for technology developers in the property, climate, and construction industries to access detailed information about building permits, contractors and construction activity. Our API is designed to be intuitive and fast. We look forward to seeing what you build with it: [let us know](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfs5Z6NZyPdnRpL96bMduH95OhfFZgLz9Hkc0-Y7pukUxSLxQ/viewform) and we'll check it out! ## Key Features The API offers access to two primary objects: **Permits** and **Contractors**. - **Permits**: Official documents issued by city or county authorities required before commencing construction or alterations to a building. - **Contractors**: Skilled professionals in the building trades who undertake permitted construction projects on various properties. And some additional resources: - **Lists**: Endpoints for predefined values like tags and property types for query parameters. - **Addresses**: Endpoint for searching and resolving valid US addresses. - **Meta**: Endpoints for metadata about the API and the data behind it. ## Getting started To begin using the API, please contact our sales team at [sales@shovels.ai](mailto:sales@shovels.ai) or grab a [free API key](https://app.shovels.ai/create-account/). > **Info**: The free API key has a limited number of calls. If you hit the limit and need more, please reach out to [sales@shovels.ai](mailto:sales@shovels.ai) or call us at [1-800-511-7457](tel:+18005117457). ### Authentication Our API uses a straightforward header-based authentication method: ``` X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE ``` Example Request: ```sh curl -X GET "https://api.shovels.ai/v2/meta/release" \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" ``` ## API Details ### Quick Overview A few quick details about our API: | Type | Description | |---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SSL only | We require that all requests are done over SSL. | | UTF-8 encoding | We use UTF-8 everywhere. | | Method | GET for all read calls. | | Date format | All dates in the API are strings in the following format: YYYY-MM-DD. | ### Response Types The API supports the following response codes: | Code | Description | |------|-------------| | **200 OK** | Everything worked as expected. | | **400 Bad Request** | There was something wrong with your request. Double-check your input. | | **401 Unauthorized** | You need to log in to access this. Make sure your API key is correct. | | **402 Payment Required** | You will get this error if your reach your trial API call limit. | | **403 Forbidden** | You don't have permission to access this. | | **404 Not Found** | We couldn't find what you're looking for. Check the URL or resource ID. | | **422 Unprocessable Entity** | There's an issue with the data you sent. Check [Error Handling](#error-handling) if you get this error. | | **429 Too Many Requests** | You're sending requests too quickly. Slow down and try again later. | | **500 Internal Server Error** | Yikes, something went wrong on our end. Please let us know at [support@shovels.ai](support@shovels.ai) | ### Data Format The API returns data in JSON format, either as pages or single objects. Paginated responses have the following structure: ```json { "items": [...], "size": 50, "next_cursor": "eyJkYXR..." | null } ``` Where objects are returned as an array in the 'items' field. ### Cursor-Based Pagination The API uses cursor-based pagination for all paginated endpoints. This method uses an opaque cursor token to maintain your position in the result set, offering better performance, consistency, and stability, especially for large datasets. ```json { "items": [...], "size": 50, "next_cursor": "eyJkYXR.lIjoiMjA.yMy0" } ``` To use cursor-based pagination: - For the first page: Simply make a request without any pagination parameters (or optionally specify `size` to control page size) - For subsequent pages: Include the `next_cursor` value from the previous response using the `cursor` parameter Example: ``` GET /v2/permits/search?size=10 GET /v2/permits/search?size=10&cursor=eyJkYXR.lIjoiMjA.yMy0 ``` When there are no more results, the `next_cursor` value will be `null`. ### Versioning The current version of the API is v2, which is reflected in the endpoints URL structure: `/v2/`. We plan to evolve our API by releasing new versions to ensure backward compatibility while maintaining a steady pace of continuous improvements. ### Error Handling Proper error messages and HTTP codes are provided to help you troubleshoot issues effectively. Refer to the [Response Types](#response-types) section for an overview of HTTP error codes and how to handle them. Below we describe how to interpret HTTP 422 code. #### 422 Unprocessable Entity A 422 Unprocessable Entity response occurs when the server understands the request but cannot process it due to invalid data. This helps you identify issues with your input. The response includes: - **loc**: The location of the error. The first value indicates the location and the second specifies the problematic field. Common values for the first value include: - **body**: The error is in the request body. - **query**: The error is in the query parameters. - **path**: The error is in the URL path. - **header**: The error is in the request headers. - **msg**: A message describing the error. - **type**: The type of error. This information helps you correct your request by pinpointing the exact issue. Here are some examples: **Request Body Error** ```json { "detail": [ { "loc": ["body", "first_name"], "msg": "Field is required", "type": "value_error.missing" } ] } ``` **Query Parameter Error** ```json { "detail": [ { "loc": ["query", "page"], "msg": "Page must be a positive integer", "type": "type_error.integer" } ] } ``` **Path Parameter Error** ```json { "detail": [ { "loc": ["path", "id"], "msg": "Invalid ID format", "type": "value_error.id" } ] } ``` **Header Error** ```json { "detail": [ { "loc": ["header", "X-API-Key"], "msg": "API key is missing", "type": "value_error.missing" } ] } ``` These examples show how different types of errors are reported, helping you to diagnose and fix issues in your API requests. ## Credit Limits API usage is tracked using credits. Each record returned counts as one credit. ### Response Headers Successful JSON responses that return records include credit headers: - `X-Credits-Request`: Credits consumed by this request - `X-Credits-Limit`: Your monthly credit limit (omitted if unlimited) - `X-Credits-Remaining`: Credits remaining in your limit (omitted if unlimited) ### Checking Usage Use `GET /v2/usage` to check your current credit usage: ```json { "credits_used": 847293, "credit_limit": 1000000 } ``` ### Exceeding Limits When you exceed your credit limit, the API returns HTTP 402: ```json { "detail": { "error": "Monthly credit limit exceeded.", "limit": 1000000 } } ``` Credits are calculated on a rolling 30-day window. Usage older than 30 days automatically falls off. version: 2.0.0 servers: - url: https://api.shovels.ai/v2 description: Shovels API security: [] tags: - name: Meta description: Endpoints that provide information about the API and the data. - name: Lists description: >- Predefined lists of values and categories, such as tags and property types, which can be utilized as query parameters in other API interactions. - name: Permits description: >- Official documents issued by cities or counties before construction or alteration of a building can begin. - name: Contractors description: >- Licensed professionals who do permitted work on residential and commercial buildings. - name: Addresses description: US address ID resolution, lookup and metrics endpoints. - name: Cities description: City ID resolution, lookup and metrics endpoints. - name: Counties description: County ID resolution, lookup and metrics endpoints. - name: Jurisdictions description: Jurisdiction ID resolution, lookup and metrics endpoints. - name: States description: State metrics endpoints. - name: Usage description: Credit usage tracking. paths: /cities: get: tags: - Cities summary: Get City Details description: Return city details and related location hierarchy. operationId: get_city_details_cities_get parameters: - name: geo_id in: query required: true schema: type: string title: Geo Id description: Geolocation ID description: Geolocation ID responses: '200': description: City details and related location hierarchy. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/CitiesDetailsRead' example: geo_id: Q2l0eV8xMjM0NQ name: SAN FRANCISCO, CA state: CA counties: SAN FRANCISCO: Q291bnR5XzEyMzQ jurisdictions: SAN FRANCISCO: SnVyaXNkaWN0aW9uXzEyMzQ zipcodes: - '94102' - '94103' - '94104' - '94105' '404': description: The given geo_id didn't match any cities '422': description: Validation Error content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/HTTPValidationError' security: - APIKeyHeader: [] components: schemas: CitiesDetailsRead: properties: geo_id: type: string title: Geo Id description: Geolocation ID name: type: string title: Name description: Formatted entity name state: type: string title: State description: State abbreviation counties: anyOf: - additionalProperties: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' type: object - type: 'null' title: Counties default: {} jurisdictions: anyOf: - additionalProperties: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' type: object - type: 'null' title: Jurisdictions default: {} zipcodes: anyOf: - items: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' type: array - type: 'null' title: Zipcodes type: object required: - geo_id - name - state title: CitiesDetailsRead description: City-specific details read model. HTTPValidationError: properties: detail: items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ValidationError' type: array title: Detail type: object title: HTTPValidationError ValidationError: properties: loc: items: anyOf: - type: string - type: integer type: array title: Location msg: type: string title: Message type: type: string title: Error Type type: object required: - loc - msg - type title: ValidationError securitySchemes: APIKeyHeader: type: apiKey in: header name: X-API-Key ````