> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.sandbox.co.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Request & response structure

> Learn about request formats, response structures, and HTTP headers used in Sandbox APIs.

Sandbox APIs accept JSON payloads, query parameters, and path parameters, and return standard JSON responses.

## Request methods

* **GET**: Retrieve data using path or query parameters
* **POST**: Create or submit data with JSON body
* **PUT**: Update existing data with JSON body
* **DELETE**: Remove data using path or query parameters

<Note>
  Some endpoints may have exceptions to these patterns—check the specific API reference documentation.
</Note>

## Headers

All API requests to Sandbox require specific http headers for authentication and configuration:

<ParamField header="x-api-key" type="string" required>
  Your API key from the Sandbox Console

  **Example**: `key_live_SIethxxxxxxxx`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="authorization" type="string" required>
  Your JWT access token (without "Bearer" prefix)

  **Example**: `eyJhbGcxxxxx.eyJhdJxxxx.Si29xxxxx`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="x-api-secret" type="string">
  Your API secret. Required only for the Authenticate API to generate access tokens

  **Example**: `secret_live_xxxxxxxxxxx`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="x-api-version" type="string">
  API version. Uses latest stable version if omitted

  **Example**: `1.0`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="x-source" type="string">
  Specify the data source. Defaults to `primary` if not specified

  **Example**: `secondary`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="Cache-Control" type="string">
  Set to `no-cache` to bypass cache and get latest data

  **Example**: `no-cache`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="Content-Type" type="string">
  The Content-Type of the request body

  **Example**: `application/json`
</ParamField>

## Request example

Here's a complete example showing how to make an API request with all required headers:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST 'https://api.sandbox.co.in/gst/compliance/public/gstin/search' \
       -H 'x-api-key: key_live_SIethxxxxxxxx' \
       -H 'authorization: eyJhbGcxxxxx.eyJhdJxxxx.Si29xxxxx' \
       -H 'x-api-version: 1.0' \
       -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
       -d '{
         "gstin": "05ABNTY3290P8ZB"
       }'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Response structure

All Sandbox API responses follow a consistent JSON structure with these fields:

```json theme={null}
{
  "code": 200,
  "data": {
    // Response data
  },
  "timestamp": 1750687659809,
  "transaction_id": "3a31716a-6a4d-4670-83fe-sc9d8209e35a"
}
```

<ParamField path="code" type="number">
  http status code indicating success or error
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="data" type="object">
  Response payload containing the requested data or error details
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="timestamp" type="number">
  Unix timestamp (in milliseconds) indicating when the server generated the response
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="transaction_id" type="string">
  Unique identifier for tracking the request across systems
</ParamField>

## Special formats

### Sheet structure

Some APIs accept data in a sheet structure format for bulk operations. The JSON body represents tabular data similar to a spreadsheet. See [Sheet JSON format](/guides/developer-resources/sheet_json) for details.