> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.outboundlegal.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Introduction > Connect Zapier, your case system or your own scripts to OutboundLegal. The OutboundLegal API lets your tools do three things: 1. **Keep your Clients list up to date** from your case system — add and update clients ([`POST /clients`](/api-reference/clients/add-or-update-clients)) and read them back ([`GET /clients`](/api-reference/clients/list-clients)). 2. **Mark a case settled** ([`POST /cases/settled`](/api-reference/clients/mark-a-case-settled)), which is what case-settled [client letters](/help/client-letters) wait for. 3. **Send our prospects to your CRM as cold leads** ([`GET /prospects`](/api-reference/prospects/list-prospects-cold-leads)). Digital bundle only. Prefer not to write code? See [Connect with Zapier](/api/zapier). The API is in early access, turned on together with the [Clients list](/help/clients). Until it's on for your account, every request returns `403 not_enabled`. Email [support@outboundlegal.com](mailto:support@outboundlegal.com) to turn it on. ## Base URL ``` https://app.outboundlegal.com/api/v1 ``` All requests and responses are JSON. Responses are never cached. ## Authentication Create a key in **Settings → Integrations → API keys** (see [API keys](/help/api-keys)). The account owner creates keys; teammate logins can't. The key is shown once. Send it on every request as a Bearer token: ```bash theme={null} curl https://app.outboundlegal.com/api/v1/me \ -H "Authorization: Bearer obl_your_key_here" ``` A key looks like `obl_` followed by 43 letters, numbers, `-` or `_`. A key stops working when: * it's revoked in Settings, * the account's access is suspended, or * the login that made it becomes a view-only teammate login. Use [`GET /me`](/api-reference/account/check-your-key) to check a key. It returns the account the key belongs to. ## Rate limit **120 requests per minute per key.** Over that, you get `429 rate_limited` with a `Retry-After` header: the number of seconds to wait before trying again. ## Errors Every error has the same shape: ```json theme={null} { "error": { "code": "invalid_request", "message": "limit must be a whole number from 1 to 100." } } ``` Branch on `code`; it doesn't change. `message` is a sentence for a person and may change. | HTTP | `code` | What it means | | - | - | - | | 400 | `invalid_request` | A parameter or the body isn't right. The message says what to fix. | | 401 | `unauthorized` | No key, a badly formed key, or a key that isn't valid or was revoked. | | 403 | `forbidden` | The account's access is suspended, or the key belongs to a view-only login. | | 403 | `not_enabled` | The API isn't turned on for this account yet. | | 403 | `bundle_required` | `GET /prospects` needs the digital bundle. | | 404 | `not_found` | `POST /cases/settled`: no client has that `external_id`, and no name was sent to add one. | | 409 | `conflict` | `POST /cases/settled`: the client matched by name and address has a different `external_id`, or there's no ZIP to tell same-name clients apart. | | 409 | `cursor_stale` | `GET /prospects`: your county access changed since this cursor was issued. Start again without a cursor. | | 429 | `rate_limited` | Over 120 requests a minute. Wait `Retry-After` seconds. | | 500 | `internal` | Something went wrong on our side. Try again shortly. | `POST /clients` handles a batch, so problems with single clients don't fail the request. Each client gets its own result with a `status` of `created`, `updated`, `conflict` or `error` (with a `message`). ## Matching clients A client is found by `external_id` (the client's id in your case system), otherwise by **name + street address + ZIP** — all three. Send `external_id` whenever you have it. * Blank or missing fields never erase what's saved. * `do_not_mail` can be turned on through the API, never off. Turning it off is done by a person, on the client's record. * A client who already has a *different* `external_id` (the same person, another matter) is reported as a `conflict` instead of being merged. * When a client's `settled_on` changes, `new_settlement` says whether it's a new settlement (may get another thank-you letter) or a correction. It defaults to `false` on `POST /clients` and `true` on `POST /cases/settled`. ## Paging `GET /clients` and `GET /prospects` (with `order=oldest`) return a page of results and a `next_cursor`. Pass `next_cursor` back as `cursor` until it's `null`. Treat cursors as opaque strings. * A client change shows up in `GET /clients` about a minute after it's saved. * A prospect shows up in `GET /prospects` about an hour after it's added. This delay is what lets paging never skip a row. ## Prospects are cold leads `GET /prospects` returns the same prospects you see on your Prospects pages: your counties and your dates. Each one is a **cold lead** — a person who **has not contacted your firm**. Every record says so with `"lead_type": "cold"` and `"source": "OutboundLegal"`. Keep them separate from people who reached out to you. * `email` and `phone` are included only if your account also has contact enrichment. * Fields you can't see in the app are left out of the API too. * If your county access changes (a county added, earlier dates opened), an old cursor gets `409 cursor_stale`. Start again without a cursor. * Re-syncing from the start about once a week is a good habit. Matching on `id` keeps it from creating duplicates. * `order=newest` returns the newest prospects from the last 30 days, up to 500 at once, with no cursor. It's meant for polling tools, like Zapier, that skip ids they've already seen. ### The digital bundle `GET /prospects` is part of the **digital bundle**. Without it, the request returns `403 bundle_required`. The client endpoints don't need the bundle. To add it, email [support@outboundlegal.com](mailto:support@outboundlegal.com). 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