Developer guide

OilPriceAPI with C++

Start with one authenticated Brent request, verify the returned source timestamp, then build outward from the canonical quickstart.

Get API key Canonical quickstart

Runtime

C++17 example

Environment

OILPRICEAPI_KEY

Authentication

Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY

First request

/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BRENT_CRUDE_USD

First request

Prove the API path first

Store the key as OILPRICEAPI_KEY and run the request from a trusted server process. Do not expose the key in browser bundles, logs, notebooks, or shared documents.

No test-key prefix

OilPriceAPI does not issue special test keys. Use the keyless demo endpoint or fixtures for tests; keep customer keys out of CI.

cpp

C++17 example
#include <curl/curl.h>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>
#include <stdexcept>
#include <string>

int main() {
    const char* apiKey = std::getenv("OILPRICEAPI_KEY");
    if (!apiKey) throw std::runtime_error("OILPRICEAPI_KEY is required");

    CURL* curl = curl_easy_init();
    if (!curl) throw std::runtime_error("curl initialization failed");

    std::string auth = std::string("Authorization: Token ") + apiKey;
    curl_slist* headers = curl_slist_append(nullptr, auth.c_str());
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_URL, "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BRENT_CRUDE_USD");
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, headers);
    curl_easy_setopt(curl, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 10L);

    CURLcode result = curl_easy_perform(curl);
    curl_slist_free_all(headers);
    curl_easy_cleanup(curl);
    if (result != CURLE_OK) throw std::runtime_error(curl_easy_strerror(result));
}

This example uses libcurl and reads the API key from the process environment.

Universal curl

Compare your client with the contract

curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/prices/latest?by_code=BRENT_CRUDE_USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"

Expected shape

Read the timestamp from the response

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "code": "BRENT_CRUDE_USD",
    "price": 78.41,
    "currency": "USD",
    "created_at": "2026-03-09T12:00:00.000Z",
    "type": "spot_price"
  }
}

Keyless first touch

Use demo data before signup

The demo route is the supported no-key path. It is rate limited and intentionally narrower than authenticated, account-entitled access.

curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/demo/prices"
Open demo response

Recover without guessing

ResultNext action
401Check that the header is exactly Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY.
402 / 403The dataset may require a plan or account entitlement. Check pricing or contact support.
429Read the rate-limit response and retry after the indicated reset; do not loop immediately.
Timeout / 5xxUse a bounded timeout and exponential backoff. Keep the last valid source timestamp visible.

Current offer

7-day core commodity API trial

New accounts receive 10,000 trial requests without a credit card, followed by 200 requests per month on Free. Dataset access and limits vary by plan, source, and account entitlement.

Continue with quickstart API documentation