Getting Started

The ViewRoyal.ai API is a free, read-only REST API that returns JSON. It provides access to council meeting data, people, matters, motions, bylaws, and full-text search for the Town of View Royal, BC.

Base URL: https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/view-royal/

Step 0: Quick Test (No Auth Needed)

Before creating an account, verify you can reach the API by hitting the health endpoint. No API key is required.

curl https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/health

const res = await fetch('https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/health');
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

resp = requests.get('https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/health')
print(resp.json())

Expected response:

{ "status": "ok" }

Step 1: Create an Account

Sign up for a free account at viewroyal.ai/signup. You will need an account to generate API keys.

Step 2: Generate an API Key

Navigate to viewroyal.ai/settings/api-keys and create a new API key.

Step 3: Make an Authenticated Request

With your API key, you can access all data endpoints. Here is an example that lists the three most recent council meetings:

curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/view-royal/meetings?per_page=3"

const res = await fetch(
  'https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/view-royal/meetings?per_page=3',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    'https://viewroyal.ai/api/v1/view-royal/meetings',
    headers={'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    params={'per_page': 3}
)
data = resp.json()
print(data)

Example response:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 42,
      "slug": "2024-01-15-regular-council",
      "title": "Regular Council Meeting",
      "date": "2024-01-15",
      "meeting_type": "Regular Council"
    },
    {
      "id": 41,
      "slug": "2024-01-08-committee-of-the-whole",
      "title": "Committee of the Whole Meeting",
      "date": "2024-01-08",
      "meeting_type": "Committee of the Whole"
    },
    {
      "id": 40,
      "slug": "2023-12-18-regular-council",
      "title": "Regular Council Meeting",
      "date": "2023-12-18",
      "meeting_type": "Regular Council"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "has_more": true,
    "next_cursor": "eyJ2IjoiMjAyMy0xMi0xOCIsImlkIjo0MH0=",
    "per_page": 3
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
  }
}

The response includes:

• data -- An array of meeting objects
• pagination -- Cursor-based pagination info (has_more, next_cursor, per_page)
• meta -- Request metadata including a unique request_id

See the full List Meetings endpoint for all query parameters and response fields.

Next Steps

Now that you have made your first API call, explore these guides for deeper detail:

• Authentication -- API key management, rate limits, and security best practices
• Pagination -- Navigate large result sets with cursors
• Error Handling -- Handle errors gracefully with retry logic
• API Reference -- Full endpoint documentation for all resources