SOURCE: Vacation Tracker TITLE: How Do I Use the OpenAPI? URL: https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/how-do-i-use-the-open-api/ LANG: en PUBLISHED: 2026-09-09 UPDATED: 2026-09-09 READING: 4 min # How Do I Use the OpenAPI? # How Do I Use the OpenAPI? Our Open API add-on lets you pull your Vacation Tracker data into your own systems programmatically. You generate an API key from the dashboard, send it with each request, and read back your users, their leaves, locations, departments, leave types, and labels. It's a good fit when you want your own reporting, a data warehouse feed, or an internal tool that needs live leave data. ## What You'll Need - An active Vacation Tracker account on the Core or Complete plan. The Open API add-on is included at no extra cost. - Administrator access. The add-on and its API keys are visible to Administrators only. ## How to Generate an API Key - Log in to your Vacation Tracker account at app.vacationtracker.io/signin (https://app.vacationtracker.io/signin). - Open Add-ons from the left menu. - On the My Add-ons tab, find Open API and click View. If it isn't there, open the Discover More Add-ons tab, find Open API, and click Activate for free. It then moves to My Add-ons and you can open it with View. - Scroll to the API Keys section. - Type a name for the key in the API key name field. - Click Create New API Key. The key appears in the table right away. - Click the Copy icon next to the key to copy the full value, then paste it into your script or store it in your password manager. ![API Keys section of the Open API add-on page, showing a key row with its name, current month usage, masked secret with a copy icon, and the delete icon](https://cms.vacationtracker.io/uploads/Screenshot_2026_09_09_at_20_20_28_00ab443195.png) Each key in the table shows three things: the name you gave it, its Current Month Usage against your monthly quota, and the API Key Secret. The secret stays masked, so only the first few characters are ever displayed. Use the Copy icon to get the full value whenever you need it, and the delete icon at the end of the row to revoke a key you no longer want in use. ## Making Your First Request The base URL is https://api.vacationtracker.io/v1. Every request needs your key in a header named x-api-key: curl https://api.vacationtracker.io/v1/departments \ -H "x-api-key: your-api-key" A successful call returns HTTP 200 and a body shaped like this: { "status": "ok", "data": [ ... ] } If the key is missing or not recognized, you'll get HTTP 403 with {"message": "Forbidden"}. That's the most common thing to check first when a request fails. ## What Data the API Gives You These are the available endpoints, all read-only: - GET /v1/users: your people, with optional filters for status, location, department, and label. - GET /v1/leaves: leaves between two dates. startDate and endDate are required, in YYYY-MM-DD format. - GET /v1/leave-types: all leave types, with their names and colors. - GET /v1/locations: all active locations, with their time zones. - GET /v1/departments: all active departments. - GET /v1/labels: all active labels. The /v1/users and /v1/leaves endpoints are paginated. If the response includes a nextToken, pass it back as a query parameter to fetch the next page, and use limit to control the page size. Full technical reference Field-by-field descriptions, every query parameter, response examples, and error codes live in our developer documentation (https://vacationtracker.io/developers/api). You can also open it from the Open Documentation button on the Open API add-on page. ## Quotas and Rate Limits Limits apply per API key: - Up to 30,000 requests per month. - 10 requests per second, with a burst allowance of 50 requests per second. The Current Month Usage column on the add-on page shows where each key stands, so you can check it before your usage becomes a problem. If your integration needs more than this, contact our Support team and tell us what you're building. Read-only right now The API only reads data. It can't create, approve, or cancel leaves, and it can't add or edit users. Those actions still happen in Vacation Tracker itself. Write access is on the roadmap, and what we build first follows what customers ask for. ## Common Questions Should I use the API, Zapier, or the MCP server? It depends on what you're doing. The API is for pulling data into your own code, on your own schedule, which suits reporting and data warehouse work. Zapier is the no-code option and works the other way around: Vacation Tracker sends leave events out and your Zap reacts to them. The MCP server connects an AI tool like Claude or ChatGPT so you can ask questions in plain language. Plenty of teams use more than one. Does the API cost extra? No. The Open API add-on is included on the Core and Complete plans. How many API keys can I create? You can create more than one, and we recommend a separate key per tool or service. Each key carries its own monthly usage counter, which also makes it easier to see which integration is doing the most calls. What happens if I lose a key or someone shouldn't have it anymore? Delete it from the API Keys table and create a new one. The old key stops working as soon as it's deleted, so update whatever was using it. You don't need to contact us to rotate a key, an Administrator can do it from the dashboard. Can regular users or Approvers access the API? No. The Open API add-on is Administrators only, so only an Administrator can see it, generate keys, or revoke them. Keep in mind that a key isn't tied to one person's permissions the way a login is, which is another reason to share it carefully. ### What's Next? How Do I Connect Vacation Tracker to Zapier? (https://vacationtracker.io/helpdesk/how-do-i-connect-vacation-tracker-to-zapier/) How Do I Connect Vacation Tracker to My AI Tools with the MCP Server? (https://vacationtracker.io/helpdesk/how-do-i-connect-vacation-tracker-to-my-ai-tools-with-the-mcp-server/) How Do I Export a Leave Request Report? (https://vacationtracker.io/helpdesk/how-do-i-export-a-leave-request-report/) Need help? Contact our Support team via email or chat, Monday to Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM EST.