5 minute setup

Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with the ZeroCarbon API in under 5 minutes.

Get API Key

Install SDK

npm install or pip install

Make Request

Submit your first activity

Step 1: Get Your API Key

📋 Prerequisites: API access requires either:

Professional Plan (₹14,999/month) + API Add-on Pack (₹999-₹2,999/month)
Enterprise Plan (₹39,999/month) with unlimited API keys included

Trial and Starter plans do not include API access.

Once you have an eligible plan, generate your API key:

Log in to your ZeroCarbon dashboard at app.zerocarbon.org.in
Navigate to Settings → Billing → API Keys
Click "Create New API Key"
Choose Test (zc_test_) or Live (zc_live_) mode
Copy your API key (it's only shown once!)

⚠️ Security Best Practice

Store your API key securely. Never commit it to version control or share it publicly. Use environment variables or a secrets manager.

Step 2: Install the SDK

Node.js / TypeScript

terminalbash

npm install zerocarbon-nodejs-sdk dotenv
# or
pnpm add zerocarbon-nodejs-sdk dotenv
# or
yarn add zerocarbon-nodejs-sdk dotenv

Python

terminalbash

pip install zerocarbon-python-sdk python-dotenv

Step 3: Submit Your First Activity

Node.js / TypeScript Example

index.tstypescript

import { ZeroCarbon } from 'zerocarbon-nodejs-sdk';
import * as dotenv from 'dotenv';

dotenv.config();

// Initialize the client
const client = new ZeroCarbon({
  apiKey: process.env.ZEROCARBON_API_KEY!,
  baseUrl: 'https://api.zerocarbon.org.in/v1'
});

// Submit an electricity consumption activity
async function submitActivity() {
  try {
    const result = await client.emissions.calculate({
      activity_type: 'electricity',
      quantity: 1500,
      unit: 'kWh',
      period: {
        start: '2026-02-01',
        end: '2026-02-28'
      },
      location: {
        country: 'IN',
        state: 'MH',
        city: 'Mumbai'
      },
      source: {
        type: 'manual',
        confidence: 0.95
      }
    });

    console.log('✅ Activity submitted successfully!');
    console.log(`📊 Emissions: ${result.emissions_kg_co2e} kg CO2e`);
    console.log(`🎯 Confidence: ${result.confidence_score}`);
    console.log(`🔗 Activity ID: ${result.activity_id}`);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('❌ Error:', error);
  }
}

submitActivity();

Python Example

main.pypython

from zerocarbon import ZeroCarbon
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

# Initialize the client
client = ZeroCarbon(
    api_key=os.getenv('ZEROCARBON_API_KEY'),
    base_url='https://api.zerocarbon.org.in/v1'
)

# Submit electricity activity
result = client.emissions.calculate({
    'activity_type': 'electricity',
    'quantity': 1500,
    'unit': 'kWh',
    'period': {
        'start': '2026-02-01',
        'end': '2026-02-28'
    },
    'location': {
        'country': 'IN',
        'state': 'MH',
        'city': 'Mumbai'
    },
    'source': {
        'type': 'manual',
        'confidence': 0.95
    }
})

print('✅ Activity submitted successfully!')
print(f"📊 Emissions: {result['emissions_kg_co2e']} kg CO2e")
print(f"🎯 Confidence: {result['confidence_score']}")
print(f"🔗 Activity ID: {result['activity_id']}")

What's Next?

📋 Carbon Activity Model

Understand the data structure and all available activity types

📚 API Reference

Explore all available endpoints and parameters

📊 Generate Reports

Create BRSR, GHG Protocol, and custom compliance reports

💡 Complete Examples

See full end-to-end integration examples

Helpful Tips

Always use environment variables for API keys

Never hardcode sensitive credentials in your source code

Start with the sandbox environment

Test your integration before going to production

Handle errors gracefully

Implement retry logic and proper error handling

Introduction

Authentication