The Datacapt API lets another system read study data or write into it: a lab system that posts results into an eCRF, a data warehouse that pulls recruitment figures each night, a device that uploads a file. Each user creates their own key, and the key can do what that user can do, nothing more.
đ Prerequisite: a role with the API credentials permission. An administrator grants it under Settings âş Roles.
Create your key
đ ď¸ Step by step guide
Select your name at the bottom of the menu, then Settings
Open API
Select Create a new API key
Select Copy and store the key in your password manager or your integration's secret store
â ď¸ Warning: Datacapt shows the key once. It does not store it in readable form, so nobody, support included, can show it to you again. If you lose it, regenerate it.
Regenerate or delete it
Action | Effect |
Regenerate | Creates a new key. The previous key stops working at once, so update your integration in the same minute |
Delete | Removes the key. Every program that used it loses access |
Delete the key of a user who leaves the project. Removing the user from the platform also cuts the key, since a key holds the permissions of its owner.
đĄ Tip: for an integration that must survive staff changes, create a dedicated platform user, for example "lab-integration@yourcompany.com", give it a role limited to the study and the permissions the integration needs, and create the key from that account.
The former instance-wide API key is deprecated. If the API page says "The tenant API key has been deprecated", create a personal key and move your integrations to it.
What the API does
Area | Read | Write |
eCRF | Item definitions, answers | Post answers for a subject, create an eCRF record, upload a file to a File upload question |
Participants | Subjects and sites of a study | Create participants, generate subject IDs |
ePRO | List surveys | Send an ePRO invitation |
Calendar | Visits, schedules, bookings | Book and manage visits |
Recruitment | Studies, dashboards, participants, landing pages, payments |
|
The API is the way to import data into an eCRF. The interface has no Excel or CSV import for eCRF answers. A written answer follows the same rules as one typed at the site: data validations run on save, and the audit trail records the key's owner as the author.
The technical reference, with each endpoint and its fields, opens from the API documentation button on the same page.
Rate limit
50 requests per 60 seconds per key. Beyond that, the API refuses calls for 30 seconds. For a bulk load, send your requests in sequence with a short pause, and retry after 30 seconds on refusal.
Frequently asked questions
Can my key reach a study I cannot open in the interface?
Can my key reach a study I cannot open in the interface?
No. The key inherits your permissions and your centers.
Does the API work on a Live study?
Does the API work on a Live study?
Yes. Test your integration on a Draft study first: test data disappears at go-live, so mistakes cost nothing.
Is this the same thing as the Datacapt MCP for AI assistants?
Is this the same thing as the Datacapt MCP for AI assistants?
No. The MCP connects an AI assistant to Datacapt and writes to Draft studies alone. See Set up and use the Datacapt MCP (Beta).