> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thepublive.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fetch Content

> Use the Content Delivery API to fetch published posts, categories, and site configuration in under 5 minutes.

The **Content Delivery Service (CDS)** is a read-only API for your frontend. It serves published content — posts, categories, tags, authors, and site configuration — and is safe to call from your server-rendered pages.

<Info>
  The CDS is designed for **reading** content only. To create or modify content, see the [Manage Content (CMS)](/dxp/documentation/quickstarts/cms) quickstart.
</Info>

## Prerequisites

You need three values from the [Publive Dashboard](https://dashboard.thepublive.com/v2/configurations/api-developer-hub):

| Value            | Where to find it                                                      |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **API Key**      | Dashboard → Configurations → API Developer Hub → View API Credentials |
| **API Secret**   | Same location as above                                                |
| **Publisher ID** | Visible in your Dashboard URL                                         |

## Step 1: Build your auth token

The CDS uses HTTP Basic Auth. Encode your key and secret together:

```bash theme={null}
echo -n 'YOUR_API_KEY:YOUR_API_SECRET' | base64
```

This outputs a token like `dXNlcjpwYXNz`. Store it as an environment variable:

```bash theme={null}
export PUBLIVE_AUTH="dXNlcjpwYXNz"
export PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID="12345"
```

<Warning>
  Never include this token in client-side JavaScript. All CDS calls should be made server-side or through a backend proxy.
</Warning>

## Step 2: Fetch your first posts

```bash theme={null}
curl -X GET \
  "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/posts/?limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
```

**Response:**

```json theme={null}
{
  "status": "ok",
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 12345,
      "title": "My First Article",
      "slug": "my-first-article",
      "type": "Article",
      "primary_category": {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "News",
        "slug": "news"
      },
      "contributors": [
        {
          "id": 1,
          "name": "Jane Doe",
          "slug": "jane-doe"
        }
      ],
      "content_html": "<p>Article content here...</p>",
      "absolute_url": "/news/my-first-article-12345"
    }
  ],
  "message": "",
  "page_no": 1,
  "per_page": 5
}
```

The `data` array contains your published posts. Use `page_no` and `per_page` to paginate — add `?page=2&limit=10` to the URL to walk through results.

## Step 3: Fetch a single post

Use the `id` from any post in the listing response:

```bash theme={null}
curl -X GET \
  "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/post/12345/" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
```

You can also fetch by URL path, which is useful when routing on your frontend:

```bash theme={null}
curl -X GET \
  "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/post/?url=/news/my-first-article-12345" \
  -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
```

## Step 4: Fetch site configuration

The CDS serves your site's navigation structure so your frontend stays in sync with editorial changes:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Navbar theme={null}
  curl -X GET \
    "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/navbar/" \
    -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
  ```

  ```bash Footer theme={null}
  curl -X GET \
    "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/footer/" \
    -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
  ```

  ```bash Publisher metadata theme={null}
  curl -X GET \
    "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/publisher-data/" \
    -H "Authorization: Basic ${PUBLIVE_AUTH}"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Step 5: Filter content

The CDS supports advanced filtering with field lookups. Append filter parameters to any listing endpoint:

```bash theme={null}
# Posts in a specific category
curl "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/posts/?primary_category__slug__eq=news"

# Posts by a specific author
curl "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/posts/?contributors__slug__eq=jane-doe"

# Posts with a specific tag
curl "https://cds.thepublive.com/publisher/${PUBLIVE_PUBLISHER_ID}/posts/?tags__slug__eq=breaking"
```

Each request should include your `Authorization` header.

<Tip>
  CDS responses include `Cache-Tags` headers (e.g. `PP.12345`, `CAT.1`) that you can pass to your CDN for precise cache invalidation when content changes.
</Tip>

## What's next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Manage Content (CMS)" icon="pen-to-square" href="/dxp/documentation/quickstarts/cms">
    Create, update, and publish content via the CMS API
  </Card>

  <Card title="Framework Guides" icon="code" href="/dxp/documentation/guides/frontend-integration/README">
    Integrate with Next.js, React, Vue, or Angular
  </Card>

  <Card title="CDS API Reference" icon="book" href="/dxp/api-reference/content-delivery/README">
    Full endpoint reference for all CDS routes
  </Card>

  <Card title="JavaScript SDK" icon="js" href="/dxp/documentation/sdks/javascript">
    Use the official SDK instead of raw HTTP calls
  </Card>
</CardGroup>