Make your first request

Use this guide alongside the Quickstart after creating a test Service Account Credential. Both guides read Current inventory: a saved complete inventory, without contacting Steam. The goal is one request you can inspect, not a production client.

Prerequisites

• a server-side development environment;
• a test key stored outside source control;
• a public Steam inventory you are permitted to test;
• the Current inventory operation open for the exact parameters and response schema.

Request flow

1. Start from the Quickstart and set STEAMCALL_API_KEY in the process environment.
2. Send one request with an explicit total timeout.
3. Record the HTTP status and X-Request-ID before parsing the body.
4. Validate the documented success or error envelope.
5. Remove the test output if it contains inventory data you do not need to retain.

Verify the contract

Open the Current inventory operation, compare required parameters, and test failure handling with synthetic input before adding concurrency.

If you receive 404 inventory_revision_not_found, there is no saved inventory yet. This is not an empty inventory. Follow Refresh inventory, wait for completion, then retry Current. Review its credit reservation and charging rules before starting the refresh.

Expected failures are part of the first-request exercise. Correct validation or authentication errors; do not automatically retry them. Preserve privacy and upstream failures as distinct application states, then follow Errors.

Before adding traffic

Add a bounded deadline, selective retry policy, rate-limit handling, and safe request telemetry. Continue with Build an inventory integration or the Production checklist.