Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Flint in 5 minutes. This guide shows you how to parse a document, set up a workflow, and get structured output.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Flint account with API credentials
curl or similar HTTP client
Sample freight document (BOL, invoice, or packing list)

Step 1: Parse Your First Document

Using the API

# Upload and parse a document
curl -X POST https://api.flint.ai/v1/documents/parse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Flint-Secret: YOUR_SECRET" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/document.pdf" \
  -F "document_type=bill_of_lading"

Response Example

{
  "document_id": "doc_abc123",
  "status": "completed",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "extracted_fields": {
    "bol_number": "MSKU1234567",
    "shipper": {
      "name": "ABC Company",
      "address": "123 Main St, City, State 12345"
    },
    "consignee": {
      "name": "XYZ Corp",
      "address": "456 Oak Ave, Town, State 67890"
    },
    "carrier": "Ocean Carrier Lines",
    "items": [
      {
        "description": "Electronic Components",
        "quantity": 100,
        "weight": "500 kg"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Step 2: Create a Simple Workflow

Set up a workflow to automatically process BOLs when received via the dashboard or API.

Step 3: Get Structured Output

Retrieve Processed Documents

# List recent documents
curl -X GET https://api.flint.ai/v1/documents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Flint-Secret: YOUR_SECRET"

# Get specific document with full details
curl -X GET https://api.flint.ai/v1/documents/doc_abc123 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Flint-Secret: YOUR_SECRET"

Set Up Webhooks for Real-time Updates

Configure webhook endpoints in your Flint dashboard to receive real-time updates when documents are processed.

Complete Example

Here's a complete example using the API:

# 1. Upload and parse document
RESPONSE=$(curl -X POST https://api.flint.ai/v1/documents/parse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Flint-Secret: YOUR_SECRET" \
  -F "file=@sample_bol.pdf" \
  -F "document_type=bill_of_lading")

# 2. Extract document ID from response
DOC_ID=$(echo $RESPONSE | jq -r '.document_id')

# 3. Get the processed document
curl -X GET "https://api.flint.ai/v1/documents/$DOC_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Flint-Secret: YOUR_SECRET"

What's Next?

Congratulations! You've successfully: ✅ Parsed your first document ✅ Set up a workflow ✅ Retrieved structured data

Continue learning:

EDI Integration - Work with EDI messages
Advanced Workflows - Build complex automation
API Reference - Complete API documentation

Quick Start

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