--- title: "Effective Olark API Use: Getting started with the Olark API" description: Helpful tips for getting started with the Olark Live Chat API. image: https://www.olark.com/img/uploads/img_1396220688576.jpg --- - [Interested in live chat? Check out Olark.](https://www.olark.com/) [![Speak: A Blog by Olark](https://blog.olark.com/hubfs/speak-logo-300-01.png "Speak: A Blog by Olark")](https://blog.olark.com) # Effective Olark API Use: Getting started with the Olark API By [Karl Pawlewicz](https://blog.olark.com/author/karl-pawlewicz) **If you're an advanced Olark API user, you might want to skip straight to our [full API section](https://www.olark.com/api?__hstc=233546881.6b8cdc2673dddb1314e40a1e52d6a190.1439503662054.1441059413225.1441072244507.13&__hssc=233546881.2.1441072244507&__hsfp=2218285620). If you're a new Olark API user, then you've come to the right place.** Olark live chat lets you do so many things. Talk to your customers, see what they are looking at, even show them how to do things on their screen with no extra installations. Ever want to do even more with Olark? Our API allows you to get amazing results with a little code. ![](https://www.olark.com/img/uploads/img_1396220688576.jpg)CEO and co-founder Mark Silliman of [Smartwaiver](http://smartwaiver.com/) explains how the Olark API (the hipster way to say "Application Programming Interface") came in handy: > *"We love chatting with our customers but asking them who they are after they've already logged in makes us look not so smart. We also use Desk.com as our CRM and to optimize our customer experience we need logs of all emails and chats in the same place."* > > *"It was extremely simple. If one knows a little bit of JQuery, using the Olark API is a piece of cake. We added just two lines of code to our website to make the Desk integration work seamlessly. Took us less than five minutes to set up!"* In addition to our super-easy Javascript API, here are several cool things [you can do with our Webhooks API and CRM integrations](https://www.olark.com/help/webhooks.html). Our Javascript [API also allows you to add a Click to Chat button](https://www.olark.com/help/addimage.html). Or send visitors a message when [you're delayed in replying to their chat](https://www.olark.com/help/autoreply.html). Find out even more [at our helpdesk](https://www.olark.com/documentation)! You can even find some helpful developer tools built into chat, no code required. Just type the !develop command from the operator side of the chat, and the Olark Inspector will pop up in the visitor chatbox. You can test simulating a first-time visitor and changing pages, which is handy when testing your chat rules. A little code is a beautiful thing! How do *you* use the API? Comment here or talk to other Olarkers and get tips [in our Help Center](https://www.olark.com/help). Check out relevant topics on: [Olark Customers](https://blog.olark.com/topic/olark-customers), [New Olark Users](https://blog.olark.com/topic/new-olark-users), [Olark Essentials](https://blog.olark.com/topic/olark-essentials) ![Karl Pawlewicz](https://blog.olark.com/hubfs/Olark_Headshots/karl2.jpg) ### Read more posts by [Karl Pawlewicz](https://blog.olark.com/author/karl-pawlewicz) Karl is the Head of Communications for Olark. Got a good Olark story to tell? Email him: karl@olark.com [![Olark logo](https://blog.olark.com/hubfs/assets/logos/Olark-logo-navy.svg)](https://blog.olark.com/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/olarklivechat/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/olark) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/olarklivechat/) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/469764/) ## Product - [Pricing](https://olark.com/pricing) - [Chatbots](https://olark.com/chatbot-copilot) - [Features](https://olark.com/features) - [Integrations](https://olark.com/integrations) - [Product Tour](https://olark.com/product-tour) - [Case Studies](https://olark.com/case-studies) ## Support - [FAQ](https://olark.com/faq) - [Help Center](https://olark.com/help) - [Getting Started](https://olark.com/help/getting-started) - [Troubleshooting](https://olark.com/categories/tool-tip) - [JavaScript API](https://olark.com/api) ## About - [Our Team](https://olark.com/about) - [Our Values](https://olark.com/values) - [Become an Olarker](https://olark.com/jobs) ## Connect with us - [Speak: The Olark Blog](https://blog.olark.com) - [Our Guide to Remote Work](https://olark.com/tips-for-remote-managers-and-going-remote-guide) - [Become a Partner](https://olark.com/partners) - [Contact Us](https://olark.com/contact) - [Terms of Service](https://olark.com/tos) - [Privacy Policy](https://olark.com/privacy-policy) - [GDPR](https://olark.com/help/gdpr) - [Accessibility](https://olark.com/ada-accessible-live-chat) - [Statement of Action](https://blog.olark.com/statement-of-solidarity-and-action-for-black-lives-matter) [![Olark logo](https://blog.olark.com/hubfs/assets/logos/Olark-logo-navy.svg)](https://blog.olark.com/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/olarklivechat/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/olark) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/olarklivechat/) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/469764/) Product - [Pricing](https://olark.com/pricing) - [Chatbots](https://olark.com/chatbot-copilot) - [Features](https://olark.com/features) - [Integrations](https://olark.com/integrations) - [Product Tour](https://olark.com/product-tour) - [Case Studies](https://olark.com/case-studies) Support - [FAQ](https://olark.com/faq) - [Help Center](https://olark.com/help) - [Getting Started](https://olark.com/help/getting-started) - [Troubleshooting](https://olark.com/categories/tool-tip) - [JavaScript API](https://olark.com/api) - [Hire an Expert](https://olark.com/partners-directory) About - [Our Team](https://olark.com/about) - [Our Values](https://olark.com/values) - [Become an Olarker](https://olark.com/jobs) Connect with us - [Speak: The Olark Blog](https://blog.olark.com) - [Our Guide to Remote Work](https://olark.com/tips-for-remote-managers-and-going-remote-guide) - [Become a Partner](https://olark.com/partners) - [Contact Us](https://olark.com/contact) - [Terms of Service](https://olark.com/tos) - [Privacy Policy](https://olark.com/privacy-policy) - [GDPR](https://olark.com/help/gdpr) - [Accessibility](https://olark.com/ada-accessible-live-chat) - [Statement of Action](https://blog.olark.com/statement-of-solidarity-and-action-for-black-lives-matter) {{ footer\_js() }} {{ js\_integration\_body\_end() }} {% if "hs-landing-page" in builtin\_body\_classes %} {% endif %} {% endif %} [Questions? 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