Geocoding API in cURL
Complete cURL integration guide for the Geocoding API. Copy the code below, add your RapidAPI key, and start building.
Prerequisites
- 1.Sign up for a free account on RapidAPI
- 2.Subscribe to the Geocoding API (free tier available)
- 3.Copy your
X-RapidAPI-Keyfrom the dashboard
Complete cURL Example
curl -X GET "https://geocoding-by-helix-api.p.rapidapi.com/search?q=Berlin" \
-H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "X-RapidAPI-Host: geocoding-by-helix-api.p.rapidapi.com"Response Format
All Helix-API endpoints return a consistent JSON envelope:
{
"status": "ok",
"data": { ... },
"meta": {
"request_id": "req_abc123",
"latency_ms": 42
}
}On errors, status becomes "error" and a message field explains what went wrong.
Error Handling
| Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
200 | Success | Parse the response body normally |
400 | Bad request | Check your request parameters |
401 | Unauthorized | Verify your X-RapidAPI-Key header |
429 | Rate limited | Wait and retry with exponential backoff |
500 | Server error | Retry after a short delay |
cURL Best Practices
Perfect for quick testing
cURL is the fastest way to test the Geocoding API from your terminal. Copy the example above and replace YOUR_API_KEY.
Pipe output to jq
Add | jq '.' to pretty-print JSON responses, or | jq '.data' to extract specific fields.
Save to a file
Add -o response.json to save the output directly to a file. Great for logging and debugging.
Use environment variables for keys
Set export RAPIDAPI_KEY="your_key" and reference it with $RAPIDAPI_KEY in your curl commands. Never hardcode keys in scripts.
Geocoding API Endpoints
/searchForward geocoding — place name to coordinates
/reverseReverse geocoding — coordinates to address
Other Languages
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