---
updatedAt: 2026-08-17T05:46:42.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://developers.akahu.nz/llms.txt
---

# Personal Apps

Get started with the Akahu API using a personal app

## Overview

A personal app is the easiest way to get started using Akahu APIs, however there are several important differences and limitations when compared to a full Akahu app. These are outlined in the table below:

|                                                                       | Personal App                                  | Full App                                                |
| :-------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------ |
| Pricing                                                               | Free                                          | [Usage based](https://www.akahu.nz/pricing)<sup>1</sup> |
| User limit                                                            | 1 user (restricted to your own Akahu account) | Unlimited                                               |
| Type of connectivity                                                  | Ongoing connectivity only                     | Ongoing and one-off connectivity                        |
| Account information                                                   | ✅                                             | ✅                                                       |
| Payments                                                              | ✖️                                            | ✅                                                       |
| Webhooks                                                              | ✖️                                            | ✅                                                       |
| [Scheduled refresh](/docs/data-refreshes#scheduled-refreshes) cadence | Daily                                         | Customisable                                            |
| [Manual refresh](/docs/data-refreshes#manual-refreshes) rest period   | 1 Hour                                        | Customisable                                            |

<sup>1</sup>Usage-based billing does not apply during development/testing. Fixed fees may still apply.

## Prerequisites

Before you make your first API request, you will need:

* To create an Akahu profile at [my.akahu.nz](https://my.akahu.nz) and connect your first account.
* A **User Access Token** (`{{apiKey}}`)
* An **App ID Token** (`{{appToken}}`)

You can get your App + User tokens by signing into Akahu and going to the **"Developers"** page.

If you have not yet created a personal app, you will need to agree to our [Developer Terms](https://www.akahu.io/developer-terms/) and set up [multi-factor authentication](/docs/personal-apps-advanced#what-is-multi-factor-authentication-2fa-and-why-do-i-need-it).

Once you have completed these steps your app will be created and your **User Access Token** and **App ID Token** will be shown to you.

The other fields on this page are explained in our [Advanced Setup Guide](/docs/personal-apps-advanced).

## Making your first request

Now that you are set up, make a `GET` request to our ["me" endpoint](/reference/get_me) at `https://api.akahu.io/v1/me`.
You will need to include these authorisation headers:

```
Authorization: Bearer {{apiKey}}
X-Akahu-Id: {{appToken}}
```

Where the `Authorization` token is your **User Access Token**, and `X-Akahu-ID` is your **App ID Token**.

You will get a response in our [standard response format](/docs/response-formatting) with your user details - congratulations! You've successfully accessed your own data!

You might want to adjust the security controls for your personal app, in which case check out our [Advanced Setup Guide](/docs/personal-apps-advanced).

Otherwise, see one of our [Quick Start Guides](/docs/getting-started) or our [Full API Documentation](/reference/api-akahu-io-authentication) and start building!

# Sub pages

* [Personal Apps - Advanced](https://developers.akahu.nz/docs/personal-apps-advanced.md)