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title Quickstart
description Get API access and fetch live leaderboard data

Quickstart

The Design Arena API provides programmatic access to real-time AI model rankings from our human-evaluated arena battles.

Step 1: Get an API Key

API access requires an API key. To get one:

  1. Go to designarena.ai/developers/apply
  2. Fill out the application form describing your use case
  3. We'll review your application (usually 1-2 business days)
  4. Once approved, you'll receive your API key via email
API keys start with `sk_live_` and should be kept secret. Never expose them in client-side code or public repositories.

Step 2: Discover Arenas

First, find out what arenas and categories are available:

```bash curl curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here" \ https://www.designarena.ai/api/v1/arenas ``` 
import requests

headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'}
resp = requests.get('https://www.designarena.ai/api/v1/arenas', headers=headers)
for arena in resp.json()['data']:
    cats = ', '.join(c['id'] for c in arena['categories'])
    print(f"{arena['name']}: {cats}")

Step 3: Fetch a Leaderboard

Pick an arena and category, then fetch rankings:

```bash curl curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here" \ https://www.designarena.ai/api/v1/leaderboard/models/website ``` 
const resp = await fetch('https://www.designarena.ai/api/v1/leaderboard/models/website', {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'
  }
});
const data = await resp.json();
console.log(data);
import requests

headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here'}
resp = requests.get(
    'https://www.designarena.ai/api/v1/leaderboard/models/website',
    headers=headers
)
print(resp.json())

The Response

The response contains a sorted list of models in the data array:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "displayName": "Claude Opus 4.6",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "openRouterId": "anthropic/claude-opus-4.6",
      "elo": 1390,
      "winRate": 63.0,
      "avgGenerationTimeMs": 122828
    },
    {
      "displayName": "v0-1.5-lg",
      "provider": "vercel",
      "openRouterId": null,
      "elo": 1280,
      "winRate": 60.0,
      "avgGenerationTimeMs": 45000
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "arena": "models",
    "category": "website",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-02-22T04:00:06Z"
  },
  "timestamp": "2026-02-22T04:51:46Z"
}

Key Metrics

Metric Description
elo The core ranking score. Higher is better. Base rating ~1200.
winRate Percentage of head-to-head battles won.
avgGenerationTimeMs Average time to generate output (milliseconds).
openRouterId OpenRouter model ID for cross-referencing. null if not on OpenRouter.

Error Responses

Status Meaning
401 Missing or invalid API key
403 API key is inactive or revoked
400 Invalid arena or category
500 Server error

Next Steps

Discover all available arenas and categories Full reference for the leaderboard endpoint Get your API key Authentication, caching, and error codes