Document eSign
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01 · QUICKSTART

Quickstart

Mint a test key, make your first call, and send a document for signature in about ten minutes.

All documentation

This ends with a document you can actually sign. Nothing here touches real email or your plan allowance, because every step runs on a test key.

Mint a test key

In the web app, as a workspace admin, open Settings, Developer, API keys, and create a key in Test mode. The secret is shown once. Only a hash is stored, so there is no way to reveal it later.

.env
ESIGN_API_KEY=sk_test_...
ESIGN_API_BASE=https://api.documentesign.com/v1
Server side only
This key can send documents on your behalf. Never put it in a browser bundle, and never prefix it NEXT_PUBLIC_, VITE_ or REACT_APP_. If one leaks, revoke it in the same screen - revocation takes effect on the next request.

Prove the key works

GET /account is the cheapest call that confirms everything at once: the key is valid, the plan allows API access, and you can see which mode you are in.

bash
curl https://api.documentesign.com/v1/account \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESIGN_API_KEY"
200 OK
{
  "organization": { "id": "org_...", "name": "Acme Inc" },
  "plan": { "code": "business", "trialing": false },
  "mode": "TEST",
  "usage": {
    "documents_used": 0,
    "documents_included": 40,
    "documents_billable": 0,
    "overage_amount_cents": 0,
    "period_start": "2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "period_end": "2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z"
  }
}

Check that modeis what you expected. A surprising share of "the document vanished" reports are a live key looking for a sandbox document.

Upload a file

Documents are built from uploaded files. This is a multipart request, not JSON.

bash
curl https://api.documentesign.com/v1/files \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESIGN_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@nda.pdf"
201 Created
{
  "id": "file_9f2c...",
  "name": "nda.pdf",
  "mime_type": "application/pdf",
  "size_bytes": 48210,
  "created_at": "2026-09-01T10:00:00.000Z"
}

Create and send

Hold on to the file id and build a document around it. Every signer needs at least one signature field or the send is rejected, so place one while you are here. Coordinates are normalised: 0,0 is the top left of the page and 1,1 the bottom right.

bash
curl https://api.documentesign.com/v1/documents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESIGN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "NDA - Acme",
    "files": ["file_9f2c..."],
    "recipients": [
      { "name": "Sam Rivera", "email": "sam@example.com", "type": "signer" }
    ],
    "fields": [
      { "type": "SIGNATURE", "pageNumber": 1,
        "xNorm": 0.1, "yNorm": 0.8, "widthNorm": 0.25, "heightNorm": 0.06 }
    ],
    "send": true
  }'
201 Created
{
  "id": "doc_7a1b...",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "title": "NDA - Acme",
  "mode": "TEST",
  "recipients": [
    { "id": "rcp_3d9e...", "name": "Sam Rivera",
      "email": "sam@example.com", "role": null, "status": "sent" }
  ],
  "created_at": "2026-09-01T10:00:05.000Z"
}

Store id against your own record now. Without it you cannot check status later, download the signed PDF, or match an incoming webhook to the right row.

Nobody was emailed
This is a test document, so the signature request was not delivered. To sign it yourself, open the document in the web app, or mint an embed link and load it in a browser.

Collect the result

Once everyone has signed, the sealed PDF and the audit certificate are available as short-lived download URLs.

bash
curl https://api.documentesign.com/v1/documents/doc_7a1b.../files/signed \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESIGN_API_KEY"
200 OK
{ "url": "https://...", "expires_in": 600 }

Polling for that is fine while you are building. In production, listen for the document.completed webhook instead and fetch the file when it arrives.

Going live

Mint a sk_live_ key in the same screen and change ESIGN_API_KEY. Nothing else moves: the base URL and every endpoint are identical between the two modes. Live documents email real recipients and count against your plan, so make sure your loop conditions are right before you flip it.

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