Quick Start

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Step 1: Connect Devices

To get started with Seam, first connect a set of devices.

In a web browser, go to Seam Console at https://console.seam.co/ and create an account.
Once you have logged in to Seam Console, you are working in the default sandbox workspace.
In the upper-right corner of the Devices page, click Add Devices. Seam Console displays an authorization flow (known as a Connect Webview) that enables you to connect a device account to Seam.
In the Connect Webview, click Continue.
In the manufacturer list, select August.
When prompted, type the following sample (sandbox) credentials:
- Email: jane@example.com
- Password: 1234
Click Submit.
When prompted for a two-factor authentication (2FA) method, select Email.
In the Two Factor Code field, type 123456 and then click Submit and Continue.

Once authorized, the devices associated with this test account appear in your workspace.

Step 2: Get an API Key and SDK

To control the devices that you connected in Step 1, you must create an API key and install the Seam SDK in the programming language of your choice.

Create an API Key

In the top navigation pane of Seam Console, click Developer.
In the left navigation pane, click API Keys.
In the upper-right corner of the API Keys page, click Add API Key.
In the Add API Key dialog, type a name for your new API key and then click Create API Key.
Copy the newly-created API key and store it for future use.

Install the Seam SDK

Install one of the Seam SDKs in the programming language of your choice. Seam provides client libraries for many languages, such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, and others, as well as a Postman collection and OpenAPI spec.

JavaScript / TypeScript (npm, GitHub)
Python (pip, GitHub)
Ruby Gem (rubygem, GitHub)
PHP (packagist, GitHub)
C# (nuget, GitHub)

JavaScript
Python
Ruby
PHP
C#

npm i seam

pip install seam
# For some development environments, use pip3 in this command instead of pip.

bundle add seam

composer require seamapi/seam

Step 3: Grant Access

Grant your first access! You’ll create an Access Grant—the default and recommended way to grant a person access to any physical space through Seam—and get back a PIN code that your user could enter on the lock’s keypad. To start, open a terminal window and export your API key as an environment variable.

$ export SEAM_API_KEY=seam_test2bMS_94SrGUXuNR2JmJkjtvBQDg5c

The Seam SDK that you have installed automatically uses this API key once you have exported it. Next, use the following code to retrieve one of the devices that you connected in Step 1, inspect the supported capabilities of the device, and create an Access Grant that issues a PIN code on the lock:

Code:

import { Seam } from 'seam'

const seam = new Seam() // Seam automatically uses your exported SEAM_API_KEY.

// Retrieve all devices, filtered by manufacturer,
// which is one of several filters that list() supports.
const allAugustLocks = await seam.devices.list({ manufacturer: 'august' })

// Select the first device as an example.
const frontDoor = allAugustLocks[0]

// Confirm that the device can program access codes.
// You're using a capability flag here!
if (frontDoor.can_program_online_access_codes) {
  // Grant your user access to the device
  // for a specific time window.
  const accessGrant = await seam.accessGrants.create({
    user_identity: {
      full_name: 'Jane Doe',
      email_address: 'jane.doe@example.com',
    },
    device_ids: [frontDoor.device_id],
    requested_access_methods: [{ mode: 'code' }],
    starts_at: '2025-07-13T15:00:00.000Z',
    ends_at: '2025-07-16T11:00:00.000Z',
  })

  // Retrieve the issued access method to get the PIN code.
  const accessMethod = await seam.accessMethods.get({
    access_method_id:
      accessGrant.requested_access_methods[0].created_access_method_ids[0],
  })

  console.log(accessMethod.code)
}

Output:

"1234"

Code:

# Retrieve all devices, filtered by manufacturer, which is
# one of several filters that the list endpoint supports.
all_august_locks=$(
  curl -X 'POST' \
    'https://connect.getseam.com/devices/list' \
    -H 'accept: application/json' \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SEAM_API_KEY}" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
    "manufacturer": "august"
  }')

# Select the first device as an example.
front_door=$(jq -r '.devices[0]' <<< ${all_august_locks})

# Confirm that the device can program access codes.
# You're using a capability flag here!
if  $(jq -r '.can_program_online_access_codes' <<< ${front_door}); then \
  # Grant your user access to the device
  # for a specific time window.
  access_grant=$(curl -X 'POST' \
    'https://connect.getseam.com/access_grants/create' \
    -H 'accept: application/json' \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SEAM_API_KEY}" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d "{
      \"user_identity\": {
        \"full_name\": \"Jane Doe\",
        \"email_address\": \"jane.doe@example.com\"
      },
      \"device_ids\": [\"$(jq -r '.device_id' <<< ${front_door})\"],
      \"requested_access_methods\": [{\"mode\": \"code\"}],
      \"starts_at\": \"2025-07-13T15:00:00.000Z\",
      \"ends_at\": \"2025-07-16T11:00:00.000Z\"
  }");

  # Retrieve the issued access method to get the PIN code.
  access_method_id=$(jq -r '.access_grant.requested_access_methods[0].created_access_method_ids[0]' <<< ${access_grant});
  curl -X 'POST' \
    'https://connect.getseam.com/access_methods/get' \
    -H 'accept: application/json' \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SEAM_API_KEY}" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d "{
      \"access_method_id\": \"${access_method_id}\"
  }" | jq -r '.access_method.code';
fi

Output:

"1234"

Code:

from seam import Seam

seam = Seam()  # Seam automatically uses your exported SEAM_API_KEY.

# Retrieve all devices, filtered by manufacturer,
# which is one of several filters that list() supports.
all_august_locks = seam.devices.list(manufacturer="august")

# Select the first device as an example.
front_door = all_august_locks[0]

# Confirm that the device can program access codes.
# You're using a capability flag here!
if front_door.can_program_online_access_codes:
  # Grant your user access to the device
  # for a specific time window.
  access_grant = seam.access_grants.create(
    user_identity={
      "full_name": "Jane Doe",
      "email_address": "jane.doe@example.com"
    },
    device_ids=[front_door.device_id],
    requested_access_methods=[{"mode": "code"}],
    starts_at="2025-07-13T15:00:00.000Z",
    ends_at="2025-07-16T11:00:00.000Z"
  )

  # Retrieve the issued access method to get the PIN code.
  access_method = seam.access_methods.get(
    access_method_id=access_grant.requested_access_methods[0].created_access_method_ids[0]
  )

  print(access_method.code)

Output:

Code:

require "seam"

seam = Seam.new() # Seam automatically uses your exported SEAM_API_KEY.

# Retrieve all devices, filtered by manufacturer,
# which is one of several filters that list() supports.
all_august_locks = seam.devices.list(manufacturer: "august")

# Select the first device as an example.
front_door = all_august_locks[0]

# Confirm that the device can program access codes.
# You're using a capability flag here!
if (front_door.can_program_online_access_codes)
  # Grant your user access to the device
  # for a specific time window.
  access_grant = seam.access_grants.create(
    user_identity: {
      full_name: "Jane Doe",
      email_address: "jane.doe@example.com",
    },
    device_ids: [front_door.device_id],
    requested_access_methods: [{"mode": "code"}],
    starts_at: "2025-07-13T15:00:00.000Z",
    ends_at: "2025-07-16T11:00:00.000Z"
  )

  # Retrieve the issued access method to get the PIN code.
  access_method = seam.access_methods.get(
    access_method_id: access_grant.requested_access_methods[0].created_access_method_ids[0]
  )

  puts access_method.code
end

Output:

Code:

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$seam = new Seam\SeamClient(); // Seam automatically uses your exported SEAM_API_KEY.

// Retrieve all devices, filtered by manufacturer,
// which is one of several filters that list() supports.
$all_august_locks = $seam->devices->list(manufacturer: "august");

// Select the first device as an example.
$front_door = $all_august_locks[0];

// Confirm that the device can program access codes.
// You're using a capability flag here!
if ($front_door->can_program_online_access_codes) {
  // Grant your user access to the device
  // for a specific time window.
  $access_grant = $seam->access_grants->create(
    user_identity: [
      "full_name" => "Jane Doe",
      "email_address" => "jane.doe@example.com",
    ],
    device_ids: [$front_door->device_id],
    requested_access_methods: [["mode" => "code"]],
    starts_at: "2025-07-13T15:00:00.000Z",
    ends_at: "2025-07-16T11:00:00.000Z"
  );

  // Retrieve the issued access method to get the PIN code.
  $access_method = $seam->access_methods->get(
    access_method_id: $access_grant->requested_access_methods[0]->created_access_method_ids[0]
  );

  echo $access_method->code;
}

Output:

Code:

// Coming Soon!

Output:

// Coming Soon!

In a sandbox workspace, the access method is issued almost instantly. On real devices, issuance can take a few moments—poll the access method until is_issued is true or watch for the access_method.issued event before reading the code.

Congrats! :tada:

Now that you have completed the Seam API Quick Start, you are well on your way to writing code that can actually control the physical world! :sunglasses: Here are some ideas of what you can do next…

Go Deeper on Granting Access

You just created your first Access Grant. The same API issues mobile keys, Instant Keys, and plastic cards, grants access to multiple devices and access system entrances in one call, and manages the full credential lifecycle. See the Granting Access guide. You can also control devices directly—for example, lock and unlock doors remotely.

Connect a Real Device

If you have a real device, you can try to control it using the steps in this Quick Start. Note that you must first create a production workspace because sandbox workspaces only enable you to connect test accounts and devices. For more information, see Workspaces.

Connect Users’ Devices

If you are creating an app to control your users’ devices, see Connect Webviews. Seam Connect Webviews are fully-embedded client-side components that you add to your app if you want to enable your users to import their own devices using your app. Your users interact with your embedded Connect Webviews to link their IoT device accounts to Seam through your app. That is, Connect Webviews walk your users through the process of logging in to their device accounts. Seam handles all the authentication steps, and—once your user has completed the authorization through your app—you can access and control their devices using the Seam API.

Learn about Devices and Capabilities

Seam supports many device categories. Each device can be broken down into device capabilities. A capability indicates what the device can do, what properties it has, and what events it emits. To learn more about specific capabilities, such as access codes or thermostats, see the following guides:

Door Locks API

Get started →

Thermostats API

Get started →

Noise Sensors API

Get started →

Access Control Systems API

Get started →

​Step 1: Connect Devices

​Step 2: Get an API Key and SDK

​Create an API Key

​Install the Seam SDK

​Step 3: Grant Access

​Congrats! :tada:

​Go Deeper on Granting Access

​Connect a Real Device

​Connect Users’ Devices

​Learn about Devices and Capabilities

Door Locks API

Thermostats API

Noise Sensors API

Access Control Systems API

Step 1: Connect Devices

Step 2: Get an API Key and SDK

Create an API Key

Install the Seam SDK

Step 3: Grant Access

Congrats! :tada:

Go Deeper on Granting Access

Connect a Real Device

Connect Users’ Devices

Learn about Devices and Capabilities