# Getting started

> Where to begin with the Gladstone GO platform — how the guides are organised and the order to read them in.

HTML version: [Getting started](https://support.gladstonesoftware.cloud/guides/getting-started)

These guides cover the things that span more than one endpoint: how to authenticate, what the
platform's terms mean, and how to build each of the main journeys end to end. For the fields,
constraints and errors of an individual call, use [the API reference](../reference/getting-started.md).

## How this section is organised

**Getting Started** is everything you need before you write integration code — terminology,
authentication and the platform restrictions that apply to every call.

**Flows** covers the complete journeys. Each one walks through the calls in order, explains what
to do with what comes back, and links to the reference page for every endpoint involved.

## Read these first

Work through these in order. Each one assumes the ones above it.

1. **[Glossary](glossary.md)** — Gladstone's API uses terms from the leisure industry, and
   several of them look like ordinary English words while meaning something specific. Fifteen
   minutes here saves an afternoon later.
2. **[Authenticating with Gladstone APIs](authenticating-with-gladstone-apis.md)** — the two
   authentication methods and how to choose between them. Both end with a JWT bearer token that
   you send on every subsequent call.
   - **[API Key Authentication](api-key-authentication.md)** — the recommended route for new
     integrations. Supports member-scoped tokens, refresh tokens and per-integration rate
     limiting.
   - **[OAuth2 Authentication](oauth2-authentication.md)** — the legacy client-credentials
     flow. Still fully supported, but not the choice for a new build.
3. **[Restrictions](rate-limiting.md)** — rate limits, country blocks and the other platform
   restrictions your integration has to handle. Read this before you design your retry logic, not
   after you trip a limit.

If you are working with an AI coding agent, point it at the markdown version of these docs
rather than the web pages. See
[Using the Knowledge Base with AI Agents](../api-integrations/using-the-knowledge-base-with-ai-agents.md).

## Then pick your flow

| Guide | Build this when you need to |
|---|---|
| [Joining](joining.md) | Sell a membership end to end, from pricing through to a paid-up member. |
| [Booking](booking.md) | Build a booking journey — availability, leases, pricing and confirmation. |
| [Payments](payments.md) | Take payment for bookings and memberships, including 3-D Secure challenges. |

Leases and slot references are the part of the booking flow most often got wrong: they are
short-lived and order-dependent, so read the Booking guide through once before implementing any
of it.

## Compliance

- **[DMCCA required API updates](dmcca-required-api-updates.md)** — the changes your
  integration must make to comply with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. This
  applies if you build your own joining journey or membership cancellation flow, rather than
  using ours.

## Where else to look

- **[API reference](../reference/getting-started.md)** — one page per endpoint, with request and
  response fields, samples and real error triggers.
- **[Knowledge base](../kb/getting-started)** — operational answers about configuration,
  hardware and troubleshooting, browsable by category.
- **[Release notes](https://updates.gladstonesoftware.cloud/)** — what changed in the platform,
  published outside this portal.