# Overview

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#### Have you considered using our REST API?

While our SOAP API remains fully supported and operational, we recommend all new integrations use our newer REST API.
{% endhint %}

### Introduction to SOAP

We have a fully featured SOAP API which is in use across hundreds accounts.

The Airship SOAP API supports operations for writing contact and transactional data to Airship and much much more.

### Getting started

Before you begin, you must have:

* An Airship dashboard account
* SOAP authentication credentials
* An Airship dashboard user account

### SOAP API Reference

Our SOAP API is published as a downloadable PDF.

[Download our SOAP API reference >](https://www.airship.co.uk/docs/Airship_SOAP_API_V3.pdf)

### Test API credentials

To aid your development and testing, we create full ‘test’ Airship accounts.

This allows you to carry out your integration in an environment that is not associated with live data.

Any credentials provided for test use are kept separate to credentials for production use.

Please request a test development account from our support team.

### Test dashboard access

Separately to the SOAP credentials, we also issue Airship dashboard user accounts on an individual basis.

As a developer, you will be provided with a dashboard user account that is assigned with a ‘developer’ role, with the permission to access the following Console interfaces:

* Ability to search for your contact record
* Ability to view your contact record and edit it

Follow the [Activating your Airship account](http://academy.airship.co.uk/en/articles/1946745-activating-your-airship-account) article to get started.


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