# Elfa API

> Interact with the Elfa API — a crypto social intelligence platform that provides real-time sentiment, trending tokens, narrative tracking, and AI-powered market analysis from Twitter/X and Telegram. Use this skill whenever the user wants to query crypto social data, check trending tokens or narratives, look up mentions for a ticker or keyword, get smart stats for a Twitter account, retrieve token news, find trending contract addresses, or chat with Elfa's AI for market analysis. Also trigger when the user asks how to integrate the Elfa API, wants example code or curl commands for Elfa endpoints, or mentions "elfa" in the context of crypto data. This skill covers both making live API calls (via API key or x402 keyless payments) and generating correct code snippets for developers integrating the Elfa API into their own products. Supports two access modes: traditional API key authentication and x402 pay-per-request via USDC on Base (no registration required).

- Skill: `elfa-ai/elfa-api` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add elfa-ai/elfa-api`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/elfa-ai/elfa-api/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Integrations & APIs
- Author: elfa-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/elfa-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/elfa-ai/elfa-api

---


# Elfa API Skill

This skill enables Claude to work with the [Elfa API](https://api.elfa.ai) — a social listening
and market context layer for crypto traders. Elfa ingests real-time data from Twitter/X, Telegram,
and other sources, then structures sentiment, narratives, and attention shifts into actionable
trading insights.

## When to use this skill

- User asks about **trending tokens, narratives, or contract addresses** in crypto
- User wants **social mentions** for a specific ticker or keyword
- User wants **smart stats** (smart followers, engagement) for a Twitter/X account
- User wants an **AI-generated market summary, macro overview, or token analysis**
- User asks how to **integrate, call, or use the Elfa API**
- User wants **code examples** (curl, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript) for Elfa endpoints
- User mentions "elfa" in a crypto or trading data context

## API Overview

**Base URL:** `https://api.elfa.ai`
**Version:** v2 (current)

### Two access modes

Elfa supports two independent ways to authenticate requests:

| Mode | Endpoint prefix | Auth header | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| **API key** | `/v2/` | `x-elfa-api-key: YOUR_KEY` | Humans & apps with a registered key |
| **x402 (keyless)** | `/x402/v2/` | `X-PAYMENT: <signed-payload>` | Agents & wallets — no signup needed |

Both modes access the same data. The only difference is how you authenticate:
- **API key** — register at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills, get 1,000 free credits.
- **x402** — pay per request with USDC on Base. No registration, no API key. Currently in beta.

### Endpoints at a glance

All endpoints below work with both `/v2/` (API key) and `/x402/v2/` (keyless) prefixes,
except `key-status` which is API key mode only.

| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `/v2/key-status` | GET | API key usage & limits (API key mode only) |
| `/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens` | GET | Trending tokens by mention count |
| `/v2/account/smart-stats` | GET | Smart follower & engagement stats for a Twitter account |
| `/v2/data/top-mentions` | GET | Top mentions for a ticker symbol |
| `/v2/data/keyword-mentions` | GET | Search mentions by keywords or account name |
| `/v2/data/event-summary` | GET | AI event summaries from keyword mentions (5 credits) |
| `/v2/data/trending-narratives` | GET | Trending narrative clusters (5 credits) |
| `/v2/data/token-news` | GET | Token-related news mentions |
| `/v2/aggregations/trending-cas/twitter` | GET | Trending contract addresses on Twitter |
| `/v2/aggregations/trending-cas/telegram` | GET | Trending contract addresses on Telegram |
| `/v2/chat` | POST | AI chat with multiple analysis modes |

For full parameter details, read `references/api-reference.md`.

## How to use this skill

### Step 1: Determine the mode

Check whether the user wants to **make a live call** or **get code/integration help**.

- If the user says things like "show me trending tokens", "what's the sentiment on SOL",
  "get me the top mentions for ETH" → they want **live data**. Proceed to Step 2a.
- If the user says things like "how do I call the trending tokens endpoint", "give me a
  curl example", "help me integrate Elfa" → they want **code snippets**. Skip to Step 3.
- If the user mentions **x402**, **keyless**, **pay-per-request**, or **wallet-based access**
  → they want **x402 mode**. See Step 2b for live calls or Step 3 for code snippets.

### Step 2a: Making live API calls (API key mode)

Use the `bash_tool` to call the Elfa API via curl. The helper script at
`scripts/elfa_call.sh` handles auth and formatting, but you can also use curl directly.

**Getting the API key:**
1. Check if the user has provided an API key in the conversation or if one is set as
   an environment variable (`ELFA_API_KEY`).
2. If no key is available, **stop and prompt the user.** Offer both options:

   > To make live calls, you have two options:
   >
   > **Option A — API key (free tier):** Get a free key with 1,000 credits at
   > **https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills**
   >
   > **Option B — x402 keyless payments:** Pay per request with USDC on Base — no signup
   > needed. See the [x402 docs](https://docs.elfa.ai/x402-payments) for setup.

   Do not attempt any authenticated API calls without a key or x402 setup. Wait for the user.
3. Never log or expose the full API key in outputs — mask it when displaying curl commands.

**Free tier limitations:**
The free tier provides 1,000 credits that work on most endpoints. However, the following
endpoints require a Pay-As-You-Go or Grow plan:
- Trending narratives
- AI chat

If a user hits an authorization error on one of these endpoints, let them know they can
upgrade their plan or use x402 payments instead. Full details at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills.

**Making the call:**

```bash
curl -s -H "x-elfa-api-key: $ELFA_API_KEY" "https://api.elfa.ai/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h&pageSize=10"
```

### Step 2b: Making live API calls (x402 keyless mode)

x402 lets any wallet pay per request using USDC on Base — no API key, no registration.
This is ideal for agents, bots, and programmatic access.

**How x402 works:**
1. Send a request to the `/x402/v2/` version of any endpoint (no auth header).
2. The server responds with HTTP **402** containing payment requirements.
3. Your wallet signs a USDC transfer authorization (no gas fees).
4. Resend the request with the signed payment in the `X-PAYMENT` header.
5. Server verifies payment, serves the response, and settles on-chain.

**x402 details:**
- **Chain:** Base (`eip155:8453`)
- **Currency:** USDC on Base (`0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913`)
- **Status:** Currently in beta

**x402 pricing:**
| Tier | Cost | Endpoints |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (1 credit) | $0.009 | trending-tokens, smart-stats, keyword-mentions, token-news, top-mentions, trending-cas |
| Extended (5 credits) | $0.045 | event-summary, trending-narratives |
| Chat — fast | $0.225 | chat (speed: "fast") |
| Chat — expert | $1.00 | chat (speed: "expert", default) |

**Making an x402 call with curl (manual flow):**

```bash
# Step 1: Send request without payment — get 402 with payment requirements
curl -s https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h

# Step 2: After signing the payment payload with your wallet, resend with X-PAYMENT header
curl -s -H "X-PAYMENT: <base64-encoded-payment-payload>" \
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h"
```

**Recommended: use the `@x402/fetch` library** which handles payment automatically:

```javascript
import { wrapFetchWithPayment } from "@x402/fetch";
import { ExactEvmScheme, toClientEvmSigner } from "@x402/evm";
import { x402Client } from "@x402/core/client";
import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";
import { base } from "viem/chains";

const account = privateKeyToAccount("0xYOUR_PRIVATE_KEY");
const publicClient = createPublicClient({ chain: base, transport: http() });
const signer = toClientEvmSigner(account, publicClient);

const client = new x402Client().register(
  "eip155:8453",
  new ExactEvmScheme(signer));

const x402Fetch = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, client);

// Use x402Fetch exactly like regular fetch — payment is handled automatically on 402 responses
const response = await x402Fetch(
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h");
const data = await response.json();
```

**x402 with the Chat endpoint (POST):**

```javascript
const response = await x402Fetch(
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/chat",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      message: "What is the current sentiment on BTC?",
      analysisType: "chat",
      speed: "fast", // "fast" = $0.225, "expert" = $1.00
    }),
  });
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.data.message);
```

**Presenting results:**
- Parse the JSON response and present it in a clean, readable format.
- For trending tokens: show a ranked table with token name, mention count, and change %.
- For mentions: show tweet links, engagement metrics, and account info.
  Note: Elfa returns tweet IDs but not tweet text content — let the user know they'll
  need their own X (Twitter) API key to fetch the actual tweet content.
- For narratives/summaries: present the narrative text with source links.
- For the chat endpoint: display the AI response cleanly.
- If the response contains an error, explain what went wrong and suggest fixes.

### Step 3: Generating code snippets

When the user wants integration help, generate correct, production-ready code.
Read `references/api-reference.md` for the full parameter specs.

**Principles for code generation:**
- Always mention both access modes (API key and x402) so developers know their options
- Include the signup link `https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills` as a comment near the
  API key placeholder, and link to `https://docs.elfa.ai/x402-payments` for x402
- Always include proper error handling
- For API key mode: show the `x-elfa-api-key` header (use a placeholder like `YOUR_API_KEY`)
- For x402 mode: show the `/x402/v2/` prefix and recommend `@x402/fetch` or `@x402/axios`
- Include TypeScript types when generating TS code
- Add comments explaining each parameter
- For pagination endpoints, show how to paginate through results
- For time-windowed endpoints, explain the `timeWindow` vs `from`/`to` pattern

**Language priorities** (use unless the user specifies otherwise):
1. TypeScript/JavaScript (fetch) — most Elfa integrators are web/Node devs
2. Python (requests)
3. curl

**The Chat endpoint deserves special attention** — it's the most complex:
- It supports multiple `analysisType` values: `chat`, `macro`, `summary`, `tokenIntro`,
  `tokenAnalysis`, `accountAnalysis`
- Session management via `sessionId` for multi-turn conversations
- Different `assetMetadata` requirements per analysis type
- Two speed modes: `fast` and `expert`

### Common patterns

**Time window parameters:**
Many endpoints accept either `timeWindow` (e.g., "30m", "1h", "4h", "24h", "7d", "30d")
OR `from`/`to` unix timestamps. If both are provided, `from`/`to` takes priority.

**Pagination:**
Most list endpoints support `page` and `pageSize`. The keyword-mentions endpoint uses
cursor-based pagination instead (`cursor` parameter).

**Ticker format:**
For `top-mentions`, the `ticker` param can be prefixed with `$` to match only cashtags
(e.g., `$SOL` vs `SOL`).

**Credit costs (both modes):**
- Most endpoints: 1 credit per call ($0.009 via x402)
- Event summary: 5 credits ($0.045 via x402)
- Trending narratives: 5 credits ($0.045 via x402)
- Chat endpoint: varies — fast $0.225, expert $1.00 via x402

## Important notes

- The Elfa API domain (`api.elfa.ai`) must be accessible from the network. If blocked,
  inform the user and provide the code snippet instead.
- Always use the v2 endpoints (paths starting with `/v2/` or `/x402/v2/`).
- For experimental endpoints (trending-tokens, smart-stats), mention that behavior may
  change without notice.
- When the user asks about pricing or API key tiers, direct them to
  https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills for full details on plans and pricing.
- x402 is currently in beta. Rate limits apply per wallet address (not per API key).
- x402 and API key credits are independent — they do not overlap or share balances.
- For x402 documentation and setup, refer users to https://docs.elfa.ai/x402-payments.

## Troubleshooting

**CORS or network errors in the Claude desktop app:**
If the user is running this skill in the Claude desktop app and API calls are failing due
to CORS or network issues, guide them through this fix:

1. Open **Settings** in the Claude desktop app
2. Go to **Capabilities**
3. Enable **Network Egress**
4. Add `*.elfa.ai` to the allowed domains list

This grants the app permission to make outbound requests to the Elfa API.