API Reference - Ideal Postcodes

{
  "service_type": "platform",
  "base_url": "https://api.ideal-postcodes.co.uk",
  "auth_method": "api_key",
  "auth_config": {
    "api_key_header": "Authorization",
    "api_key_query_param": "api_key",
    "docs_url": "https://ideal-postcodes.co.uk/documentation"
  },
  "endpoints": [
    {
      "path": "/v1/postcodes/{postcode}",
      "method": "GET",
      "description": "Look up addresses associated with a UK postcode"
    },
    {
      "path": "/v1/addresses",
      "method": "GET",
      "description": "Autocomplete / search addresses by query string"
    },
    {
      "path": "/v1/keys",
      "method": "GET",
      "description": "Check API key details and remaining lookups"
    }
  ],
  "pricing_model": {
    "type": "freemium",
    "details": {
      "notes": "Credit-based lookup pricing with a free trial tier; paid tiers scale by monthly lookup volume",
      "currency": "GBP",
      "billing": "subscription or pay-as-you-go"
    }
  },
  "rate_limits": {
    "notes": "Rate limits vary by plan; free/trial keys are throttled. Exact limits are documented per plan in the customer dashboard."
  },
  "capabilities": [
    "UK postcode lookup",
    "Address autocomplete / search",
    "Address validation and cleaning",
    "Reverse geocoding (postcode from coordinates)",
    "Bulk / batch postcode processing",
    "Key usage monitoring",
    "Multiple client SDKs and integrations"
  ],
  "raw_analysis": "Ideal Postcodes is an established UK-focused address and postcode data platform. Despite the given URL pointing to a support page, the underlying service is a well-documented, mature public REST API — not an internal platform without an API. The API is accessed over HTTPS (and HTTP, though HTTPS is recommended) supporting IPv4/IPv6, and uses standard GET/POST/OPTIONS verbs. Authentication is via an API key (passed as a query parameter or Authorization header) that is issued through their dashboard. The service is primarily aimed at developers building UK checkout, delivery, or CRM flows who need accurate Royal Mail PAF-backed address data. It has broad ecosystem maturity: official SDKs, plugins for e-commerce platforms, and clear documentation. Pricing follows a freemium model with lookup credits and tiered plans. Rate limits and quotas are plan-dependent. Integrations include popular frameworks and platform plugins, making it a standard choice for UK address autocomplete and validation use cases."
}

1/3 tests passed

```json
{
  "overall": 68,
  "dimensions": {
    "token_efficiency": 8.0,
    "first_try_success": 7.0,
    "response_parseability": 9.0,
    "error_clarity": 6.0,
    "doc_quality": 7.5,
    "auth_simplicity": 6.0,
    "latency": 9.0,
    "consistency": 7.0
  },
  "pricing_normalized": {
    "model": "freemium",
    "currency": "GBP",
    "billing": "subscription or pay-as-you-go",
    "unit": "per-lookup credit-based",
    "notes": "Free trial tier, scales by monthly lookup volume"
  },
  "issues": [
    "No robots.txt (404) — crawlers/agents have no explicit access guidance",
    "No llms.txt (404) — no agent-oriented discovery/spec file",
    "Missing security headers on responses",
    "Auth for a meaningful key requires sign-up; no magic-link/agent-friendly onboarding described",
    "Rate limits and error semantics not surfaced from these checks"
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    "Publish robots.txt and llms.txt to enable agent discovery and reduce onboarding friction",
    "Expose clear structured error codes/limits in docs (errors array, quota semantics)",
    "Offer magic-link or API-key self-provisioning so agents can onboard without a human dance",
    "Add security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Content-Type-Options) for trust signals",
    "Document bulk/batch endpoints with request/response schemas for parseability"
  ]
}
```