Try the EDI Converter API without Installing It

June 30, 2026

You can now try the EDI Converter API before installing the Docker container or running the Java application locally.

The public API is useful when you want to test the request and response format, confirm that your integration approach works, or quickly evaluate conversion, generation, and validation with sample EDI files.

For production files, especially files containing PHI, install the API server inside your own network. The local API server does not send data to our systems, and it does not have the public API file size limits.

Before You Start

Request your trial license key from our website. The same license key can be used as an API key for the public API.

Set two environment variables:

export API_URL=https://datainsight.health/clinsight/api
export API_KEY="<your-license-key>"

Use the license key in the X-Api-Key header on each request.

Do not submit PHI, personally identifiable information, or production healthcare data to the public API. Use de-identified sample files only.

The public API is also limited by file size. It is intended for quick evaluation and sample files, not large production batches.

The examples below use sample files from our API examples repository. If you clone that repository, run the commands from the curl folder so the relative file paths match.

Convert EDI to JSON

Post an EDI file to /edi/json to convert it into JSON:

curl -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_files/837/837P-minimal.dat \
  "$API_URL/edi/json"

You can convert payment files the same way:

curl -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_files/835/835-minimal.dat \
  "$API_URL/edi/json"

For multiple files, send a multipart request. This example converts one 837P claim file and one 835 payment file, then returns newline-delimited JSON:

curl -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F files=@"../edi_files/837/837P-minimal.dat" \
  -F files=@"../edi_files/835/835-minimal.dat" \
  "$API_URL/edi/json?ndjson=true"

See the API User Guide for conversion options, CSV output, NDJSON streaming, and error handling.

Generate EDI from JSON

Post a JSON request to the EDI generation endpoint to create X12 EDI.

Generate an 837 claim:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_gen/request/837p-minimal.json \
  "$API_URL/edi/gen/837"

Generate an 835 payment:

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_gen/request/835-minimal.json \
  "$API_URL/edi/gen/835"

The generation API accepts business-friendly JSON objects and returns X12 EDI text. See the EDI generation request schema and API reference for the available request fields and endpoints.

Validate EDI

Post an EDI file to /edi/validate to return structured validation issues:

curl -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_files/837/837P-validation-issues.edi \
  "$API_URL/edi/validate"

For troubleshooting, use the text validation endpoint. It returns the original EDI text with validation messages marked under the affected segment:

curl -H "Content-Type: text/plain" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  --data-binary @../edi_files/837/837P-validation-issues.edi \
  "$API_URL/edi/validate/text"

See the EDI Validation API documentation for supported SNIP levels, validation response schemas, and text output examples.

When to Install the Local API Server

The public API is the fastest way to get a feel for the converter, but the local API server is the right choice when you need to process real files.

Install the Docker container when you need to:

  • process PHI or production healthcare data,
  • convert larger EDI files,
  • run repeatable batch jobs,
  • keep traffic inside your network or VPC,
  • use the bundled local EDI Viewer without public viewer limits.

Follow the EDI API Docker quick start to run the same converter locally in a Docker container.