> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alphayou.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Conventions

> How AlphaYou responses are shaped: dates, paging, source links and data delays.

## The basics

* Base address: `https://api.alphayou.net`
* Every endpoint is a `GET` and returns JSON.
* Send your key with every call. See [Keys and authentication](https://docs.alphayou.net/api/authentication.md).

## Fields you will see on most responses

| Field | What it means |
| - | - |
| `asOf` | When AlphaYou read the data |
| `dataThrough` | The newest date the data covers |
| `source` | Where the records come from, for example SEC EDGAR Form 4 |
| `coverage` | What the dataset includes and leaves out. Read it |
| `status` | `available` when the data was read |
| `count`, `limit` | How many records came back, and the most you asked for |
| `truncated` | `true` if more records exist than the response shows |
| `nextCursor` | A token for the next page, when there is one |
| `sourceUrl` | A link to the original filing or record |
| `answerPolicy` | A note written for AI agents: same facts for every user, keep the source link, no advice |

## Dates

A single record can carry several dates. They mean different things.

* **Trade date** (for example `trades[].date`): when the trade happened.
* **Filing date** (`filedAt`): when the filing reached the SEC.
* **`asOf`**: when AlphaYou read it.

Show the right one. Do not call a filing date the trade date.

## Data comes late, by law

| Record | Delay |
| - | - |
| Insider Form 4 | Public up to 2 business days after the trade, and sometimes later |
| Fund 13F | Up to 45 days after the quarter ends |
| Company 8-K | Read from the SEC, up to 15 minutes old |
| Hyperliquid positions | Minutes |

Do not present old data as current. A filing is a record of the past, not a forecast.

## Missing data is unknown, not zero

If a record is not on file, treat it as unknown. A reported insider sale is not evidence that someone is betting against the stock. A fund's 13F shows holdings at quarter end, not live trades.

## Paging

Endpoints that return long lists take `limit` and `cursor`.

1. Call the endpoint with a `limit`.
2. If the response has a `nextCursor`, pass it back as `cursor` to get the next page.
3. When `nextCursor` is `null`, you have reached the end.

On the Free plan, insider trades return the 5 newest filings from the last 90 days and no further pages. The response sets `limitedByPlan` to show it.

## Show the source

When you show AlphaYou data, keep the as-of date and the `sourceUrl` that came with it, and credit "Source: AlphaYou" with a link to alphayou.net. The rules are on [What you may do with the data](https://docs.alphayou.net/api/data-use.md).


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