Quickstart

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following before you start:

Step 1 — Install the SDK

Install the CaseForge SDK using your package manager. The SDK has no additional system dependencies.

pip install caseforge-sdk

npm install @caseforge/sdk

Verify the installation by printing the SDK version:

python -c "import caseforge; print(caseforge.__version__)"
# 2.0.0

node -e "const cf = require('@caseforge/sdk'); console.log(cf.VERSION)"
// 2.0.0

Step 2 — Configure your API key

The SDK reads your API key from the CASEFORGE_API_KEY environment variable by default. Set it in your shell before running your code:

# macOS / Linux
export CASEFORGE_API_KEY="cf_sand_your_key_here"

# Windows PowerShell
$env:CASEFORGE_API_KEY = "cf_sand_your_key_here"

You can also pass the key directly when you create a client instance — useful when you're reading from your own secrets system:

import caseforge

# Reads CASEFORGE_API_KEY automatically
client = caseforge.Client()

# Or supply the key explicitly
client = caseforge.Client(api_key="cf_sand_your_key_here")

import CaseForge from '@caseforge/sdk';

// Reads CASEFORGE_API_KEY automatically
const client = new CaseForge();

// Or supply the key explicitly
const client = new CaseForge({ apiKey: 'cf_sand_your_key_here' });

Step 3 — Create your first case

With the client configured, you can create an AML case. The following example creates a transaction_monitoring case for a customer flagged for structuring activity:

import caseforge

client = caseforge.Client()

# Create a case
case = client.cases.create(
    subject_id="cust_7a2b4c",       # Your customer ID
    case_type="transaction_monitoring",
    priority="high",
    summary="Structuring — 12 cash deposits below $10k in 30 days",
    tags=["structuring", "cash", "q1-2026"],
)

print(f"Case created: {case.id}")
print(f"Status: {case.status}")
print(f"Assigned to: {case.assigned_to}")
print(f"Created at: {case.created_at}")

import CaseForge from '@caseforge/sdk';

const client = new CaseForge();

// Create a case
const aCase = await client.cases.create({
  subjectId:  'cust_7a2b4c',
  caseType:   'transaction_monitoring',
  priority:   'high',
  summary:    'Structuring — 12 cash deposits below $10k in 30 days',
  tags:       ['structuring', 'cash', 'q1-2026'],
});

console.log(`Case created: ${aCase.id}`);
console.log(`Status: ${aCase.status}`);
console.log(`Assigned to: ${aCase.assignedTo}`);

Step 4 — Understand the response

A successful cases.create() call returns a Case object. The key fields you'll use most:

{
  "id":           "case_9x4m1z",
  "subject_id":   "cust_7a2b4c",
  "case_type":    "transaction_monitoring",
  "status":       "open",
  "priority":     "high",
  "summary":      "Structuring — 12 cash deposits below $10k in 30 days",
  "tags":         ["structuring", "cash", "q1-2026"],
  "assigned_to":  null,
  "created_at":   "2026-03-09T14:22:11Z",
  "updated_at":   "2026-03-09T14:22:11Z"
}

Step 5 — Verify in the dashboard

Open Dashboard → Cases in the CaseForge web app. You'll see the case you just created appear at the top of the case queue with status Open. Click it to view the full detail view, assign it to an analyst, or start attaching transactions.

Next steps