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

# Retrieve Sample Employment Data

> Learn how to retrieve employment data in the sandbox.

Argyle provides you with two ways to access employment data:

* [Directly in Console](/legacy/guides/getting-started/sandbox-mode/retrieve-sample-employment-data#see-sample-data-in-console)
* [Via calls to the API](/legacy/guides/getting-started/sandbox-mode/retrieve-sample-employment-data#retrieve-sample-data-via-the-api)

## Sandbox vs. Production data

Sample data returned in Sandbox mode is varied and randomized to help with testing purposes. This sample data does not mirror how a specific individual payroll provider would return data for connected accounts in Production mode.

For example, in Sandbox mode, pay data may be available on a monthly basis for a specific payroll provider. However, for real accounts connected to that payroll provider in Production mode, pay data could be available on a bi-weekly basis.

## Prerequisites

Before retrieving employment data, you must:

* Have your sandbox [API keys](https://console.argyle.com/api-keys) at hand
* Embed Argyle Link via the [Web](/legacy/guides/argyle-link/embed/web), [Android](/legacy/guides/argyle-link/embed/android), [iOS](/legacy/guides/argyle-link/embed/ios), or [React Native](/legacy/guides/argyle-link/embed/react-native)
* [Connect sample payroll accounts](/legacy/guides/getting-started/sandbox-mode/connect-sample-payroll-accounts)

## See sample data in Console

Accessing user employment data in Console is easy. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the [Connections](https://console.argyle.com/connections) page of Console
2. Select a user to see their employment data

## Retrieve sample data via the API

After your users connect their payroll accounts, your application can start using the Argyle API to retrieve information in their payroll accounts.

The Argyle API uses [basic access authentication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_access_authentication). You must specify your credentials with every request you make to the API.

Here's an example API call using curl:

```text theme={}
curl https://api-sandbox.argyle.com/v1/activities?account=account_id \
-u your_client_id:your_client_secret
```

Before running the curl command make sure to replace `your_client_id` and `your_client_secret` with your own credentials, which you can [access in Argyle Console](https://console.argyle.com/api-keys).

The API call returns a JSON object that contains a list of activities performed by your users such as rideshare trips or e-shopping deliveries.

Here's an example response for the example request:

```json theme={}
// Activities API endpoint sample response

{
    "next": "http://api-sandbox.argyle.com/v1/activities?cursor=YMWjb3...",
    "previous": null,
    "results": [
        {
            "id": "0018cf02-f8d9-4a7b-9876-2f2167a4c0f5",
            "account": "f15eec4c-7b39-48ac-8577-7385456591f4",
            "created_at": "2019-04-19T11:14:13.708Z",
            "start_date": "2018-04-10T06:46:00Z",
            "end_date": "2018-04-10T06:46:00Z",
            "income": {
                "currency": "USD",
                "total_charge": "67.93",
                "fees": "0.00",
          ...
            },
            "income_rates": {
                "hour": "36.18",
                "mile": "6.32",
        ...
            },
        },
     ...
    ]
}
```

This specific API call returns activities for all of your customers who have connected their payroll accounts through Argyle Link.

To learn more about how to filter activities for a specific user, retrieve other data such as user profiles or a list of your customer's vehicles, refer to the [API Reference](/legacy/api-reference/introduction) and [Argyle Link](/legacy/guides/argyle-link/overview) documentation.