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

# Countries

> List and read countries, and update a country's status, description and default address fields.

Countries are the settings records an address or a warehouse refers to. You can list them, read one, and update a country's status, description or default address fields. This area has 3 endpoints, and all seven SDKs call every one.

## At a glance

| Endpoint | Method | Path | What it does |
| - | - | - | - |
| [List countries](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/countries/list-countries.md) | GET | `/settings/countries` | Returns a page of countries under `data`, with paging details under `pagination`. |
| [Retrieve a country](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/countries/retrieve-a-country.md) | GET | `/settings/countries/{country_id}` | Returns one country by its `country_` `id`, under `country`. |
| [Update a country](https://exsited.mintlify.site/api-reference/countries/update-a-country.md) | PATCH | `/settings/countries/{country_id}` | Changes a country's status, description or default address fields. |

## Before you call

Register your API credentials once when your app starts, as shown in
[Authentication](https://exsited.mintlify.site/authentication.md). Every SDK sample on these pages then gets its client in one line.
With cURL, send the access token in an `Authorization` header: `Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN`.

## Things to know

* **A country `id` starts with `country_`.** Other records, such as a warehouse, refer to a country by this `id`.
* **A country's `name` holds its two letter code.** For example `AU` for Australia.
* **The listing pages by cursor with the `cursor` parameter.** `starting_after` is ignored and returns the first page again.
* **An update accepts `status`, `description` and the `default_*` fields.** Send them under `country`.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.