Quickstart

Get Mi API BCV up and running in under 5 minutes

This guide will help you get Mi API BCV running locally in just a few minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• PHP 8.2 or higher - Download PHP
• Composer - Install Composer
• SQLite extension enabled (or MySQL 5.7+ if preferred)
• Git - Install Git

The default configuration uses SQLite for simplicity. You can switch to MySQL or PostgreSQL later if needed.

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mi-api-bcv.git
   cd mi-api-bcv
   
2. Install dependencies

   composer install
   

   This will install Laravel 12 and all required packages including:

   • Symfony DomCrawler for web scraping
   • Laravel Sanctum for API authentication (optional)
3. Set up environment

   cp .env.example .env
   php artisan key:generate
   

   The .env file is now configured with sensible defaults using SQLite.

4. Create the database

   touch database/database.sqlite
   

   If you prefer MySQL or PostgreSQL, update the DB_CONNECTION and related variables in your .env file before running migrations.

5. Run migrations

   php artisan migrate
   

   This creates the necessary database tables:

   • reference_records - Stores exchange rate data
   • cache - Stores cached API responses
   • jobs - Handles queue jobs if needed
6. Fetch initial exchange rates

   php artisan rates:update
   

   This command scrapes the current exchange rates from all banks and stores them in the database.

   Expected output:

   Iniciando actualización de tasas...
   Banco bdv procesado.
   Banco banplus procesado.
   Banco bnc procesado.
   Banco bcv procesado.
   Tasas actualizadas exitosamente.
   
7. Start the development server

   php artisan serve
   

   The API is now running at http://localhost:8000

Test Your Installation

Get all current rates

curl http://localhost:8000/

Expected response:

{
  "message": "Consulta exitosa",
  "bdv": {
    "value": 45.26,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "banplus": {
    "value": 45.30,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "bnc": {
    "value": 45.28,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "bcv": {
    "value": 45.25,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  }
}

Get rates for a specific date and bank

curl http://localhost:8000/info/2026-03-04/bcv

Response:

{
  "message": "Consulta exitosa",
  "bcv": {
    "value": 45.25,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  }
}

Set Up Automatic Updates

To keep exchange rates updated automatically, set up the Laravel scheduler:

Linux/macOS

Edit your crontab:

crontab -e

Add this line:

* * * * * cd /path/to/mi-api-bcv && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Windows

Use Task Scheduler to run this command every minute:

cd C:\path\to\mi-api-bcv && php artisan schedule:run

The scheduler is configured to run the rates:update command 11 times daily at specific hours (00:00, 00:30, 02:00, 03:00, 03:30, 04:00, 05:00, 05:30, 06:30, 07:00, 07:30) when bank websites typically update their rates.

API Endpoints

The API provides two main endpoints:

GET /

Returns current exchange rates from all banks for today.

Parameters: None

Response: JSON object with rates from all sources

GET /info/{date}/{source?}

Returns exchange rates for a specific date, optionally filtered by bank.

Parameters:

• date (required) - Date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• source (optional) - Bank identifier: bcv, banplus, bnc, or bdv

Examples:

# All banks for a specific date
curl http://localhost:8000/info/2026-03-04

# Specific bank and date
curl http://localhost:8000/info/2026-03-04/bcv

Next Steps

How It Works

Learn about the scraping architecture

Configuration

Customize environment variables

Deployment

Deploy to production

Data Sources

Understand the bank data sources

Troubleshooting

No rates returned (404 error)

This means no exchange rates have been fetched yet. Run:

php artisan rates:update

Scraping fails for a specific bank

Some banks may temporarily block requests or change their website structure. Check the logs:

tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

The system is designed to continue working even if one bank fails.

Cache not working

Ensure your cache configuration is correct in .env:

CACHE_STORE=database

Clear the cache if needed:

php artisan cache:clear