Search. Describe. Quote. Run.
GET /api/capabilities searches by natural-language query and category. Describe the selected slug before constructing input: its schema is the source of truth for fields, pricing, file requirements, and execution support.
- SearchFind candidates with
?q=compress%20pdf. - DescribeRead
execution.machine_run_statusand the input schema. - QuoteConfirm price, wallet clearance, and save the returned
quote_id. - RunSend the same input, quote ID, and a unique idempotency key.
export SWARME_API_KEY="YOUR_SWARME_API_KEY"
export SWARME_BASE_URL="https://YOUR_SWARME_HOST"
curl "$SWARME_BASE_URL/api/capabilities?q=compress%20pdf&limit=10"
curl "$SWARME_BASE_URL/api/capabilities/compress-pdf"
curl -X POST "$SWARME_BASE_URL/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/quote" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SWARME_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"input":{},"client_type":"api"}'
curl -X POST "$SWARME_BASE_URL/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/run" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SWARME_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: YOUR_UNIQUE_REQUEST_ID" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"input":{},"client_type":"api","quote_id":"YOUR_QUOTE_ID"}'Authenticate with least privilege.
Create a scoped API key from Dashboard → Developers. Send Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SWARME_API_KEY. Never put a key in client-side code, URLs, logs, or a repository.
Scopes
Use only the needed scopes: capabilities:read, capabilities:quote, capabilities:run, uploads:write, artifacts:read, and billing:read.
Spend limits
Each client may have a USD cap. Check GET /api/account/balance before paid work; wallet or spend-limit failures are hard stops.
Idempotency
Use one stable Idempotency-Key per logical quote/run attempt. Replays return the original work; a key cannot safely represent different input. Paid API runs may require it.
Quotes
Quote immediately before execution and pass its quote_id. Surface the price or policy failure to the user.
Use short-lived upload sessions.
Create a session for the selected slug, upload raw bytes to its returned URL with the dedicated token, then supply upload_id (or upload_ids) in quote and run input. Validate filename, MIME type, and size against describe. Never reuse or log an upload token.
# Create a session. Keep its upload_token private.
curl -X POST "$SWARME_BASE_URL/api/capabilities/compress-pdf/upload-session" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SWARME_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"input":{"filename":"document.pdf","content_type":"application/pdf","size_bytes":12345},"client_type":"api"}'
# Read upload_url and upload_token from the response, then:
curl -X PUT "YOUR_UPLOAD_URL" -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_UPLOAD_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/pdf" --data-binary @document.pdf
# Quote and run with upload_id; then poll /api/capability-runs/YOUR_RUN_ID.Poll status; cancel cooperatively.
GET /api/capability-runs/{run_id}Read queued, running, retrying, completed, failed, or cancelled state.POST /api/capability-runs/{run_id}/cancelCancel queued work or request cooperative cancellation.GET /api/capability-runs/{run_id}/artifactsList permission-checked artifacts, then follow their download links.machine_run_status is a safety gate
The canonical values are supported, requires_worker, plan_only, and describe_only. supported executes in the declared mode. requires_worker preserves the worker-required response until that runtime is ready. plan_only returns a client plan without server processing. describe_only blocks quote/run. The legacy value runnable is accepted as supported for backward compatibility. Treat missing or unknown values as describe_only and re-describe before execution.
The same safe flow, as tools.
Connect a streamable HTTP client to https://swarme.io/mcp. Begin with tools/list; do not assume a cached list.
swarme_capabilities_searchswarme_capability_describeswarme_account_balanceswarme_tool_quoteswarme_tool_runswarme_tool_statusswarme_tool_cancelswarme_tool_artifactsswarme_upload_session_createInspect machine_run_status after describe. Quote/run only supported, requires_worker, or plan_only; refuse describe_only, missing, and unknown values. Keep approval boundaries around paid runs and file access.
{
"mcpServers": {
"swarme": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "https://YOUR_SWARME_HOST/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${SWARME_API_KEY}" }
}
}
}Version and deprecate contracts explicitly.
The contract manifest inventories REST, MCP tools, execution and run states, quote/run and file lifecycles, errors, and scopes. The machine-readable changelog classifies changes as additive, behavioral-risk, or breaking. Unknown manifest elements fail compatibility checks conservatively.
Run php bin/check-contract-compatibility.php --baseline=BASELINE.json --candidate=CANDIDATE.json locally or in CI. Breaking changes fail unless their stable change IDs appear in an explicit local approvals file.
Deprecation convention
When deprecation is activated for an element, publish manifest deprecated metadata and use standard Deprecation, Sunset, and Link: <...>; rel=deprecation headers plus Swarme-Contract-Version. The configured target is at least 90 days' notice when practical. It is a governance target—not an SLA—and urgent security, legal, abuse-prevention, or uncontrollable upstream changes may require less notice. This increment configures and documents the convention only; it does not deprecate or remove any endpoint.
Use any HTTP client.
These examples use environment variables and placeholders only. They contain no credentials. The source distribution also includes copyable, dependency-free examples/rest-agent.php and examples/mcp-agent.php recipes covering search through artifacts or cancellation, with an explicit --approve boundary and optional --file=PATH upload.
Before integration, run php bin/check-agent-contract.php against bundled versioned fixtures. Supplying --base-url=URL is explicit and performs only read-only public discovery checks. These are reusable starter clients—not a generated SDK or a frozen SDK API.
const baseUrl = process.env.SWARME_BASE_URL ?? "https://YOUR_SWARME_HOST";
const apiKey = process.env.SWARME_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error("Set SWARME_API_KEY");
const request = async (path: string, init: RequestInit = {}) => {
const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}${path}`, {
...init,
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}`, "Content-Type": "application/json", ...init.headers },
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
return response.json();
};
const described = await request("/api/capabilities/uuid-generator");
const rawStatus = described.capability?.execution?.machine_run_status;
const machineStatus = rawStatus === "runnable" ? "supported" : rawStatus;
const allowedStatuses = new Set(["supported", "requires_worker", "plan_only"]);
if (!allowedStatuses.has(machineStatus)) throw new Error("Capability is describe-only; describe again before execution");
const quote = await request("/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/quote", {
method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({ input: {}, client_type: "api" }),
});
const run = await request("/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/run", {
method: "POST", headers: { "Idempotency-Key": crypto.randomUUID() },
body: JSON.stringify({ input: {}, client_type: "api", quote_id: quote.quote.quote_id }),
});
const status = await request(`/api/capability-runs/${run.run_id}`);import os, uuid, requests
base_url = os.getenv("SWARME_BASE_URL", "https://YOUR_SWARME_HOST")
api_key = os.environ["SWARME_API_KEY"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
described = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/capabilities/uuid-generator", headers=headers, timeout=30).json()
raw_status = described.get("capability", {}).get("execution", {}).get("machine_run_status")
machine_status = "supported" if raw_status == "runnable" else raw_status
if machine_status not in {"supported", "requires_worker", "plan_only"}:
raise RuntimeError("Capability is describe-only; describe again before execution")
quote = requests.post(
f"{base_url}/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/quote",
headers=headers, json={"input": {}, "client_type": "api"}, timeout=30,
).json()
run = requests.post(
f"{base_url}/api/capabilities/uuid-generator/run",
headers={**headers, "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4())},
json={"input": {}, "client_type": "api", "quote_id": quote["quote"]["quote_id"]}, timeout=30,
).json()
status = requests.get(f"{base_url}/api/capability-runs/{run['run_id']}", headers=headers, timeout=30).json()