Start a conversation.
const url = 'https://shiftagent.example.com/conversations';const options = { method: 'POST', headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}, body: '{"user_id":"usr_01hzx8jane001","title":"Invoice questions","metadata":{"host_ref":"ticket-4521"}}'};
try { const response = await fetch(url, options); const data = await response.json(); console.log(data);} catch (error) { console.error(error);}curl --request POST \ --url https://shiftagent.example.com/conversations \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \ --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data '{ "user_id": "usr_01hzx8jane001", "title": "Invoice questions", "metadata": { "host_ref": "ticket-4521" } }'Creates a conversation for a user, resolving and snapshotting its
context at creation: user → role → repository → skills, recorded in
context {role_id, repository_id, skill_ids} so history is
self-explaining.
- If the user holds exactly one role it is used; multiple roles
without an explicit
role_idrespond422role-required(no silent guessing). repository_idpins a conversation-level override in the resolution cascade (message → conversation → user → role → tenant default).runtimeselects the agent runtime (agent_type, open enum) and placement:pooled(default) orstickywithsticky_ttl_seconds(capped by tenant settings).filler {enabled}overrides the tenant’s filler-agent default for this conversation.on_capacitychooses the capacity strategy for the initial message (rejectdefault;holdqueues withqueuedstream events).- A per-conversation storage bucket is auto-attached.
Response shape depends on initial_message: without it, 201
with the conversation JSON; with it, 200 streaming
application/x-ndjson — the conversation object rides in
message_start.data.conversation, then the assistant reply streams
as usual (see createMessage for the full event protocol).
Authorizations
Section titled “Authorizations ”Parameters
Section titled “ Parameters ”Header Parameters
Section titled “Header Parameters ”Optional idempotency key (any unique string, e.g. a UUID; max 255 chars). Responses are cached 24h per (key principal, operation, key); replays return the original status and body with Idempotency-Replayed: true. Reusing a key with a different payload responds 409 idempotency-key-conflict.
Request Body required
Section titled “Request Body required ”Body for createConversation.
object
Owning user.
Display title.
Role to resolve the context under. Optional when the user holds exactly one role; required otherwise (422 role-required).
Conversation-level repository override.
Narrowing within the resolved context skills.
Runtime knobs at conversation creation.
object
Agent runtime (open enum — e.g. claude-agent-sdk, codex, deepagent). Defaults from tenant settings. Immutable afterwards.
Placement mode.
Sticky lease TTL. Capped by tenant.settings.max_sticky_ttl_seconds (422 beyond the cap). Defaults to 300 when mode is sticky.
Conversation-level filler override.
object
Whether the low-latency filler agent runs for this scope.
Capacity strategy for the initial message: reject → 429 capacity-exhausted + Retry-After; hold → queue with queued stream events (bounded by the deployment’s max hold time).
Free-form string key–value map for host/adapter bookkeeping (e.g. a host-side reference ID). Max 50 keys; values max 500 chars. Replaced wholesale when provided in updates.
object
When present, the response is the NDJSON event stream (200) instead of the conversation JSON (201); the conversation rides in message_start.data.conversation.
object
The user’s message text.
Optional typed blocks (extensibility).
Typed content block — the extensibility seam for richer runs. Known types: text, tool_call, tool_result; unknown types must be ignored by clients.
object
Block type (open enum).
Text content (for text blocks).
One-shot repository override for this run only (top of the resolution cascade).
Per-message skill narrowing — keeps the agent context lean. Must be within the conversation’s effective skills.
Plaintext, non-secret run parameters, visible to the agent verbatim. Never place secret material here — use secrets.
object
Write-only alias → value map. Vaulted at the boundary, conversation-scoped, never echoed anywhere; the agent sees only {{secret:ALIAS}} placeholders resolved by the egress proxy.
object
Per-message filler override (most specific wins).
object
Whether the low-latency filler agent runs for this scope.
reject → 429 capacity-exhausted + Retry-After when no sandbox is available; hold → the stream first emits queued events until one frees (bounded by the deployment’s max hold time).
Free-form string key–value map for host/adapter bookkeeping (e.g. a host-side reference ID). Max 50 keys; values max 500 chars. Replaced wholesale when provided in updates.
object
Examples
Start a conversation (no initial message)
{ "user_id": "usr_01hzx8jane001", "title": "Invoice questions", "metadata": { "host_ref": "ticket-4521" }}Sticky runtime + initial message (streams)
{ "user_id": "usr_01hzx8jane001", "runtime": { "agent_type": "claude-agent-sdk", "mode": "sticky", "sticky_ttl_seconds": 900 }, "filler": { "enabled": true }, "on_capacity": "hold", "initial_message": { "content": "Summarize today's open jobs." }}Responses
Section titled “ Responses ”Streaming response (only when initial_message is present): the NDJSON event stream. The created conversation is embedded in message_start.data.conversation; the protocol is identical to createMessage.
The assistant message has opened; deltas follow.
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
object
Present only on streams initiated by createConversation with initial_message — the just-created conversation.
object
Display title; auto-derivable from the first message.
Archived conversations keep readable history but reject message writes with 409 conversation-archived.
Conversation-level repository override in the cascade.
Resolution snapshot taken at conversation creation (user → role → repository → skills) — makes history self-explaining even after roles or repositories change.
object
The role the conversation was resolved under.
The effective repository at creation.
The effective skills at creation.
Optional narrowing within context.skill_ids; null means no narrowing.
Runtime placement state of a conversation. agent_type selects the agent runtime behind the platform’s runtime abstraction — each type runs in its own isolated sandbox.
object
Agent runtime — open enum so new runtimes are non-breaking. Known values: claude-agent-sdk, codex, deepagent. Defaults from tenant settings. Immutable after creation.
pooled — each message claims a warm-pool sandbox; sticky — a dedicated sandbox is leased for sticky_ttl_seconds (refreshed per message).
Lease TTL; null for pooled conversations.
warm — no dedicated sandbox held (pooled, or sticky before first message); active — sticky lease held; expired — sticky lease lapsed (next message re-acquires, subject to capacity).
Sticky lease expiry; null for pooled conversations.
S3-style storage bucket attached to a user or conversation. Platform-assigned automatically at creation; host-owned buckets can be linked via update (provider: "external").
object
platform — bucket provisioned and owned by the deployment; external — host-linked BYO bucket.
S3-style URI of the bucket root (e.g. s3://bucket/prefix).
Persisted message count (all roles).
Timestamp of the newest message; null when empty.
Free-form string key–value map for host/adapter bookkeeping (e.g. a host-side reference ID). Max 50 keys; values max 500 chars. Replaced wholesale when provided in updates.
object
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
A chunk of assistant output. data.filler: true marks low-latency filler output (render or suppress; not part of the persisted message).
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
object
The text chunk.
True when produced by the filler agent.
Emitted while the request is held for capacity (on_capacity=hold), before message_start. May repeat as the queue drains; bounded by the deployment’s max hold time, after which the stream terminates with a capacity-exhausted error event.
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
object
Position in the hold queue (1 = next).
Estimated wait until a sandbox frees.
The agent raised a HITL gate; the message parks in awaiting_approval. data is the full Approval object. Resolve via approveApproval / denyApproval.
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
A human-in-the-loop gate raised by the agent mid-run. Resolution requires a signed assertion minted with a per-tenant approver key (never the sk_int_ service key).
object
The assistant message parked on this approval.
expired — expires_at passed unresolved; the parked run ended failed.
Agent-stated explanation of why approval is needed.
What the agent needs (actions and/or secrets).
One thing the agent needs to proceed.
object
action — permission to perform a described action; secret — a credential to be supplied under alias via the approve body’s secrets map.
Agent-stated need, human-readable.
For secret items — the alias to vault the value under.
Resolution deadline; sticky sandboxes stay warm until then.
Approver-key identity that resolved it (e.g. approver_key:apk_…); null while pending.
Resolution time; null while pending.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
A pending approval was granted; the parked run continues toward message_end.
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
object
Denials terminate with an error event instead.
Terminal success event — data.message is the full persisted assistant message (also available via listMessages).
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
object
A persisted conversation message. Write-only request fields (secrets) are never present; env is echoed as sent (non-secret by contract).
object
Author role.
Full text content. Assistant content references secrets only by alias ({{secret:ALIAS}}) — never by value.
Typed content blocks.
Typed content block — the extensibility seam for richer runs. Known types: text, tool_call, tool_result; unknown types must be ignored by clients.
object
Block type (open enum).
Text content (for text blocks).
Per-message repository override used for this run.
Per-message skill narrowing used for this run.
Plaintext run parameters as sent (never secret material by contract).
awaiting_approval — parked on a pending HITL approval; failed — the run errored, was denied, or the approval expired.
Free-form string key–value map for host/adapter bookkeeping (e.g. a host-side reference ID). Max 50 keys; values max 500 chars. Replaced wholesale when provided in updates.
object
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
Terminal failure event — data is an RFC 9457 problem object (same registry as HTTP errors). The message ends failed.
object
Event discriminator.
The assistant message this event belongs to; null on queued events emitted before the run starts.
Monotonic per-response counter — gap ⇒ truncation.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Example
{ "object": "conversation.event", "type": "message_start", "data": { "role": "assistant", "conversation": { "object": "conversation", "status": "active", "runtime": { "mode": "sticky", "sandbox_state": "warm" }, "storage": { "provider": "platform" } } }}Conversation created (no initial message).
An agent conversation owned by a user within a tenant. Snapshots its resolution context at creation and carries live runtime state.
object
Display title; auto-derivable from the first message.
Archived conversations keep readable history but reject message writes with 409 conversation-archived.
Conversation-level repository override in the cascade.
Resolution snapshot taken at conversation creation (user → role → repository → skills) — makes history self-explaining even after roles or repositories change.
object
The role the conversation was resolved under.
The effective repository at creation.
The effective skills at creation.
Optional narrowing within context.skill_ids; null means no narrowing.
Runtime placement state of a conversation. agent_type selects the agent runtime behind the platform’s runtime abstraction — each type runs in its own isolated sandbox.
object
Agent runtime — open enum so new runtimes are non-breaking. Known values: claude-agent-sdk, codex, deepagent. Defaults from tenant settings. Immutable after creation.
pooled — each message claims a warm-pool sandbox; sticky — a dedicated sandbox is leased for sticky_ttl_seconds (refreshed per message).
Lease TTL; null for pooled conversations.
warm — no dedicated sandbox held (pooled, or sticky before first message); active — sticky lease held; expired — sticky lease lapsed (next message re-acquires, subject to capacity).
Sticky lease expiry; null for pooled conversations.
S3-style storage bucket attached to a user or conversation. Platform-assigned automatically at creation; host-owned buckets can be linked via update (provider: "external").
object
platform — bucket provisioned and owned by the deployment; external — host-linked BYO bucket.
S3-style URI of the bucket root (e.g. s3://bucket/prefix).
Persisted message count (all roles).
Timestamp of the newest message; null when empty.
Free-form string key–value map for host/adapter bookkeeping (e.g. a host-side reference ID). Max 50 keys; values max 500 chars. Replaced wholesale when provided in updates.
object
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
RFC 3339 / ISO 8601 timestamp, UTC.
Examples
Context snapshot resolved at creation
{ "object": "conversation", "id": "con_01hzx8conv001", "tenant_id": "tnt_01hzx8acme001", "user_id": "usr_01hzx8jane001", "title": "Invoice questions", "status": "active", "repository_id": null, "context": { "role_id": "rol_01hzx8csr001", "repository_id": "rep_01hzx8fieldops", "skill_ids": [ "skl_01hzx8dispatch", "skl_01hzx8invoice" ] }, "selected_skill_ids": null, "runtime": { "agent_type": "claude-agent-sdk", "mode": "pooled", "sticky_ttl_seconds": null, "sandbox_state": "warm", "expires_at": null }, "filler": null, "storage": { "provider": "platform", "bucket_uri": "s3://shiftagent-tenant-acme/con_01hzx8conv001" }, "message_count": 0, "last_message_at": null, "metadata": { "host_ref": "ticket-4521" }, "created_at": "2026-07-02T10:00:00Z", "updated_at": "2026-07-02T10:00:00Z"}Missing or invalid credentials — no bearer token, an unknown/revoked sk_int_ key, or an expired platform JWT.
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Examples
Missing or invalid bearer token
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/insufficient-scope", "title": "Unauthorized", "status": 401, "detail": "Provide a valid sk_int_ service key or platform JWT.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8auth001"}Forbidden — tenant-suspended (writes to a suspended tenant), insufficient-scope (key/token lacks the scope or a platform JWT reaches beyond its user), or approval-signature-invalid (approval assertion failed verification).
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Examples
Suspended tenant rejects conversation writes
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/tenant-suspended", "title": "Tenant suspended", "status": 403, "detail": "Tenant tnt_01hzx8acme001 is suspended; conversation writes are rejected.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8sus001"}Approval assertion failed verification
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/approval-signature-invalid", "title": "Approval signature invalid", "status": 403, "detail": "Signature did not verify against approver key apk_01hzx8host001.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8sig001"}Not found — the resource does not exist, was deprovisioned, or lies outside the integration key’s subtree (indistinguishable by design).
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Examples
Unknown resource
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/not-found", "title": "Not found", "status": 404, "detail": "No tenant with external_id acme:tenant:999999.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8nf001"}Unprocessable — validation-error (schema/semantic validation failed; errors[] lists JSON-pointer details) or role-required (user has multiple roles and no role_id was given).
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Examples
Field-level validation failure
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/validation-error", "title": "Validation error", "status": 422, "detail": "One or more fields failed validation.", "errors": [ { "pointer": "/skill_access/skill_ids/0", "message": "skl_01hzx8unknown does not belong to the effective repository." } ], "request_id": "req_01hzx8val001"}Ambiguous role at conversation creation
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/role-required", "title": "Role required", "status": 422, "detail": "User usr_01hzx8jane001 holds 2 roles; pass role_id explicitly.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8role01"}Too many requests — capacity-exhausted (no sandbox available, or the maximum hold time elapsed under on_capacity=hold) or rate-limited. Honor Retry-After.
RFC 9457 problem+json error envelope. type is a URI under https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/{slug} (deployment host substituted); see the API-level problem registry for every slug.
object
Problem type URI (registry slug).
Short, human-readable summary of the problem type.
HTTP status code.
Human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence.
URI reference identifying this occurrence.
Correlation ID for support and log lookup.
On name-conflict, external-id-conflict, and resource-in-use: the ID of the existing/depended-on resource — fetch it and continue (replay recovery).
On validation-error, field-level details.
object
JSON pointer to the offending field.
What failed.
Examples
Sandbox pool exhausted (on_capacity=reject)
{ "type": "https://shiftagent.example.com/problems/capacity-exhausted", "title": "Capacity exhausted", "status": 429, "detail": "No sandbox available; retry after the indicated delay or use on_capacity=hold.", "request_id": "req_01hzx8cap001"}Headers
Section titled “Headers ”Seconds to wait before retrying.