OpenWhispr/openwhispr-api

OpenWhispr API v1

Use this reference when making requests to the OpenWhispr REST API. All endpoints are under the V1 path and require API key authentication.

Authentication

Pass the API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header on every request.

Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY

Generate keys from the OpenWhispr desktop app under Settings > API Keys. Keys start with owk_live_ and are shown once at creation.

Scopes

Each key has scoped permissions. The API rejects requests missing the required scope with 403 Forbidden.

| Scope | Grants | |-------|--------| | notes:read | List, get, and search notes. List folders. | | notes:write | Create, update, and delete notes. Create folders. | | transcriptions:read | List and get transcriptions. | | usage:read | Read usage statistics. |

Base URL

https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1

Response Envelope

Wrap all responses in a consistent envelope.

Single resource:

{ "data": { "id": "uuid", "title": "My note", ... } }

Paginated list:

{
  "data": [{ ... }, { ... }],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_cursor": "2026-04-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}

Error:

{ "error": { "code": "not_found", "message": "Note not found" } }

Error Codes

| HTTP Status | Code | Meaning | |-------------|------|---------| | 400 | validation_error | Invalid request body or query params | | 401 | invalid_api_key | Missing, malformed, expired, or revoked key | | 403 | forbidden | Key lacks required scope | | 404 | not_found | Resource does not exist or belongs to another user | | 405 | method_not_allowed | Wrong HTTP method | | 409 | conflict | Duplicate resource (e.g. folder name) | | 429 | rate_limited | Rate limit exceeded — check Retry-After header | | 500 | internal_error | Server error |

Rate Limits

Enforced per API key with minute and daily windows. Search requests cost 5x against the rate limit.

| Plan | Per Minute | Per Day | |------|-----------|---------| | Free | 30 | 1,000 | | Pro | 120 | 10,000 | | Business | 300 | 50,000 |

Response headers on every request:

| Header | Description | |--------|-------------| | X-RateLimit-Limit | Max requests per minute | | X-RateLimit-Remaining | Remaining in current window | | X-RateLimit-Reset | Unix timestamp when window resets | | Retry-After | Seconds to wait (only on 429) |

Pagination

List endpoints use cursor-based pagination. Pass the next_cursor value from a previous response as the cursor query parameter to fetch the next page. When has_more is false, there are no more results.

GET /notes/list?limit=50&cursor=2026-04-15T10:30:00.000Z

Endpoints

Notes

List Notes — GET /notes/list | Param | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | limit | integer | No | 1-100, default 50 | | cursor | string | No | Pagination cursor | | folder_id | UUID | No | Filter by folder | Scope: notes:read

Get Note — GET /notes/{id} Scope: notes:read. Returns 404 if the note does not exist or is deleted.

Create Note — POST /notes/create | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | content | string | Yes | Note body text | | title | string | No | Note title | | enhanced_content | string | No | Cleaned/enhanced version | | note_type | enum | No | personal (default), meeting, upload | | folder_id | UUID | No | Target folder | Scope: notes:write. Returns 201 with the created note.

Update Note — PATCH /notes/{id} | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | title | string | No | New title | | content | string | No | New content | | enhanced_content | string | No | New enhanced content | | folder_id | UUID | No | Move to folder | Scope: notes:write. All fields optional — only provided fields are updated.

Delete Note — DELETE /notes/{id} Scope: notes:write. Soft-deletes the note. Returns 204 No Content.

Search Notes — POST /notes/search | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | query | string | Yes | Search text (1-500 chars) | | limit | integer | No | 1-50, default 20 | Scope: notes:read. Uses hybrid semantic (vector) + full-text search with relevance scoring. Costs 5x against rate limit.

Folders

List Folders — GET /folders/list Scope: notes:read. Returns all folders sorted by sort_order then created_at.

Create Folder — POST /folders/create | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | name | string | Yes | Folder name (1-100 chars) | | sort_order | integer | No | Sort position | Scope: notes:write. Max 50 folders per user. Returns 409 if name already exists.

Transcriptions

List Transcriptions — GET /transcriptions/list | Param | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | limit | integer | No | 1-100, default 50 | | cursor | string | No | Pagination cursor | Scope: transcriptions:read. Returns transcription history with text, word_count, source, provider, model, language, audio_duration_ms, processing_ms.

Get Transcription — GET /transcriptions/{id} Scope: transcriptions:read.

Usage

Get Usage — GET /usage Scope: usage:read. Returns:

• words_used — Words consumed this period
• words_remaining — Words left in quota
• limit — Total word quota
• plan — Current plan (free, pro, business)
• is_subscribed — Whether user has active subscription
• current_period_end — End of current billing period
• billing_interval — Billing cycle

MCP Server

For AI assistant integration (Claude, Cursor, VS Code), connect to the remote MCP server at:

https://mcp.openwhispr.com/mcp

Pass the API key via Authorization: Bearer header. All V1 endpoints are available as MCP tools. The server uses Streamable HTTP transport (stateless, no sessions).

Claude Code

claude mcp add openwhispr --transport http https://mcp.openwhispr.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY"

Cursor / VS Code

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openwhispr": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openwhispr.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Examples

List recent notes

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1/notes/list?limit=10"

Create a note in a folder

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"content": "Remember to review PR #42", "title": "TODO", "folder_id": "UUID"}' \
  https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1/notes/create

Search notes

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "quarterly budget discussion"}' \
  https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1/notes/search

Paginate through all notes

cursor=""
while true; do
  response=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
    "https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1/notes/list?limit=100&cursor=${cursor}")
  echo "$response" | jq '.data[]'
  has_more=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.has_more')
  [ "$has_more" != "true" ] && break
  cursor=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.next_cursor')
done

Check usage

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer owk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  https://api.openwhispr.com/api/v1/usage