Freeagent API

FreeAgent API Orchestration Skill

FreeAgent is an online accounting system for freelancers and small businesses. This skill provides intelligent navigation to FreeAgent API resources and orchestrates common workflows.

Quick Reference: Which Resource Do I Need?

Orchestration Protocol

Phase 1: Task Analysis

Identify what the user needs:

By Resource Type:

• Authentication issue? → authentication-setup.md
• Managing contacts/clients? → contacts-organizations.md
• Financial data (invoices, expenses, projects)? → accounting-objects.md
• Banking/reconciliation? → banking-financial.md
• Error or production concern? → advanced-patterns.md
• Practical example needed? → examples.md

By HTTP Method:

• GET: List or retrieve → check relevant domain resource
• POST: Create → load resource file, check required fields
• PUT: Update → load resource file, verify patch fields
• DELETE: Remove → check resource-specific constraints

Phase 2: Resource Navigation

Load the appropriate resource file and:

1. Find the endpoint section (e.g., "Contacts", "Invoices", "Bank Accounts")
2. Review required/optional parameters
3. Check request and response formats
4. Use provided curl or Python examples

For template code: templates/api-request-template.sh (bash) or templates/python-client.py (Python)

Phase 3: Execution & Validation

Before API call:

• Verify authentication is set up (check authentication-setup.md if needed)
• Validate required fields are present
• Format dates as ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) and timestamps (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ)
• Use correct resource URLs (e.g., https://api.freeagent.com/v2/contacts/123)

During API call:

• Use templates as starting points
• Monitor rate limit headers: X-RateLimit-Remaining
• Implement retry logic for 429 errors (see advanced-patterns.md)

After API call:

• Check response status code
• Parse JSON response (resource name is top-level key)
• Apply error handling patterns if needed

Quick Start: Authentication

1. Create OAuth app: https://dev.freeagent.com/
2. Get authorization code: https://api.freeagent.com/v2/approve_app?client_id=YOUR_ID
3. Exchange for tokens at https://api.freeagent.com/v2/token_endpoint
4. Store in environment variables: FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN, FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN
5. Include in every request: Authorization: Bearer $FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN

→ See Authentication & Setup for detailed walkthrough

API Domain Overview

Production URL: https://api.freeagent.com/v2/ Sandbox URL: https://api.sandbox.freeagent.com/v2/ (test without affecting production)

Rate Limits: 120 requests/minute, 3600 requests/hour Response Format: JSON with resource wrapper (e.g., {"contact": {...}} or {"contacts": [...]})

Common HTTP Patterns

Templates & Code Examples

Bash/cURL Template: templates/api-request-template.sh

• Flexible curl template for any endpoint
• GET/POST/PUT/DELETE support
• Header and parameter configuration

Python Client: templates/python-client.py

• Reusable FreeAgentClient class
• Error handling and rate limit support
• Convenience methods for common resources

Practical Examples: resources/examples.md

• Real-world workflows (create invoice, log timeslip, etc.)
• Python code patterns with the client class
• Error handling examples
• Bulk operations (import/export)

Resource Files Summary

Troubleshooting Quick Links

401 Unauthorized → Authentication Setup 422 Validation Error → Advanced Patterns 429 Rate Limit → Advanced Patterns Specific Endpoint Help → Check relevant domain resource file above

Remember: Load only the resource file(s) you need for the current task. Start with the Quick Reference table above to identify which resource contains your answer.