For agents — source-of-truth: This skill is authored in roboflow/computer-vision-skills and shipped with the Roboflow plugin. If your client has loaded the plugin (you'll see roboflow:<name> skills in your available skills list), use those local skills — they're read fresh from disk every session. The same content served as MCP resources at roboflow://skills/<name>/... is a fallback for clients without the plugin and may lag this repo. Don't call ReadMcpResourceTool for roboflow://skills/... URIs when a local roboflow:<name> skill is available.
Tip: If you're connected to the Roboflow MCP server, prefer its tools (projects_*, versions_*, models_*, workflows_*, images_*, …) over raw REST calls — they handle auth, pagination, and typed responses for you. The REST patterns below stay relevant if you're not using MCP.
Roboflow API Reference — Overview
API Hosts
| Host |
Base URL |
Purpose |
| Platform API |
https://api.roboflow.com |
CRUD for projects, images, versions, training, upload |
| Serverless Inference |
https://serverless.roboflow.com |
Model inference + Workflow execution |
| Dedicated Deployment |
https://<name>.roboflow.cloud |
Private GPU inference (same API as serverless) |
| Self-hosted Inference |
http://localhost:9001 |
Local inference server via inference package |
Use the inference-sdk Python package as the preferred client for all inference hosts. It handles auth, retries, and response parsing.
Authentication
| Method |
Where |
Format |
| Query parameter |
All hosts |
?api_key=YOUR_KEY |
| Request body |
Platform API + Workflow inference |
"api_key": "YOUR_KEY" in JSON body |
| Header |
MCP server (mcp.roboflow.com) |
x-api-key: YOUR_KEY (handled automatically by MCP) |
API keys are workspace-scoped. Get yours from Workspace Settings > API Keys in the Roboflow dashboard (app.roboflow.com/{workspace}/settings/api). Personal API keys are at /settings/account → API Keys tab.
SDKs
| SDK |
Install |
Primary Use |
Python (inference-sdk) |
pip install inference-sdk |
Inference via InferenceHTTPClient |
Python (roboflow) |
pip install roboflow |
Upload, training, project management |
JavaScript (roboflow.js) |
Browser script tag |
Real-time on-device web inference |
| iOS (Swift) |
CocoaPods/SPM |
On-device mobile inference |
Python inference-sdk Quick Start
from inference_sdk import InferenceHTTPClient
CLIENT = InferenceHTTPClient(
api_url="https://serverless.roboflow.com", # or dedicated URL, or localhost
api_key="YOUR_KEY"
)
result = CLIENT.infer("image.jpg", model_id="your-project/1")
Python roboflow SDK Quick Start
import roboflow
rf = roboflow.Roboflow(api_key="YOUR_KEY")
project = rf.workspace("my-workspace").project("my-project")
# Upload
project.upload(image_path="image.jpg", split="train")
# Inference
model = project.version(1).model
result = model.predict("image.jpg", confidence=40).json()
Host Selection Guide
| Task |
Host to Use |
| Run model inference |
serverless.roboflow.com |
| Run Workflows |
serverless.roboflow.com |
| Upload images |
api.roboflow.com |
| Manage projects/versions |
api.roboflow.com |
| Start training |
api.roboflow.com |
| High-throughput / SLA inference |
Dedicated deployment URL |
| Air-gapped / on-prem inference |
Self-hosted localhost:9001 |
| Real-time video / webcam / RTSP |
WebRTC via inference_sdk.webrtc against serverless or local — see roboflow://skills/roboflow-inference/workflows ("Video Stream" section). Not a plain HTTP call. |
Rate Limits
- Serverless API: rate limits vary by plan
- File upload max: 20 MB
Related Pages
roboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/inference — inference URL patterns, request/response formatsroboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/rest-api — platform REST API endpoints (CRUD, upload, training)roboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/api-key-management — creating and managing API keys via REST, MCP tools, and Python CLI. When creating a key, scope it to least privilege if the workspace has Advanced API Keys; if not, tell the user scoped keys are an Enterprise feature.
1---2name: roboflow-api-reference3description: Protocol-level facts for Roboflow REST and Inference APIs — URL patterns, auth, parameters, error codes, and SDK quick-start. For deployment strategy and Workflow execution patterns, see roboflow-inference.4---56> **For agents — source-of-truth:** This skill is authored in [`roboflow/computer-vision-skills`](https://github.com/roboflow/computer-vision-skills) and shipped with the Roboflow plugin. If your client has loaded the plugin (you'll see `roboflow:<name>` skills in your available skills list), use those local skills — they're read fresh from disk every session. The same content served as MCP resources at `roboflow://skills/<name>/...` is a fallback for clients without the plugin and may lag this repo. **Don't call `ReadMcpResourceTool` for `roboflow://skills/...` URIs when a local `roboflow:<name>` skill is available.**78> **Tip:** If you're connected to the [Roboflow MCP server](https://mcp.roboflow.com), prefer its tools (`projects_*`, `versions_*`, `models_*`, `workflows_*`, `images_*`, …) over raw REST calls — they handle auth, pagination, and typed responses for you. The REST patterns below stay relevant if you're not using MCP.910# Roboflow API Reference — Overview1112## API Hosts1314| Host | Base URL | Purpose |15|------|----------|---------|16| Platform API | `https://api.roboflow.com` | CRUD for projects, images, versions, training, upload |17| Serverless Inference | `https://serverless.roboflow.com` | Model inference + Workflow execution |18| Dedicated Deployment | `https://<name>.roboflow.cloud` | Private GPU inference (same API as serverless) |19| Self-hosted Inference | `http://localhost:9001` | Local inference server via `inference` package |2021Use the `inference-sdk` Python package as the preferred client for all inference hosts. It handles auth, retries, and response parsing.2223## Authentication2425| Method | Where | Format |26|--------|-------|--------|27| Query parameter | All hosts | `?api_key=YOUR_KEY` |28| Request body | Platform API + Workflow inference | `"api_key": "YOUR_KEY"` in JSON body |29| Header | MCP server (`mcp.roboflow.com`) | `x-api-key: YOUR_KEY` (handled automatically by MCP) |3031API keys are workspace-scoped. Get yours from **Workspace Settings > API Keys** in the Roboflow dashboard (`app.roboflow.com/{workspace}/settings/api`). Personal API keys are at `/settings/account` → API Keys tab.3233## SDKs3435| SDK | Install | Primary Use |36|-----|---------|-------------|37| Python (`inference-sdk`) | `pip install inference-sdk` | Inference via `InferenceHTTPClient` |38| Python (`roboflow`) | `pip install roboflow` | Upload, training, project management |39| JavaScript (`roboflow.js`) | Browser script tag | Real-time on-device web inference |40| iOS (Swift) | CocoaPods/SPM | On-device mobile inference |4142### Python inference-sdk Quick Start4344```python45from inference_sdk import InferenceHTTPClient4647CLIENT = InferenceHTTPClient(48 api_url="https://serverless.roboflow.com", # or dedicated URL, or localhost49 api_key="YOUR_KEY"50)51result = CLIENT.infer("image.jpg", model_id="your-project/1")52```5354### Python roboflow SDK Quick Start5556```python57import roboflow5859rf = roboflow.Roboflow(api_key="YOUR_KEY")60project = rf.workspace("my-workspace").project("my-project")6162# Upload63project.upload(image_path="image.jpg", split="train")6465# Inference66model = project.version(1).model67result = model.predict("image.jpg", confidence=40).json()68```6970## Host Selection Guide7172| Task | Host to Use |73|------|-------------|74| Run model inference | `serverless.roboflow.com` |75| Run Workflows | `serverless.roboflow.com` |76| Upload images | `api.roboflow.com` |77| Manage projects/versions | `api.roboflow.com` |78| Start training | `api.roboflow.com` |79| High-throughput / SLA inference | Dedicated deployment URL |80| Air-gapped / on-prem inference | Self-hosted `localhost:9001` |81| Real-time video / webcam / RTSP | WebRTC via `inference_sdk.webrtc` against serverless or local — see `roboflow://skills/roboflow-inference/workflows` ("Video Stream" section). Not a plain HTTP call. |8283## Rate Limits8485- Serverless API: rate limits vary by plan86- File upload max: 20 MB8788## Related Pages8990- `roboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/inference` — inference URL patterns, request/response formats91- `roboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/rest-api` — platform REST API endpoints (CRUD, upload, training)92- `roboflow://skills/roboflow-api-reference/api-key-management` — creating and managing API keys via REST, MCP tools, and Python CLI. **When creating a key, scope it to least privilege** if the workspace has Advanced API Keys; if not, tell the user scoped keys are an Enterprise feature.
roboflow