How do I install the API Reference skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/api-reference-20 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the API Reference skill do?

Sessions manage conversation state, track context usage, and extract long-term memories. It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.

Is API Reference safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: CAUTION, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with API Reference?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is API Reference free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published API Reference?

tools-only (@tools-only) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

API Reference by tools-only — Agent Skill

Name: API Reference
Author: tools-only

Sessions

Sessions manage conversation state, track context usage, and extract long-term memories.

API Reference

create_session()

Create a new session.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
session_id	str	No	None	Session ID. Creates new session with auto-generated ID if None

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

# Create new session (auto-generated ID)
session = client.session()
print(f"Session URI: {session.uri}")

HTTP API

POST /api/v1/sessions

curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

CLI

openviking session new

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": {
    "session_id": "a1b2c3d4",
    "user": "alice"
  },
  "time": 0.1
}

list_sessions()

List all sessions.

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

sessions = client.ls("viking://session/")
for s in sessions:
    print(f"{s['name']}")

HTTP API

GET /api/v1/sessions

curl -X GET http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

CLI

openviking session list

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": [
    {"session_id": "a1b2c3d4", "user": "alice"},
    {"session_id": "e5f6g7h8", "user": "bob"}
  ],
  "time": 0.1
}

get_session()

Get session details.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
session_id	str	Yes	-	Session ID

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

# Load existing session
session = client.session(session_id="a1b2c3d4")
session.load()
print(f"Loaded {len(session.messages)} messages")

HTTP API

GET /api/v1/sessions/{session_id}

curl -X GET http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4 \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

CLI

openviking session get a1b2c3d4

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": {
    "session_id": "a1b2c3d4",
    "user": "alice",
    "message_count": 5
  },
  "time": 0.1
}

delete_session()

Delete a session.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
session_id	str	Yes	-	Session ID to delete

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

client.rm("viking://session/a1b2c3d4/", recursive=True)

HTTP API

DELETE /api/v1/sessions/{session_id}

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4 \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

CLI

openviking session delete a1b2c3d4

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": {
    "session_id": "a1b2c3d4"
  },
  "time": 0.1
}

add_message()

Add a message to the session.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
role	str	Yes	-	Message role: "user" or "assistant"
parts	List[Part]	Conditional	-	List of message parts (Required for Python SDK; Optional for HTTP API, mutually exclusive with content)
content	str	Conditional	-	Message text content (HTTP API simple mode, mutually exclusive with parts)

Note: HTTP API supports two modes:

Simple mode: Use content string (backward compatible)

Parts mode: Use parts array (full Part support)

If both content and parts are provided, parts takes precedence.

Part Types (Python SDK)

from openviking.message import TextPart, ContextPart, ToolPart

# Text content
TextPart(text="Hello, how can I help?")

# Context reference
ContextPart(
    uri="viking://resources/docs/auth/",
    context_type="resource",  # "resource", "memory", or "skill"
    abstract="Authentication guide..."
)

# Tool call
ToolPart(
    tool_id="call_123",
    tool_name="search_web",
    skill_uri="viking://skills/search-web/",
    tool_input={"query": "OAuth best practices"},
    tool_output="",
    tool_status="pending"  # "pending", "running", "completed", "error"
)

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

from openviking.message import TextPart

session = client.session()

# Add user message
session.add_message("user", [
    TextPart(text="How do I authenticate users?")
])

# Add assistant response
session.add_message("assistant", [
    TextPart(text="You can use OAuth 2.0 for authentication...")
])

HTTP API

POST /api/v1/sessions/{session_id}/messages

Simple Mode (Backward Compatible)

# Add user message
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{
    "role": "user",
    "content": "How do I authenticate users?"
  }'

Parts Mode (Full Part Support)

# Add assistant message with context reference
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{
    "role": "assistant",
    "parts": [
      {"type": "text", "text": "Based on the authentication guide..."},
      {"type": "context", "uri": "viking://resources/docs/auth/", "context_type": "resource", "abstract": "Auth guide"}
    ]
  }'

# Add assistant message with tool call
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{
    "role": "assistant",
    "parts": [
      {"type": "text", "text": "Let me search for that..."},
      {"type": "tool", "tool_id": "call_123", "tool_name": "search_web", "tool_input": {"query": "OAuth"}, "tool_status": "completed", "tool_output": "Results..."}
    ]
  }'

CLI

openviking session add-message a1b2c3d4 --role user --content "How do I authenticate users?"

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": {
    "session_id": "a1b2c3d4",
    "message_count": 2
  },
  "time": 0.1
}

commit()

Commit a session by archiving messages and extracting memories.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
session_id	str	Yes	-	Session ID to commit

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

session = client.session(session_id="a1b2c3d4")
session.load()

# Commit archives messages and extracts memories
result = session.commit()
print(f"Status: {result['status']}")
print(f"Memories extracted: {result['memories_extracted']}")

HTTP API

POST /api/v1/sessions/{session_id}/commit

curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/commit \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

CLI

openviking session commit a1b2c3d4

Response

{
  "status": "ok",
  "result": {
    "session_id": "a1b2c3d4",
    "status": "committed",
    "archived": true
  },
  "time": 0.1
}

Session Properties

Property	Type	Description
uri	str	Session Viking URI (`viking://session/{session_id}/`)
messages	List[Message]	Current messages in the session
stats	SessionStats	Session statistics
summary	str	Compression summary
usage_records	List[Usage]	Context and skill usage records

Session Storage Structure

viking://session/{session_id}/
+-- .abstract.md              # L0: Session overview
+-- .overview.md              # L1: Key decisions
+-- messages.jsonl            # Current messages
+-- tools/                    # Tool executions
|   +-- {tool_id}/
|       +-- tool.json
+-- .meta.json                # Metadata
+-- .relations.json           # Related contexts
+-- history/                  # Archived history
    +-- archive_001/
    |   +-- messages.jsonl
    |   +-- .abstract.md
    |   +-- .overview.md
    +-- archive_002/

Memory Categories

Category	Location	Description
profile	`user/memories/.overview.md`	User profile information
preferences	`user/memories/preferences/`	User preferences by topic
entities	`user/memories/entities/`	Important entities (people, projects)
events	`user/memories/events/`	Significant events
cases	`agent/memories/cases/`	Problem-solution cases
patterns	`agent/memories/patterns/`	Interaction patterns

Full Example

Python SDK (Embedded / HTTP)

import openviking as ov
from openviking.message import TextPart, ContextPart

# Initialize client
client = ov.OpenViking(path="./my_data")
client.initialize()

# Create new session
session = client.session()

# Add user message
session.add_message("user", [
    TextPart(text="How do I configure embedding?")
])

# Search with session context
results = client.search("embedding configuration", session=session)

# Add assistant response with context reference
session.add_message("assistant", [
    TextPart(text="Based on the documentation, you can configure embedding..."),
    ContextPart(
        uri=results.resources[0].uri,
        context_type="resource",
        abstract=results.resources[0].abstract
    )
])

# Track actually used contexts
session.used(contexts=[results.resources[0].uri])

# Commit session (archive messages, extract memories)
result = session.commit()
print(f"Memories extracted: {result['memories_extracted']}")

client.close()

HTTP API

# Step 1: Create session
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"
# Returns: {"status": "ok", "result": {"session_id": "a1b2c3d4"}}

# Step 2: Add user message
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{"role": "user", "content": "How do I configure embedding?"}'

# Step 3: Search with session context
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/search/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{"query": "embedding configuration", "session_id": "a1b2c3d4"}'

# Step 4: Add assistant message
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key" \
  -d '{"role": "assistant", "content": "Based on the documentation, you can configure embedding..."}'

# Step 5: Commit session
curl -X POST http://localhost:1933/api/v1/sessions/a1b2c3d4/commit \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-key"

Best Practices

Commit Regularly

# Commit after significant interactions
if len(session.messages) > 10:
    session.commit()

Track What's Actually Used

# Only mark contexts that were actually helpful
if context_was_useful:
    session.used(contexts=[ctx.uri])

Use Session Context for Search

# Better search results with conversation context
results = client.search(query, session=session)

Load Before Continuing

# Always load when resuming an existing session
session = client.session(session_id="existing-id")
session.load()

API Reference

File contents

Sessions

API Reference

create_session()

list_sessions()

get_session()

delete_session()

add_message()

commit()

Session Properties

Session Storage Structure

Memory Categories

Full Example

Best Practices

Commit Regularly

Track What's Actually Used

Use Session Context for Search

Load Before Continuing

Related Documentation

Frequently asked questions

API Reference

File contents

Sessions

API Reference

create_session()

list_sessions()

get_session()

delete_session()

add_message()

commit()

Session Properties

Session Storage Structure

Memory Categories

Full Example

Best Practices

Commit Regularly

Track What's Actually Used

Use Session Context for Search

Load Before Continuing

Related Documentation

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the API Reference skill?

What does the API Reference skill do?

Is API Reference safe to use?

Which AI agents work with API Reference?

Is API Reference free to use?

Who published API Reference?