HTTP API

The REST API gives you direct HTTP access to webref from any language or environment. No SDK required — just standard HTTP requests.

Authentication

Include your API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer wbrf_your_key_here

Get keys from your dashboard.

Research

Send a question, URL, or both:

bash

curl -X POST https://webref.ai/api/research \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer wbrf_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "how to use React hooks"}'

The response contains the synthesized answer, source URLs, credits used, and duration:

json

{
  "content": "# React Hooks\n\nHooks let you use state...",
  "sources": ["https://react.dev/reference/react"],
  "creditsUsed": 1,
  "duration": "14.2s"
}

Credits: 1 per call.

Streaming

For live progress, use the SSE streaming endpoint:

bash

curl -N -X POST https://webref.ai/api/research/stream \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer wbrf_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"query": "what are the best LLMs today"}'

Events include search.query_generated, source.discovered, source.completed, answer.delta, and research.completed. See the full API Reference for all event types and fields. The initial response includes X-Research-Stream-Id, every SSE frame includes an id: line, and reconnecting clients can resume on the same running server instance by sending {"streamId":"..."} plus Last-Event-ID.

Quick examples

Python:

python

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://webref.ai/api/research",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer wbrf_your_key"},
    json={"query": "Python async patterns"}
)
print(response.json()["content"])

JavaScript:

javascript

const response = await fetch("https://webref.ai/api/research", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer wbrf_your_key",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ query: "JavaScript promises" })
});
const result = await response.json();
console.log(result.content);

Go:

req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://webref.ai/api/research",
    strings.NewReader(`{"query": "Go error handling"}`))
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer wbrf_your_key")
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
resp, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

What's next

API Reference — Full endpoint documentation with all fields and error codes
MCP integration — Connect webref to your AI agent in one paste