openwhispr-api

name	openwhispr-api
description	Use this skill when building integrations with the OpenWhispr REST API, calling OpenWhispr endpoints, managing notes/folders/transcriptions programmatically, or connecting to the OpenWhispr MCP server. Covers authentication, all V1 endpoints, pagination, rate limits, error handling, and the remote MCP server.

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