Create a Monitor

Creates a new Monitor to run recurring Exa searches on a schedule.

Monitors automatically execute your search query on a recurring schedule and deliver results to your webhook endpoint with automatic deduplication:

• Date-based filtering only fetches content since the last run

• Semantic deduplication tracks previous outputs to surface only new developments

The response includes a webhookSecret that is only returned once at creation time. Store it securely for webhook signature verification.

POST /monitors

Create a Monitor

cURL

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.exa.ai/monitors \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <api-key>' \
  --data '
{
  "search": {
    "query": "Latest developments in LLM capabilities",
    "numResults": 10,
    "contents": {
      "text": false,
      "highlights": false,
      "summary": true,
      "extras": {
        "links": 1,
        "imageLinks": 1,
        "richImageLinks": 0,
        "richLinks": 0,
        "codeBlocks": 0
      },
      "context": true,
      "livecrawlTimeout": 1000,
      "maxAgeHours": 24,
      "filterEmptyResults": true,
      "subpages": 1,
      "subpageTarget": "sources"
    }
  },
  "webhook": {
    "url": "<string>",
    "events": []
  },
  "name": "<string>",
  "outputSchema": {
    "type": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "slack_channel_id": "C123ABC",
    "slack_thread_id": "1745444400.123456",
    "user_id": "U123ABC"
  }
}
'

201

{
  "id": "<string>",
  "name": "<string>",
  "search": {
    "query": "Latest developments in LLM capabilities",
    "numResults": 10,
    "contents": {
      "text": false,
      "highlights": false,
      "summary": true,
      "extras": {
        "links": 1,
        "imageLinks": 1,
        "richImageLinks": 0,
        "richLinks": 0,
        "codeBlocks": 0
      },
      "context": true,
      "livecrawlTimeout": 1000,
      "maxAgeHours": 24,
      "filterEmptyResults": true,
      "subpages": 1,
      "subpageTarget": "sources"
    }
  },
  "trigger": {
    "type": "interval",
    "period": "6h"
  },
  "outputSchema": {
    "type": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "slack_channel_id": "C123ABC",
    "slack_thread_id": "1745444400.123456",
    "user_id": "U123ABC"
  },
  "webhook": {
    "url": "<string>",
    "events": []
  },
  "nextRunAt": "2023-11-07T05:31:56Z",
  "createdAt": "2023-11-07T05:31:56Z",
  "updatedAt": "2023-11-07T05:31:56Z",
  "webhookSecret": "<string>"
}

Authorizations

apiKeybearer

x-api-key · string · header · required

Pass your Exa API key in the x-api-key header. You can also authenticate with Authorization: Bearer .

Body

application/json

search · object · required

Show child attributes

webhook · object · required

Show child attributes

name · string

An optional name for the monitor

trigger · object

Show child attributes

outputSchema · object

Controls the format of the run output. Defaults to { "type": "text" } if not specified. When type is "text", the output is a plain text summary. When type is "object", the output is structured JSON. If no properties are specified with "object" type, a schema is inferred automatically; otherwise the output adheres to the provided schema.

Option 1

Option 2

Show child attributes

metadata · object

Optional key-value metadata. Echoed back in webhook deliveries so you can route updates to systems like Slack.

Show child attributes

Example:

{
  "slack_channel_id": "C123ABC",
  "slack_thread_id": "1745444400.123456",
  "user_id": "U123ABC"
}

Response

201 - application/json

The created monitor with webhook secret

id · string · required

The unique identifier for the monitor

name · string | null · required

An optional display name

status · enum<string> · required

The status of the monitor. active monitors run on schedule and can be triggered manually. paused monitors can only be triggered manually. disabled monitors are auto-disabled after 10 consecutive authentication failures.

Available options: active, paused, disabled

search · object · required

Show child attributes

trigger · object · required

The interval-based schedule for automatic runs. Null if no schedule is set.

Show child attributes

outputSchema · object · required

Controls the format of the run output. Defaults to { "type": "text" } if not specified. When type is "text", the output is a plain text summary. When type is "object", the output is structured JSON. If no properties are specified with "object" type, a schema is inferred automatically; otherwise the output adheres to the provided schema.

Option 1

Option 2

Show child attributes

metadata · object · required

Optional key-value metadata for your own tracking. Echoed back in webhook deliveries so you can route updates to systems like Slack.

Show child attributes

Example:

{
  "slack_channel_id": "C123ABC",
  "slack_thread_id": "1745444400.123456",
  "user_id": "U123ABC"
}

webhook · object · required

Show child attributes

nextRunAt · string<date-time> · required

When the next scheduled run will occur. Null if no trigger is set.

createdAt · string<date-time> · required

When the monitor was created

updatedAt · string<date-time> · required

When the monitor was last updated

webhookSecret · string · required

The secret used to verify webhook signatures. This is only returned once at creation time. Store it securely.