Library API Overview

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The Help Center explains this surface as users see it: Working with Libraries.

The Informer Library API provides comprehensive endpoints for managing document libraries, file storage, vector indexing, and AI assistant knowledge bases. Libraries support local file storage and cloud integrations (Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox) with automatic sync, versioning via snapshots, and semantic search through vector embeddings. All routes are prefixed with /api.

Features

• CRUD Operations - Create, read, update, and delete libraries
• File Management - Upload, list, read, write, and delete files with directory support
• Cloud Integration - Connect to Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox via OAuth
• Vector Indexing - Automatic embeddings generation for semantic search
• Snapshots - Point-in-time library backups with restore capability
• Sync Operations - Automatic and manual sync from connected cloud services
• Assistant Knowledge - Associate libraries with AI assistants for RAG
• Sharing & Permissions - Team-based access control with read/write levels
• Favorites - User-specific library favoriting

Library Types

Libraries are created with different driver types:

Type	Description
local	Local file storage managed by Informer
google-drive	Integration with Google Drive
onedrive	Integration with Microsoft OneDrive
sharepoint	Integration with Microsoft SharePoint
dropbox	Integration with Dropbox

Authentication

All Library API endpoints require authentication via session cookies or API tokens. Most endpoints verify library permissions before allowing access.

Common Permission Patterns

• Read access - View library metadata and indexed files (requires ownership or share)
• Write permission - Required for library:write (create, update, delete, file uploads, sync)
• Sync permission - Required for library:sync (trigger sync from cloud integrations)
• App libraries - A library holding an App's files also requires the App's app:write for any change and for reading its server-side files (see File Management)
• Connection access - Only connection owners can see unindexed files

File Indexing

Libraries automatically index uploaded files for semantic search:

• Supported Formats - PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, CSV, XLSX, HTML, and more
• Vector Embeddings - Generated via OpenAI embeddings API
• Status Tracking - indexed, indexingStartedAt, indexingErroredAt fields
• Retry Logic - Manual retry via POST /api/libraries/{id}/files/{fileId}/_retry-indexing

Indexing States

indexed is the file's AI switch; the timestamps say where indexing stands.

State	Fields
AI off	indexed: false
Waiting	indexed: true, and neither indexedAt nor indexingStartedAt set, or indexedAt older than modifiedAt
Indexing	indexed: true, indexingStartedAt set, and indexedAt unset or older than indexingStartedAt
Indexed, searchable by Assistants	indexed: true, indexedAt not older than modifiedAt
Failed	indexingErroredAt set; see indexingErrorMessage

A file created without its own indexed value, including every new file a sync brings in, takes its directory's, and a file moved into another directory takes that directory's. Turning the switch on or off for a directory sets it on everything below.

Snapshots

Libraries support versioned snapshots for backup and restore:

1. Create snapshot - POST /api/libraries/{id}/snapshots
2. List snapshots - GET /api/libraries/{id}/snapshots
3. Restore snapshot - POST /api/libraries/{id}/snapshots/{snapshotId}/_restore
4. Delete snapshot - DELETE /api/libraries/{id}/snapshots/{snapshotId}

Snapshots include:

• All files and directory structure
• Metadata (created date, trigger type)
• Automatic limit enforcement (default: keep 10 most recent)

Cloud Integration

Libraries can connect to cloud storage providers:

1. Create library with cloud driver type (google-drive, onedrive, etc.)
2. Connect via OAuth - POST /api/libraries/{id}/integration
3. Sync files - POST /api/libraries/{id}/_sync
4. Auto-sync - Configure syncInterval (in minutes) for periodic updates

Integration Workflow

graph LR
    A[Create Library] --> B[Set Integration]
    B --> C[OAuth Connect]
    C --> D[Sync Files]
    D --> E[Index Files]
    E --> F[Associate with Assistant]

Assistant Access

Libraries can be shared with AI assistants for knowledge retrieval:

• Enable assistant access - PUT /api/libraries/{id}/assistant-access with { "enabled": true }
• Associate with assistant - POST /api/libraries/{id}/assistants creates embedded assistant
• File-level RAG - Assistants use vector embeddings to answer questions about library content

File Paths

Files support hierarchical directory structure:

• Upload to path - POST /_library-upload with path: "assets/index.js"
• List by directory - GET /api/libraries/{id}/files?dir=/assets
• Read by path - GET /api/libraries/{id}/contents/{path*}
• Write by path - PUT /api/libraries/{id}/contents/{path*} (creates parent dirs)

Common Query Parameters

Many list endpoints support:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
q	string	-	Search query (filters files by filename)
start	integer	0	Pagination offset
end	integer	100	Pagination limit (max results)
sort	array	[{colId: "filename", sort: "ASC"}]	Sort configuration
parentId	string	-	Filter files by parent directory ID
dir	string	-	Filter files by directory path (e.g., /assets)
dirOnly	boolean	false	Return only directories

Error Responses

Standard HTTP status codes:

• 200 - Success
• 201 - Created (resource created successfully)
• 204 - No Content (successful delete)
• 400 - Bad request (validation error)
• 403 - Forbidden (insufficient permissions)
• 404 - Resource not found
• 409 - Conflict (duplicate, constraint violation)
• 500 - Internal server error

Error responses include:

{
  "statusCode": 403,
  "error": "Forbidden",
  "message": "Insufficient permissions to modify library"
}

Long-Running Operations

Several endpoints support long-running operations with progress tracking:

• POST /api/libraries - Create with integration setup
• POST /api/libraries/{id}/_sync - Sync from cloud integration
• POST /_library-upload - Upload and index files

These endpoints accept a progress parameter in the payload for progress updates.

Next Steps

Explore the specific endpoint categories:

• Core CRUD - Basic library operations
• File Management - File upload, read, write, delete
• Snapshots - Versioning and restore
• Integration & Sync - Cloud connections and sync
• Assistant Associations - AI knowledge integration
• Sharing - Access control
• Comments & Favorites - User interactions
• Drivers & Templates - Library type discovery