Monospace

Monospace

Drive a Monospace instance from an agent: query and mutate data via the REST API or the typed SDK, generate instance-correct types, and use the MCP server. This page is a router — read the principles and the inline traps, then load the reference for the task.

Core principles

1. You almost certainly don't know this API. Don't guess — use the ground truth. Monospace is not in most training data, so do not invent endpoints, SDK methods, or types from memory. The SDK is @monospace/sdk (createClient + per-collection delegates). Get the real shape from generated types (npx @monospace/sdk generate) or the live OpenAPI doc (GET /api//openapi), plus the references below. (If you happen to know Directus: it is a different product — don't assume its APIs carry over.)

2. Generate types, then write against them. The most reliable way to get the data shape right is to generate a typed client from the running instance: npx @monospace/sdk generate reads the live OpenAPI document and emits a typed client matching that instance's schema. Prefer generated types over hand-written shapes. See [references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md).

3. Verify against current docs / OpenAPI before implementing. For anything not covered here, fetch the canonical OpenAPI doc (GET /api//openapi, or /api/system/openapi) or the Monospace docs. The OpenAPI doc is generated from the live schema, so it is always correct for the instance.

4. Inspect before you mutate, then verify. Read the schema / list items (read-only) before writing. After a write, read it back to confirm. A change without verification is incomplete.

5. Recover, don't loop. If an approach fails 2-3 times, stop and reconsider — check the error body (it carries a message), the schema, and permissions. Retrying the same call rarely fixes it.

Critical traps (read before writing any data code)

These are verified, easy-to-miss behaviors. Getting them wrong fails silently.

• Responses are enveloped as { "data": ... }. A list returns { data: [...] }, a single item { data: {...} }. The SDK strips the top-level envelope for you, but nested to-many relations stay enveloped — relation data sits under relation.data, and the SDK does NOT unwrap it. Reach into item..data (to-one relations are accessed directly).
• Methods take a single options object, not positional args. readOne/updateOne/deleteOne take { key, ... }; createOne({ data: , fields }) (single object under data); createMany takes { data, fields }; updateMany takes { filter, data, fields }; deleteMany takes { filter, fields? }. There is no readOne(id) form. Collections are cased as named (client.Articles, not client.articles).
• Deletes return no content unless fields is provided. deleteOne({ key }) / deleteMany({ filter }) return void; pass fields only when you need deleted rows back.
• fields defaults to top-level primitives only. Relations are not returned unless you select them. The SDK sends fields: ['*'] by default (top-level), so request nested fields explicitly to get relations.
• Filter operators are underscore-prefixed. _eq _neq _lt _lte _gt _gte _in _nin _between _nbetween _contains _icontains _ncontains _nicontains _starts_with _nstarts_with _ends_with _nends_with _null; combine with _and _or _not; for to-many relations use quantifiers _some _every _none. _null is only valid on nullable fields. Full table in [references/rest-api.md](references/rest-api.md).
• Sort uses the object form, not -field. Use sort: [{ : { direction: 'asc' | 'desc' } }]. The -created_at shorthand is rejected by the engine.
• No search param, no page/cursor pagination, no aggregates yet. Paginate with limit (default 100) + offset; request meta=totalCount when you need the total matching row count. Aggregate/group params parse but are silently ignored today.

Connect to a Monospace instance

You need three things: the host (engine base URL), the workspace slug (Monospace is multi-workspace; most data routes are /api//...), and a token. Create an API key in the Studio under Account → Access → API Keys (/account/access#api-keys; API endpoint POST /api/system/api-keys), or log in with POST /api/auth/providers//password/login for a user access token. Prefer Authorization: Bearer for agents/scripts; the API also accepts an access_token query parameter or session cookie, but send only one credential source per request.

Two ways an agent works with the data:

• MCP server — best for agentic CRUD + schema work inside a chat/coding agent. Set it up below.
• SDK / REST — best for writing application code. See [references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md) and [references/rest-api.md](references/rest-api.md).

MCP server setup (recommended for agentic work)

The Monospace MCP server is served by the engine, per workspace, over streamable-HTTP.

• Endpoint: POST https:///api//mcp (per-workspace; POST only; protocol 2025-11-25).
• Auth: Authorization: Bearer or, only when headers are unavailable, access_token= query parameter populated from a secret store (API key or user access token). Do not send both. Use session cookies for browser flows, not agent config. The workspace needs the ai:mcp entitlement, and each tool runs under the token's RBAC.

Config (.mcp.json at the project root):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monospace": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://YOUR_HOST/api/YOUR_WORKSPACE/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${MONOSPACE_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}

Tools exposed (7): list_items, create_items, update_item, delete_item (CRUD under the caller's permissions), read_schema (needs dataModel:read), read_data_sources (dataModel:read + dataSource:read), and mutate_schema (dataModel:edit — can be destructive).

Troubleshooting: curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X POST https:///api//mcp — a 401 means it's up but unauthenticated (expected without a token); 403 means the credential is valid but forbidden by RBAC or missing entitlement; 404 means the path is wrong; a hang or refusal means it's unreachable. If tools aren't visible: confirm the URL includes the right `, the credential is present (Authorization: Bearer header or access_token query parameter, not both), and the workspace has ai:mcp` enabled. Full details + RBAC and the per-tool input schemas: [references/mcp-and-auth.md](references/mcp-and-auth.md).

Generate a typed SDK client (codegen)

npx @monospace/sdk init       # scaffold monospace.config.ts (output defaults to ./src/generated/monospace)
npx @monospace/sdk login      # store credentials in the OS keyring (or set MONOSPACE_API_KEY)
npx @monospace/sdk generate   # fetch the live OpenAPI and emit /index.ts

The generated index.ts exports a createClient bound to your instance's schema — import it from your generated output (default ./src/generated/monospace; match your project's path/alias), not from @monospace/sdk, for fully-typed queries. Remote mode fetches GET /api//openapi (auth required); local mode reads a saved OpenAPI JSON via input. Details, flags, and a zero-to-typed-client sequence: [references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md).

Reference guides

| Topic | Reference | Load when | | --- | --- | --- | | Query engine, envelope, endpoints, error shapes, raw REST | [references/rest-api.md](references/rest-api.md) | Calling the API directly, or in a non-TS language | | createClient, typed delegates, codegen workflow, error classes | [references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md) | Writing TypeScript against the SDK or generating types | | CRUD recipes with the traps annotated | [references/data-workflows.md](references/data-workflows.md) | Reading/writing data and you want a known-good pattern | | MCP tools + schemas, API keys, auth modes, .mcp.json | [references/mcp-and-auth.md](references/mcp-and-auth.md) | Setting up MCP, authenticating, or choosing/using a tool |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: directus
• Source: directus/monospace-agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.