docmgr HTTP API

1. Overview

docmgr can run as a local HTTP server exposing a versioned JSON API for searching documentation using the same query engine as the CLI.

This is intended for:

• A web UI (or IDE plugin) that needs stable JSON responses
• Avoiding per-request CLI spawns
• Reusing docmgr’s reverse lookup + path normalization + diagnostics

See also: docmgr-web-ui.md (Slug: web-ui) for running the bundled Search Web UI.

Security note: the server is local-first. Bind to 127.0.0.1 by default and don’t expose it publicly unless you add authentication and threat-model it.

2. Quick Start

Build and run the server:

go build -tags "sqlite_fts5,embed" -o /tmp/docmgr ./cmd/docmgr
/tmp/docmgr api serve --addr 127.0.0.1:8787 --root ttmp

Notes:

• sqlite_fts5 enables full-text search.
• embed bundles the web UI assets into the binary (optional for API-only usage).

Check health:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8787/api/v1/healthz

Refresh the index (explicit):

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8787/api/v1/index/refresh

Search:

curl -s "http://127.0.0.1:8787/api/v1/search/docs?query=websocket&orderBy=rank&pageSize=50"

3. Concepts

3.1. Index Lifecycle (IndexManager)

The server builds an in-memory SQLite index on startup and reuses it for requests.

• Startup: discover workspace + build index
• Runtime: queries read from the current index
• Refresh: POST /api/v1/index/refresh rebuilds the index from disk and swaps it in atomically

This is intentionally “refresh-on-demand” for simplicity (no file watching yet).

3.2. Query Semantics (FTS5)

The query parameter uses SQLite FTS5 MATCH syntax and is not a substring/contains search.

• Build/install with -tags sqlite_fts5 to enable full-text search.
• If FTS is unavailable and a request includes query, the API returns an error.

Ranking:

• orderBy=rank orders by bm25 score (best matches first).

3.3. Cursor Pagination

GET /api/v1/search/docs supports cursor-based pagination:

• Request: pageSize + cursor
• Response: nextCursor (opaque; pass it back as cursor to fetch the next page)

For v1, cursors may be implemented internally using offsets but are treated as opaque by clients.

4. Running the Server

4.1. Command

docmgr api serve --addr 127.0.0.1:8787 --root ttmp

Flags:

• --addr: bind address (default 127.0.0.1:8787)
• --root: docs root directory (default ttmp)
• --cors-origin: if set, adds CORS headers for browser-based UIs

5. API Reference (v1)

Base path: /api/v1

5.1. Health

GET /api/v1/healthz

Response:

{ "ok": true }

5.2. Workspace Status

GET /api/v1/workspace/status

Purpose: show which workspace is currently indexed and basic index metadata.

Response (shape):

{
  "root": "/abs/path/to/ttmp",
  "configDir": "/abs/path",
  "repoRoot": "/abs/path/to/repo",
  "configPath": "/abs/path/to/.ttmp.yaml",
  "vocabularyPath": "/abs/path/to/ttmp/vocabulary.yaml",
  "indexedAt": "2026-01-04T21:05:04.583Z",
  "docsIndexed": 200,
  "ftsAvailable": true
}

5.2.1. Workspace Summary

GET /api/v1/workspace/summary

Purpose: render the Workspace home/dashboard with one call (basic stats + recent tickets + recent docs).

Response (shape):

{
  "root": "/abs/path/to/ttmp",
  "repoRoot": "/abs/path/to/repo",
  "indexedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z",
  "docsIndexed": 413,
  "stats": {
    "ticketsTotal": 128,
    "ticketsActive": 12,
    "ticketsComplete": 84,
    "ticketsReview": 9,
    "ticketsDraft": 23
  },
  "recent": {
    "tickets": [
      {
        "ticket": "001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI",
        "title": "Add docmgr Web UI",
        "status": "active",
        "topics": ["docmgr", "ui"],
        "owners": [],
        "intent": "long-term",
        "createdAt": "2026-01-03",
        "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z",
        "ticketDir": "2026/01/03/001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI--add-docmgr-web-ui",
        "indexPath": "2026/01/03/001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI--add-docmgr-web-ui/index.md",
        "snippet": "",
        "stats": null
      }
    ],
    "docs": [
      {
        "path": "2026/01/03/.../design/03-workspace-rest-api.md",
        "ticket": "001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI",
        "title": "Design: docmgr Workspace REST API (for full-site navigation)",
        "docType": "design-doc",
        "status": "active",
        "topics": ["docmgr", "ui", "http", "api", "workspace"],
        "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z"
      }
    ]
  }
}

5.3. Refresh Index

POST /api/v1/index/refresh

Response (shape):

{
  "refreshed": true,
  "indexedAt": "2026-01-04T21:05:04.583Z",
  "docsIndexed": 200,
  "ftsAvailable": true
}

5.3.1. Workspace Tickets

GET /api/v1/workspace/tickets

Purpose: list tickets (workspace-wide) derived from the ticket index.md docs (DocType: index).

Query parameters:

• status (string): active|review|complete|draft| (empty = all)
• ticket (string): exact ticket ID match (optional)
• topics (string): comma-separated, match any topic (optional)
• owners (string): comma-separated, match any owner (optional)
• intent (string): exact match (optional)
• q (string): full-text query (FTS5) applied to index docs only (optional)
• orderBy (string): last_updated|ticket|title (default last_updated)
• reverse (bool, default false)
• includeArchived (bool, default true)
• includeStats (bool, default false): when true, computes per-ticket stats (tasks/docs/related files)
• pageSize (int, default 200, max 1000)
• cursor (string, optional)

Response (shape):

{
  "query": {
    "q": "",
    "status": "active",
    "ticket": "",
    "topics": ["docmgr", "ui"],
    "owners": [],
    "intent": "",
    "orderBy": "last_updated",
    "reverse": false,
    "includeArchived": true,
    "includeStats": false,
    "pageSize": 200,
    "cursor": ""
  },
  "total": 128,
  "results": [
    {
      "ticket": "001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI",
      "title": "Add docmgr Web UI",
      "status": "active",
      "topics": ["docmgr", "ui"],
      "owners": [],
      "intent": "long-term",
      "createdAt": "2026-01-03",
      "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z",
      "ticketDir": "2026/01/03/001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI--add-docmgr-web-ui",
      "indexPath": "2026/01/03/001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI--add-docmgr-web-ui/index.md",
      "snippet": "",
      "stats": null
    }
  ],
  "nextCursor": ""
}

5.3.2. Workspace Facets

GET /api/v1/workspace/facets

Purpose: drive Workspace filters (statuses/docTypes/intents/topics/owners).

Query parameters:

• includeArchived (bool, default true)

Response (shape):

{
  "statuses": ["active", "review", "complete", "draft"],
  "docTypes": ["index", "design-doc", "reference", "analysis", "sources"],
  "intents": ["short-term", "long-term", "evergreen"],
  "topics": ["docmgr", "ui", "tooling"],
  "owners": ["manuel", "alex"]
}

Notes:

• The server prefers vocabulary.yaml for statuses/docTypes/intents/topics when present, but falls back to deriving from indexed docs.

5.3.3. Workspace Recent

GET /api/v1/workspace/recent

Purpose: show “recently updated tickets” and “recently updated docs”.

Query parameters:

• ticketsLimit (int, default 20, max 1000)
• docsLimit (int, default 20, max 1000)
• includeArchived (bool, default true)

Response (shape):

{
  "tickets": [ /* TicketListItem[] (same as /workspace/tickets results) */ ],
  "docs": [
    {
      "path": "2026/01/03/.../design/03-workspace-rest-api.md",
      "ticket": "001-ADD-DOCMGR-UI",
      "title": "Design: docmgr Workspace REST API (for full-site navigation)",
      "docType": "design-doc",
      "status": "active",
      "topics": ["docmgr", "ui"],
      "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

5.3.4. Workspace Topics

GET /api/v1/workspace/topics

Purpose: list topics (workspace-wide) with basic counts.

Query parameters:

• includeArchived (bool, default true)

Response (shape):

{
  "total": 42,
  "results": [
    { "topic": "docmgr", "docsTotal": 120, "ticketsTotal": 14, "updatedAt": "2026-01-05T00:00:00Z" }
  ]
}

5.3.5. Workspace Topic Detail

GET /api/v1/workspace/topics/get

Query parameters:

• topic (string, required)
• includeArchived (bool, default true)
• docsLimit (int, default 20, max 1000)

Response (shape):

{
  "topic": "docmgr",
  "stats": {
    "ticketsTotal": 14,
    "ticketsActive": 6,
    "ticketsComplete": 4,
    "ticketsReview": 2,
    "ticketsDraft": 2
  },
  "tickets": [ /* TicketListItem[] */ ],
  "docs": [ /* RecentDocItem[] */ ]
}

5.4. Search Docs

GET /api/v1/search/docs

Query parameters:

• query (string): FTS5 MATCH query string
• ticket (string)
• topics (string): comma-separated
• docType (string)
• status (string)
• file (string): reverse lookup
• dir (string): reverse lookup
• externalSource (string)
• since (string)
• until (string)
• createdSince (string)
• updatedSince (string)

Visibility toggles (defaults mirror CLI behavior):

• includeArchived (bool, default true)
• includeScripts (bool, default true)
• includeControlDocs (bool, default true)
• includeDiagnostics (bool, default true)
• includeErrors (bool, default false)

Sorting:

• orderBy: path|last_updated|rank (default path)
• reverse (bool, default false)

Reverse lookup notes:

• reverse=true searches docs by RelatedFiles references.
• It normally requires file or dir.
• As a convenience, if reverse=true and file/dir are empty but query is set, the server treats query as file.

Pagination:

• pageSize (int, default 200, max 1000)
• cursor (string, optional)

Response (shape):

{
  "query": { "query": "websocket", "pageSize": 50, "cursor": "" },
  "total": 12,
  "results": [
    {
      "ticket": "MEN-4242",
      "title": "Chat WebSocket Lifecycle",
      "docType": "reference",
      "status": "active",
      "topics": ["chat", "backend", "websocket"],
      "path": "2026/01/04/MEN-4242--.../reference/01-chat-websocket-lifecycle.md",
      "lastUpdated": "2026-01-04T15:04:05Z",
      "snippet": "...",
      "relatedFiles": [
        { "path": "backend/chat/ws/manager.go", "note": "WebSocket lifecycle (scenario)" }
      ],
      "matchedFiles": ["backend/chat/ws/manager.go"],
      "matchedNotes": ["WebSocket lifecycle (scenario)"]
    }
  ],
  "diagnostics": [],
  "nextCursor": "..."
}

5.5. Suggest Files

GET /api/v1/search/files

Query parameters:

• query (string)
• ticket (string)
• topics (string): comma-separated
• limit (int, default 200, max 1000)

Response (shape):

{
  "total": 3,
  "results": [
    { "file": "backend/chat/ws/manager.go", "source": "related_files", "reason": "..." }
  ]
}

5.6. Get Document (markdown + frontmatter)

GET /api/v1/docs/get

Query parameters:

• path (string, required): doc-relative path under the docs root (same value as SearchDocResult.path)

Response (shape):

{
  "path": "2026/01/03/TICKET--slug/design/01-doc.md",
  "doc": {
    "title": "...",
    "ticket": "...",
    "status": "...",
    "topics": ["..."],
    "docType": "...",
    "intent": "...",
    "owners": ["..."],
    "relatedFiles": [{ "path": "internal/foo.go", "note": "..." }],
    "externalSources": [],
    "summary": "",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-01-04T19:22:44-05:00",
    "whatFor": "",
    "whenToUse": ""
  },
  "relatedFiles": [{ "path": "internal/foo.go", "note": "..." }],
  "body": "# Markdown…",
  "stats": { "sizeBytes": 12345, "modTime": "2026-01-04T19:22:44-05:00" },
  "diagnostic": null
}

Notes:

• If the document frontmatter fails to parse, doc will be omitted and diagnostic may be present; body still returns the markdown body (best-effort).

5.7. Get File (text-only)

GET /api/v1/files/get

Query parameters:

• path (string, required): a file path (repo-relative is recommended; absolute paths are only accepted if they resolve inside the allowed root)
• root (string, optional): repo|docs (default repo)

Response (shape):

{
  "path": "internal/httpapi/server.go",
  "root": "repo",
  "language": "go",
  "contentType": "text/x-go; charset=utf-8",
  "truncated": false,
  "content": "package httpapi\n...",
  "stats": { "sizeBytes": 12345, "modTime": "2026-01-04T19:22:44-05:00" }
}

Safety behavior:

• Requests are constrained to repo root or docs root.
• Path traversal and symlink-escape reads are rejected.
• Binary files and non-UTF8 are rejected (unsupported_media_type).
• Large files may be truncated (see truncated).

6. Error Handling

All error responses use a stable JSON envelope:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "invalid_argument",
    "message": "must provide at least a query or filter",
    "details": {}
  }
}

Common error codes:

• index_not_ready (503): the index is not initialized
• invalid_cursor (400): cursor is malformed
• fts_not_available (400): request uses query but FTS is unavailable
• internal (500): unexpected server error

7. Troubleshooting

Query returns fts_not_available

Build with -tags sqlite_fts5 and restart the server:

go build -tags sqlite_fts5 -o /tmp/docmgr ./cmd/docmgr
/tmp/docmgr api serve --addr 127.0.0.1:8787 --root ttmp

Results don’t reflect recent file changes

Call refresh:

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8787/api/v1/index/refresh