Global Parameters

These parameters can be used with any API endpoint.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`x_api_key`	`string`	-	Authentication key required for all requests. Pass it in the `x-api-key` header or as a query string.
`soft_fail`	`boolean`	`false`	When `true`, the API returns HTTP 200 even when an error occurs. Errors are still tracked and billed normally.
`is_async`	`boolean`	`false`	When `true`, the request is processed asynchronously. The response contains a `job_id` that you poll on `/jobs/{job_id}`.
`fields`	`string`	-	Comma-separated list of fields to include in the response. Supports nested fields with dot notation.

Fields filtering

Use the fields parameter to keep only the data you actually need in the response. This makes responses smaller, faster to download and easier to parse on your side. It is especially useful when your platform enforces a payload size limit (Make.com, Zapier, low-memory Lambdas, etc.).

Syntax

Pass fields as a comma-separated list of field names. Use a dot (.) to drill into nested objects.

Top-level fields are listed by name: fields=name,founded.
Nested fields use dot notation: fields=address.city,address.country.
Whitespace around commas is ignored: fields=name, founded works the same.
Unknown field names are silently ignored, no error is returned.

Selecting top-level fields

Keep only the top-level keys you care about. The original structure is preserved for the kept fields.

curl -X GET "https://api.autom.dev/{endpoint}?param=value&fields=name,founded,tagline" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "name": "Example",
  "founded": "2020",
  "tagline": "Just an example"
}

Selecting nested fields

Use dot notation to reach into nested objects. Only the requested subfields are returned, the rest of the parent object is dropped. Dot notation also works for objects inside arrays: ?fields=team.name keeps the name of every item in team.

curl -X GET "https://api.autom.dev/{endpoint}?param=value&fields=name,location.city,location.country" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "name": "Example",
  "location": {
    "city": "Paris",
    "country": "France"
  }
}

Good to know

Filtering happens after the data is fetched: it does not reduce the credit cost of the call. It does reduce response size, parsing time and bandwidth.
Top-level keys not listed in fields are removed from the response. Listing nested fields automatically keeps their parent object.
Combine fields freely with other parameters such as soft_fail or is_async.

Soft fail mode

Handle errors gracefully by always receiving a 200 status code.

Add soft_fail=true to any request to receive HTTP 200 even when an error occurs.

Errors are still tracked in your dashboard and billed according to standard rules.

Use cases

Systems that treat non-200 codes as fatal (Make.com, Zapier)
Custom error handling in your application
Consistent error handling across integrations

Note for Make.com users: by default, Make.com scenarios stop with an error when they receive a 404 or 500 HTTP status code. Using soft_fail=true ensures your scenario keeps running even when the API returns an error, so you can handle it gracefully in subsequent modules.

Example

curl -X GET "https://api.autom.dev/{endpoint}?param=invalid&soft_fail=true" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

{
  "error": "Not Found"
}

Async mode

For long-running requests, use async mode to avoid timeouts.

Add is_async=true to receive a job_id immediately.

How it works

Send the request with is_async=true
Receive a job_id
Poll /jobs/{job_id} to retrieve the result

# Step 1: start the job
curl -X GET "https://api.autom.dev/{endpoint}?param=value&is_async=true" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
# Response: { "job_id": "abc123..." }

# Step 2: retrieve the result
curl -X GET "https://api.autom.dev/jobs/abc123..." \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

See Status Codes for response codes, Best Practices for integration guidance, and Error Handling for retry strategies.

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