Retrieve an article Run in API Explorer

Add MCP server to your AI tool

Allow AI tools and LLMs to interact with the API documentation portal through MCP.

MCP server URL

https://api-reference.usecommune.dev/mcp

Standard setup for AI tools providing an mcp.json file

mcp.json 
{
  "REST API MCP server": {
    "url": "https://api-reference.usecommune.dev/mcp"
  }
}
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GET /articles/{article}
Api key Oauth2

Read one article, including its content. This is the only operation that returns a body.

The same two gates apply as on the list. An article stamped with an audience answers 404 to a credential that does not hold that audience, and a future dated article answers 404 until it goes live, including to the newsletter's own team, so that a preview link cannot be shared early.

For an article written in Commune, content is the email rendered to HTML with personalization placeholders resolved against an empty context, so a merge tag never leaks as raw text. For an imported article it is the body as it arrived from the provider.

?expand=content adds content_markdown, the same body as Markdown. Ask for it when a model is going to read the article, and ask for ?fields=content_markdown with it to leave the HTML behind entirely.

Headers

  • Commune-Version string

    The contract version this request is written against. Every version published so far is a release date (YYYY-MM-DD), which is why the examples look like one, but the value is an opaque identifier: match it against the versions this API publishes rather than parsing it, because a future one may not be only a date. An unknown value answers 400 with invalid_version.

    Omitting the header pins the request to the version that was current when the API key was issued, so an integration keeps working when a newer version ships.

    Minimum length is 1.

Path parameters

  • article string Required

    The article's id (a UUID) or its short_id, an eight character base62 string that is unique across Commune. The slug is not accepted here because it is unique only within a newsletter.

Query parameters

  • expand string

    Comma-separated list of relationship paths to inline in the response. Unexpanded relationships are returned as a reference object carrying only id and object. Each operation documents the paths it accepts, and an unknown path answers 400. Nested paths use a dot, for example article.newsletter.

  • fields string

    Comma-separated allow-list of top level properties to return on each object, so a client can trim a response it does not need in full. id and object are always returned. An unknown property name answers 400. Properties omitted by an operation, such as content on any article list, cannot be brought back with fields.

Responses

  • 200 application/json

    The article, with content.

    Hide response attributes Show response attributes object | null

    An article including its rendered body. Returned only by GET /articles/{article}. content cannot be requested on any list, including through ?fields=.

    • object string Required

      Always article.

      Value is article.

    • id string(uuid) Required

      Stable identifier.

    • short_id string Required

      Eight character base62 identifier, unique across Commune. Safe in a URL and accepted anywhere {article} is.

    • slug string Required

      URL segment under the newsletter, unique within it but not across Commune. The permalink is /n/{handle}/a/{slug}. Falls back to the short_id for an untitled article.

    • newsletter object | null Required

      The newsletter this article belongs to. A Ref unless newsletter is named in ?expand=.

      One of:
      Ref object | null Newsletter object
    • title string | null

      Subject line of the article. Null for an untitled draft.

    • preview_text string | null

      The short line email clients show after the subject, and what Commune uses as the excerpt on a card.

    • image_url string(uri) | null

      Cover image. When the creator set none, Commune stamps the first image in the body at send time, so this is usually populated for a sent article.

    • external_url string(uri) | null

      The article's canonical URL on the newsletter's own provider, for an imported article. Null for one written in Commune.

    • status string Required

      Where an article is in its life. A credential holding only read permissions ever sees sent and nothing else. An imported article is always sent, since Commune sees it after the provider delivered it.

      Values are draft, scheduled, sending, sent, failed, or archived.

    • is_imported boolean Required

      true when the article came in from the newsletter's provider, false when it was written and sent in Commune.

    • posted_at string(date-time) | null

      When the article went out. An article dated in the future is not returned by any read operation until that moment passes, so this is never ahead of now in a response.

    • scheduled_for string(date-time) | null

      When a queued article may go out. Set while status is scheduled and null otherwise.

      This is not posted_at and the difference matters: a queued article has no publication date yet, which is why it stays invisible on every reader surface until it really goes out. Commune dispatches in passes, so this is the moment from which the article may go rather than the moment it will.

    • authors array[object]

      The byline, in order. Each entry is a Ref unless authors is named in ?expand=. Empty when no Commune account is credited.

      Any of:
      Ref object | null User object
    • thread object | null

      The chat thread this article opened, where its discussion lives. null when the newsletter does not open a thread per article. A Ref unless thread is named in ?expand=.

      One of:
      Ref object | null Thread object | null
    • stats object

      Engagement counts for an article, computed at read time. These are Commune side counts, not provider side email metrics: opens, clicks and deliveries are not here.

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide stats attributes Show stats attributes object
      • likes integer Required

        How many people liked the article.

        Minimum value is 0.

      • comments integer Required

        Replies in the article's chat thread. Commune has no separate comments store: an article's discussion is a thread like any other, so this counts the undeleted replies hanging off it. 0 when the article has no thread.

        Minimum value is 0.

      • highlights integer Required

        How many passages readers highlighted.

        Minimum value is 0.

    • created_at string(date-time) Required

      When the row was created in Commune.

    • updated_at string(date-time)

      When the article was last edited.

    • content string Required

      The body as HTML. For an article written in Commune this is the email rendered for the web, with personalization placeholders resolved against an empty context so no raw merge tag is ever served. For an imported article it is what the provider published.

      Treat it as untrusted markup from a third party and render it in a sandboxed context.

    • content_markdown string | null

      The same body as Markdown, present only when content is named in ?expand=. It is what a model should read: the HTML is mostly markup it will not use, and one article body can fill a context window on its own.

      It is a conversion of the body rather than of the HTML above. For an article written in Commune it comes from the document the author wrote, so a code block keeps its language and a table that declares a header becomes a Markdown table. For an imported article it comes from the provider's HTML. Either way the words, the links, the images, the lists, the code and the quotes survive, and everything presentational does not.

      null means Commune holds no body it can convert faithfully. That happens when the only body it stored is a rendered email, whose words cannot be told apart from its layout. An empty string means the article has no body, which is different.

      No merge tag ever appears here, resolved or not.
  • 400 application/json

    The request was malformed, and the same request will fail the same way until it is changed. param names the parameter or header at fault when there is exactly one, and allowed_values lists what it accepts when that is a finite set. The code is bad_request for every case below except the last.

    • A query parameter: one the operation does not have, a value outside its set, range or format (an unparseable cursor, an unknown expand path or fields name, an identifier that is not a UUID), or a required one left out, such as q on a search or newsletter when the credential reaches more than one.
    • The request body: not JSON, not the shape the operation reads, a property it does not write, or a value of the wrong type, length or format. param is absent here, since the body is not a parameter, and the message names the property.
    • The Idempotency-Key header, on an operation that changes something: missing, or a value this API will not store.
    • An unrecognised Commune-Version, which answers with its own code, invalid_version, because it is never fixed by changing the body.
    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • error object Required

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide error attributes Show error attributes object
      • code string Required

        The stable, machine readable reason a request failed. New codes may be added in a minor version, so treat an unrecognised code as a generic failure of its HTTP status class.

        Two of these share a status with a neighbour and exist because what a caller does next is different. invalid_version is a 400 that is never fixed by changing the request body. not_commune_newsletter is a 422 that is never fixed by changing the request at all: it says the newsletter's articles are published somewhere else and mirrored into Commune afterwards, so Commune cannot write one. Its page at https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_commune_newsletter, like every code's, is its docs_url, and it covers moving a newsletter onto Commune's own publishing, which is the only thing that resolves it.

        Values are bad_request, invalid_version, unauthorized, forbidden, insufficient_scope, payment_required, not_found, conflict, unprocessable, not_commune_newsletter, rate_limited, internal_error, or service_unavailable.

      • message string Required

        A human readable sentence describing what went wrong. Written for a developer reading a log, not for an end user. Do not branch on it, branch on code.

      • param string

        The query, path or body parameter the error is attributed to, when the error is attributable to exactly one. Absent otherwise.

      • allowed_values array[string]

        Everything param would have accepted, when what it accepts is a finite set. Absent when it is not: a cursor, an identifier or a numeric range has nothing to enumerate, and an empty array would read as "nothing is allowed".

        It repeats what message says in prose, so a caller can correct a request from this one response: the array is what a program branches on, the sentence is what a person or a model reads.

        On an unknown parameter name rather than an unknown value, this carries the parameter names the operation does accept, since that is the set the caller has to pick from.

        On an insufficient_scope failure there is usually no parameter at fault and param is absent, and this carries the one permission that was needed, written the way the permission table writes it, such as content: read. The exception is a credential that may call the operation but not with one value of a parameter, such as ?expand=subscriber on listNewsletterInsights without audience: read: then param names the parameter and this carries the values this credential may send instead.

      • request_id string

        Identifier for this request, echoed in the Commune-Request-Id response header. Quote it in support requests.

      • docs_url string(uri)

        Link to the documentation for this error code: always https://usecommune.dev/errors/ followed by the code, a page on what the code means, what usually causes it and how to fix it.
  • 401 application/json

    No credential was presented, or it is malformed, unknown, revoked or expired, or it is an access token minted for a different audience.

    Every one of these answers identically, down to the wording and the headers, so a refusal never confirms that a string was once real.

    Hide headers attribute Show headers attribute
    • WWW-Authenticate string

      The authentication scheme this API accepts, and where to find out how to get a credential for it. Always Bearer realm="Commune API", resource_metadata="https://api.usecommune.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource".

      resource_metadata is the RFC 9728 pointer to this API's protected resource metadata, which names the authorization server an OAuth client should send its user to. A client holding an API key can ignore it. The header carries no error parameter, not even error="invalid_token", because it describes what this API accepts rather than what was wrong with the credential sent, and the reasons above are deliberately indistinguishable.

      There is no second scheme and no query-parameter fallback, because a credential that can travel in a URL ends up in access logs and referer headers.

    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • error object Required

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide error attributes Show error attributes object
      • code string Required

        The stable, machine readable reason a request failed. New codes may be added in a minor version, so treat an unrecognised code as a generic failure of its HTTP status class.

        Two of these share a status with a neighbour and exist because what a caller does next is different. invalid_version is a 400 that is never fixed by changing the request body. not_commune_newsletter is a 422 that is never fixed by changing the request at all: it says the newsletter's articles are published somewhere else and mirrored into Commune afterwards, so Commune cannot write one. Its page at https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_commune_newsletter, like every code's, is its docs_url, and it covers moving a newsletter onto Commune's own publishing, which is the only thing that resolves it.

        Values are bad_request, invalid_version, unauthorized, forbidden, insufficient_scope, payment_required, not_found, conflict, unprocessable, not_commune_newsletter, rate_limited, internal_error, or service_unavailable.

      • message string Required

        A human readable sentence describing what went wrong. Written for a developer reading a log, not for an end user. Do not branch on it, branch on code.

      • param string

        The query, path or body parameter the error is attributed to, when the error is attributable to exactly one. Absent otherwise.

      • allowed_values array[string]

        Everything param would have accepted, when what it accepts is a finite set. Absent when it is not: a cursor, an identifier or a numeric range has nothing to enumerate, and an empty array would read as "nothing is allowed".

        It repeats what message says in prose, so a caller can correct a request from this one response: the array is what a program branches on, the sentence is what a person or a model reads.

        On an unknown parameter name rather than an unknown value, this carries the parameter names the operation does accept, since that is the set the caller has to pick from.

        On an insufficient_scope failure there is usually no parameter at fault and param is absent, and this carries the one permission that was needed, written the way the permission table writes it, such as content: read. The exception is a credential that may call the operation but not with one value of a parameter, such as ?expand=subscriber on listNewsletterInsights without audience: read: then param names the parameter and this carries the values this credential may send instead.

      • request_id string

        Identifier for this request, echoed in the Commune-Request-Id response header. Quote it in support requests.

      • docs_url string(uri)

        Link to the documentation for this error code: always https://usecommune.dev/errors/ followed by the code, a page on what the code means, what usually causes it and how to fix it.
  • 404 application/json

    No such resource, or the key is not allowed to know that it exists. Commune answers 404 rather than 403 where distinguishing the two would leak the existence of private content.

    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • error object Required

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide error attributes Show error attributes object
      • code string Required

        The stable, machine readable reason a request failed. New codes may be added in a minor version, so treat an unrecognised code as a generic failure of its HTTP status class.

        Two of these share a status with a neighbour and exist because what a caller does next is different. invalid_version is a 400 that is never fixed by changing the request body. not_commune_newsletter is a 422 that is never fixed by changing the request at all: it says the newsletter's articles are published somewhere else and mirrored into Commune afterwards, so Commune cannot write one. Its page at https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_commune_newsletter, like every code's, is its docs_url, and it covers moving a newsletter onto Commune's own publishing, which is the only thing that resolves it.

        Values are bad_request, invalid_version, unauthorized, forbidden, insufficient_scope, payment_required, not_found, conflict, unprocessable, not_commune_newsletter, rate_limited, internal_error, or service_unavailable.

      • message string Required

        A human readable sentence describing what went wrong. Written for a developer reading a log, not for an end user. Do not branch on it, branch on code.

      • param string

        The query, path or body parameter the error is attributed to, when the error is attributable to exactly one. Absent otherwise.

      • allowed_values array[string]

        Everything param would have accepted, when what it accepts is a finite set. Absent when it is not: a cursor, an identifier or a numeric range has nothing to enumerate, and an empty array would read as "nothing is allowed".

        It repeats what message says in prose, so a caller can correct a request from this one response: the array is what a program branches on, the sentence is what a person or a model reads.

        On an unknown parameter name rather than an unknown value, this carries the parameter names the operation does accept, since that is the set the caller has to pick from.

        On an insufficient_scope failure there is usually no parameter at fault and param is absent, and this carries the one permission that was needed, written the way the permission table writes it, such as content: read. The exception is a credential that may call the operation but not with one value of a parameter, such as ?expand=subscriber on listNewsletterInsights without audience: read: then param names the parameter and this carries the values this credential may send instead.

      • request_id string

        Identifier for this request, echoed in the Commune-Request-Id response header. Quote it in support requests.

      • docs_url string(uri)

        Link to the documentation for this error code: always https://usecommune.dev/errors/ followed by the code, a page on what the code means, what usually causes it and how to fix it.
  • 429 application/json

    Too many requests. Back off and retry after the interval named by the Retry-After response header.

    One of the budgets in RateLimit-Policy ran out, and the RateLimit-* headers on this response say which and when it resets.

    Hide headers attribute Show headers attribute
    • Retry-After integer

      Seconds to wait before retrying.

      Minimum value is 1.

    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • error object Required

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide error attributes Show error attributes object
      • code string Required

        The stable, machine readable reason a request failed. New codes may be added in a minor version, so treat an unrecognised code as a generic failure of its HTTP status class.

        Two of these share a status with a neighbour and exist because what a caller does next is different. invalid_version is a 400 that is never fixed by changing the request body. not_commune_newsletter is a 422 that is never fixed by changing the request at all: it says the newsletter's articles are published somewhere else and mirrored into Commune afterwards, so Commune cannot write one. Its page at https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_commune_newsletter, like every code's, is its docs_url, and it covers moving a newsletter onto Commune's own publishing, which is the only thing that resolves it.

        Values are bad_request, invalid_version, unauthorized, forbidden, insufficient_scope, payment_required, not_found, conflict, unprocessable, not_commune_newsletter, rate_limited, internal_error, or service_unavailable.

      • message string Required

        A human readable sentence describing what went wrong. Written for a developer reading a log, not for an end user. Do not branch on it, branch on code.

      • param string

        The query, path or body parameter the error is attributed to, when the error is attributable to exactly one. Absent otherwise.

      • allowed_values array[string]

        Everything param would have accepted, when what it accepts is a finite set. Absent when it is not: a cursor, an identifier or a numeric range has nothing to enumerate, and an empty array would read as "nothing is allowed".

        It repeats what message says in prose, so a caller can correct a request from this one response: the array is what a program branches on, the sentence is what a person or a model reads.

        On an unknown parameter name rather than an unknown value, this carries the parameter names the operation does accept, since that is the set the caller has to pick from.

        On an insufficient_scope failure there is usually no parameter at fault and param is absent, and this carries the one permission that was needed, written the way the permission table writes it, such as content: read. The exception is a credential that may call the operation but not with one value of a parameter, such as ?expand=subscriber on listNewsletterInsights without audience: read: then param names the parameter and this carries the values this credential may send instead.

      • request_id string

        Identifier for this request, echoed in the Commune-Request-Id response header. Quote it in support requests.

      • docs_url string(uri)

        Link to the documentation for this error code: always https://usecommune.dev/errors/ followed by the code, a page on what the code means, what usually causes it and how to fix it.
  • 500 application/json

    Something failed inside Commune. The request may be retried.

    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • error object Required

      Additional properties are NOT allowed.

      Hide error attributes Show error attributes object
      • code string Required

        The stable, machine readable reason a request failed. New codes may be added in a minor version, so treat an unrecognised code as a generic failure of its HTTP status class.

        Two of these share a status with a neighbour and exist because what a caller does next is different. invalid_version is a 400 that is never fixed by changing the request body. not_commune_newsletter is a 422 that is never fixed by changing the request at all: it says the newsletter's articles are published somewhere else and mirrored into Commune afterwards, so Commune cannot write one. Its page at https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_commune_newsletter, like every code's, is its docs_url, and it covers moving a newsletter onto Commune's own publishing, which is the only thing that resolves it.

        Values are bad_request, invalid_version, unauthorized, forbidden, insufficient_scope, payment_required, not_found, conflict, unprocessable, not_commune_newsletter, rate_limited, internal_error, or service_unavailable.

      • message string Required

        A human readable sentence describing what went wrong. Written for a developer reading a log, not for an end user. Do not branch on it, branch on code.

      • param string

        The query, path or body parameter the error is attributed to, when the error is attributable to exactly one. Absent otherwise.

      • allowed_values array[string]

        Everything param would have accepted, when what it accepts is a finite set. Absent when it is not: a cursor, an identifier or a numeric range has nothing to enumerate, and an empty array would read as "nothing is allowed".

        It repeats what message says in prose, so a caller can correct a request from this one response: the array is what a program branches on, the sentence is what a person or a model reads.

        On an unknown parameter name rather than an unknown value, this carries the parameter names the operation does accept, since that is the set the caller has to pick from.

        On an insufficient_scope failure there is usually no parameter at fault and param is absent, and this carries the one permission that was needed, written the way the permission table writes it, such as content: read. The exception is a credential that may call the operation but not with one value of a parameter, such as ?expand=subscriber on listNewsletterInsights without audience: read: then param names the parameter and this carries the values this credential may send instead.

      • request_id string

        Identifier for this request, echoed in the Commune-Request-Id response header. Quote it in support requests.

      • docs_url string(uri)

        Link to the documentation for this error code: always https://usecommune.dev/errors/ followed by the code, a page on what the code means, what usually causes it and how to fix it.
GET /articles/{article} 
curl https://api.usecommune.com/articles/k7Rm2xQp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COMMUNE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Commune-Version: 2026-08-26"
Response examples (200) 
{
  "object": "article",
  "id": "string",
  "short_id": "k7Rm2xQp",
  "slug": "string",
  "newsletter": {
    "object": "newsletter",
    "id": "9a4c1c6e-0f2b-4f47-9d3f-6d1b1a2c3d4e"
  },
  "title": "string",
  "preview_text": "string",
  "image_url": "https://example.com",
  "external_url": "https://example.com",
  "status": "draft",
  "is_imported": true,
  "posted_at": "2026-05-04T09:42:00Z",
  "scheduled_for": "2026-05-04T09:42:00Z",
  "authors": [
    {
      "object": "newsletter",
      "id": "9a4c1c6e-0f2b-4f47-9d3f-6d1b1a2c3d4e"
    }
  ],
  "thread": {
    "object": "newsletter",
    "id": "9a4c1c6e-0f2b-4f47-9d3f-6d1b1a2c3d4e"
  },
  "stats": {
    "likes": 42,
    "comments": 42,
    "highlights": 42
  },
  "created_at": "2026-05-04T09:42:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-05-04T09:42:00Z",
  "content": "string",
  "content_markdown": "string"
}
Response examples (400) 
{
  "error": {
    "code": "bad_request",
    "message": "Newsletter not found.",
    "param": "cursor",
    "allowed_values": [
      "subscribed",
      "unsubscribed",
      "bounced",
      "complained",
      "pending"
    ],
    "request_id": "req_01j9c8h1q7m3n4p5r6s7t8u9v0",
    "docs_url": "https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_found"
  }
}
Response examples (401) 
# Headers
WWW-Authenticate: string

# Payload
{
  "error": {
    "code": "bad_request",
    "message": "Newsletter not found.",
    "param": "cursor",
    "allowed_values": [
      "subscribed",
      "unsubscribed",
      "bounced",
      "complained",
      "pending"
    ],
    "request_id": "req_01j9c8h1q7m3n4p5r6s7t8u9v0",
    "docs_url": "https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_found"
  }
}
Response examples (404) 
{
  "error": {
    "code": "bad_request",
    "message": "Newsletter not found.",
    "param": "cursor",
    "allowed_values": [
      "subscribed",
      "unsubscribed",
      "bounced",
      "complained",
      "pending"
    ],
    "request_id": "req_01j9c8h1q7m3n4p5r6s7t8u9v0",
    "docs_url": "https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_found"
  }
}
Response examples (429) 
# Headers
Retry-After: 42

# Payload
{
  "error": {
    "code": "bad_request",
    "message": "Newsletter not found.",
    "param": "cursor",
    "allowed_values": [
      "subscribed",
      "unsubscribed",
      "bounced",
      "complained",
      "pending"
    ],
    "request_id": "req_01j9c8h1q7m3n4p5r6s7t8u9v0",
    "docs_url": "https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_found"
  }
}
Response examples (500) 
{
  "error": {
    "code": "bad_request",
    "message": "Newsletter not found.",
    "param": "cursor",
    "allowed_values": [
      "subscribed",
      "unsubscribed",
      "bounced",
      "complained",
      "pending"
    ],
    "request_id": "req_01j9c8h1q7m3n4p5r6s7t8u9v0",
    "docs_url": "https://usecommune.dev/errors/not_found"
  }
}