Introduction

Last updated: 2022-06-17

The IBM Watson™ Assistant service combines machine learning, natural language understanding, and an integrated dialog editor to create conversation flows between your apps and your users.

The Assistant v1 API provides authoring methods your application can use to create or update a workspace.

This documentation describes Java SDK major version 9. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Node SDK major version 6. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Python SDK major version 5. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Ruby SDK major version 2. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes .NET Standard SDK major version 5. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Go SDK major version 2. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Swift SDK major version 4. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

This documentation describes Unity SDK major version 5. For more information about how to update your code from the previous version, see the migration guide.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API reference.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

For runtime methods that are used by a client application to send user input to an assistant, use the v2 API.

The IBM Watson Unity SDK has the following requirements.

  • The SDK requires Unity version 2018.2 or later to support Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2.
    • Set the project settings for both the Scripting Runtime Version and the Api Compatibility Level to .NET 4.x Equivalent.
    • For more information, see TLS 1.0 support.
  • The SDK doesn't support the WebGL projects. Change your build settings to any platform except WebGL.

For more information about how to install and configure the SDK and SDK Core, see https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/unity-sdk.

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Java.

Maven

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.ibm.watson</groupId>
  <artifactId>ibm-watson</artifactId>
  <version>10.0.1</version>
</dependency>

Gradle

compile 'com.ibm.watson:ibm-watson:10.0.1'

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/java-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Node.js.

Installation

npm install ibm-watson@^7.0.0

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/node-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Python.

Installation

pip install --upgrade "ibm-watson>=6.0.0"

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/python-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Ruby.

Installation

gem install ibm_watson

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/ruby-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Go.

go get -u github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/v2@v3.0.0

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Swift.

Cocoapods

pod 'IBMWatsonAssistantV1', '~> 5.0.0'

Carthage

github "watson-developer-cloud/swift-sdk" ~> 5.0.0

Swift Package Manager

.package(url: "https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/swift-sdk", from: "5.0.0")

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/swift-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for .NET Standard.

Package Manager

Install-Package IBM.Watson.Assistant.v1 -Version 6.0.0

.NET CLI

dotnet add package IBM.Watson.Assistant.v1 --version 6.0.0

PackageReference

<PackageReference Include="IBM.Watson.Assistant.v1" Version="6.0.0" />

GitHub

href="https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/dotnet-standard-sdk

The code examples on this tab use the client library that is provided for Unity.

GitHub

https://github.com/watson-developer-cloud/unity-sdk

https://github.com/IBM/unity-sdk-core

Endpoint URLs

Identify the base URL for your service instance.

IBM Cloud URLs

The base URLs come from the service instance. To find the URL, view the service credentials by clicking the name of the service in the Resource list. Use the value of the URL. Add the method to form the complete API endpoint for your request.

The following example URL represents a Watson Assistant instance that is hosted in Washington, DC:

https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/instances/6bbda3b3-d572-45e1-8c54-22d6ed9e52c2

The following URLs represent the base URLs for Watson Assistant. When you call the API, use the URL that corresponds to the location of your service instance.

  • Dallas: https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • Washington, DC: https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • Frankfurt: https://api.eu-de.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • Sydney: https://api.au-syd.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • Tokyo: https://api.jp-tok.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • London: https://api.eu-gb.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com
  • Seoul: https://api.kr-seo.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Set the correct service URL by calling the setServiceUrl() method of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by specifying the serviceUrl parameter when you create the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by calling the set_service_url() method of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by specifying the service_url property of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by calling the SetServiceURL() method of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by setting the serviceURL property of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by calling the SetServiceUrl() method of the service instance.

Set the correct service URL by calling the SetServiceUrl() method of the service instance.

Dallas API endpoint example for services managed on IBM Cloud

curl -X {request_method} -u "apikey:{apikey}" "https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/instances/{instance_id}"

Your service instance might not use this URL

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator("{apikey}");
Assistant assistant = new Assistant("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.setServiceUrl("https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com");

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '{version}',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: 'https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com',
});

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

from ibm_watson import AssistantV1
from ibm_cloud_sdk_core.authenticators import IAMAuthenticator

authenticator = IAMAuthenticator('{apikey}')
assistant = AssistantV1(
    version='{version}',
    authenticator=authenticator
)

assistant.set_service_url('https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com')

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

require "ibm_watson/authenticators"
require "ibm_watson/assistant_v1"
include IBMWatson

authenticator = Authenticators::IamAuthenticator.new(
  apikey: "{apikey}"
)
assistant = AssistantV1.new(
  version: "{version}",
  authenticator: authenticator
)
assistant.service_url = "https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com"

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)

if assistantErr != nil {
  panic(assistantErr)
}

assistant.SetServiceURL("https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com")

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

let authenticator = WatsonIAMAuthenticator(apiKey: "{apikey}")
let assistant = Assistant(version: "{version}", authenticator: authenticator)
assistant.serviceURL = "https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com"

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com");

Default URL

https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com

Example for the Washington, DC location

var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("https://api.us-east.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com");

Disabling SSL verification

All Watson services use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (or Transport Layer Security (TLS)) for secure connections between the client and server. The connection is verified against the local certificate store to ensure authentication, integrity, and confidentiality.

If you use a self-signed certificate, you need to disable SSL verification to make a successful connection.

Enabling SSL verification is highly recommended. Disabling SSL jeopardizes the security of the connection and data. Disable SSL only if necessary, and take steps to enable SSL as soon as possible.

To disable SSL verification for a curl request, use the --insecure (-k) option with the request.

To disable SSL verification, create an HttpConfigOptions object and set the disableSslVerification property to true. Then, pass the object to the service instance by using the configureClient method.

To disable SSL verification, set the disableSslVerification parameter to true when you create the service instance.

To disable SSL verification, specify True on the set_disable_ssl_verification method for the service instance.

To disable SSL verification, set the disable_ssl_verification parameter to true in the configure_http_client() method for the service instance.

To disable SSL verification, call the DisableSSLVerification method on the service instance.

To disable SSL verification, call the disableSSLVerification() method on the service instance. You cannot disable SSL verification on Linux.

To disable SSL verification, set the DisableSslVerification method to true on the service instance.

To disable SSL verification, set the DisableSslVerification method to true on the service instance.

Example to disable SSL verification. Replace {apikey} and {url} with your service credentials.

curl -k -X {request_method} -u "apikey:{apikey}" "{url}/{method}"

Example to disable SSL verification

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator("{apikey}");
Assistant assistant = new Assistant("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.setServiceUrl("{url}");

HttpConfigOptions configOptions = new HttpConfigOptions.Builder()
  .disableSslVerification(true)
  .build();
assistant.configureClient(configOptions);

Example to disable SSL verification

const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '{version}',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: '{url}',
  disableSslVerification: true,
});

Example to disable SSL verification

from ibm_watson import AssistantV1
from ibm_cloud_sdk_core.authenticators import IAMAuthenticator

authenticator = IAMAuthenticator('{apikey}')
assistant = AssistantV1(
    version='{version}',
    authenticator=authenticator
)

assistant.set_service_url('{url}')

assistant.set_disable_ssl_verification(True)

Example to disable SSL verification

require "ibm_watson/authenticators"
require "ibm_watson/assistant_v1"
include IBMWatson

authenticator = Authenticators::IamAuthenticator.new(
  apikey: "{apikey}"
)
assistant = AssistantV1.new(
  version: "{version}",
  authenticator: authenticator
)
assistant.service_url = "{url}"

assistant.configure_http_client(disable_ssl_verification: true)

Example to disable SSL verification

assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)

if assistantErr != nil {
  panic(assistantErr)
}

assistant.SetServiceURL("{url}")

assistant.DisableSSLVerification()

Example to disable SSL verification

let authenticator = WatsonIAMAuthenticator(apiKey: "{apikey}")
let assistant = Assistant(version: "{version}", authenticator: authenticator)
assistant.serviceURL = "{url}"

assistant.disableSSLVerification()

Example to disable SSL verification

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.DisableSslVerification(true);

Example to disable SSL verification

var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.DisableSslVerification = true;

Authentication

You authenticate to the API by using IBM Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM).

You can pass either a bearer token in an authorization header or an API key. Tokens support authenticated requests without embedding service credentials in every call. API keys use basic authentication. For more information, see Authenticating to Watson services.

  • For testing and development, you can pass an API key directly.
  • For production use, unless you use the Watson SDKs, use an IAM token.

If you pass in an API key, use apikey for the username and the value of the API key as the password. For example, if the API key is f5sAznhrKQyvBFFaZbtF60m5tzLbqWhyALQawBg5TjRI in the service credentials, include the credentials in your call like this:

curl -u "apikey:f5sAznhrKQyvBFFaZbtF60m5tzLbqWhyALQawBg5TjRI"

For IBM Cloud instances, the SDK provides initialization methods for each form of authentication.

  • Use the API key to have the SDK manage the lifecycle of the access token. The SDK requests an access token, ensures that the access token is valid, and refreshes it if necessary.
  • Use the access token to manage the lifecycle yourself. You must periodically refresh the token.

For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.For more information, see IAM authentication with the SDK.

The service access role that is associated with the API key determines which endpoints and methods you can access. For more information, see Resource-level role impact on available actions.

Replace {apikey} and {url} with your service credentials.

curl -X {request_method} -u "apikey:{apikey}" "{url}/v1/{method}"

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator("{apikey}");
Assistant assistant = new Assistant("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.setServiceUrl("{url}");

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '{version}',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: '{url}',
});

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

from ibm_watson import AssistantV1
from ibm_cloud_sdk_core.authenticators import IAMAuthenticator

authenticator = IAMAuthenticator('{apikey}')
assistant = AssistantV1(
    version='{version}',
    authenticator=authenticator
)

assistant.set_service_url('{url}')

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

require "ibm_watson/authenticators"
require "ibm_watson/assistant_v1"
include IBMWatson

authenticator = Authenticators::IamAuthenticator.new(
  apikey: "{apikey}"
)
assistant = AssistantV1.new(
  version: "{version}",
  authenticator: authenticator
)
assistant.service_url = "{url}"

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

import (
  "github.com/IBM/go-sdk-core/core"
  "github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/assistantv1"
)

func main() {
  authenticator := &core.IamAuthenticator{
    ApiKey: "{apikey}",
  }

  options := &assistantv1.AssistantV1Options{
    Version: "{version}",
    Authenticator: authenticator,
  }

  assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)

  if assistantErr != nil {
    panic(assistantErr)
  }

  assistant.SetServiceURL("{url}")
}

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

let authenticator = WatsonIAMAuthenticator(apiKey: "{apikey}")
let assistant = Assistant(version: "{version}", authenticator: authenticator)
assistant.serviceURL = "{url}"

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

SDK managing the IAM token. Replace {apikey}, {version}, and {url}.

var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

Finding credentials in the UI

You can also access the service credentials from the Watson Assistant user interface (UI):

  • To see the service credentials and the assistant ID of an assistant, open the assistant settings and click API Details. (The assistant ID is used only by the v2 API.)
  • To see the service credentials and the workspace ID of a workspace, go to the Skills page and select View API Details from the menu of a skill tile. (The workspace ID is used only by the v1 API.)

If you cannot view the API details or the service credentials, you probably do not have Manager access to the service instance. Instead, you can create a personal API key using the IBM Cloud API keys page. For more information, see Managing user API keys.

Access between services

Your application might use more than one Watson service. You can grant access between services and you can grant access to more than one service for your applications.

For IBM Cloud services, the method to grant access between Watson services varies depending on the type of API key. For more information, see IAM access.

  • To grant access between IBM Cloud services, create an authorization between the services. For more information, see Granting access between services.
  • To grant access to your services by applications without using user credentials, create a service ID, add an API key, and assign access policies. For more information, see Creating and working with service IDs.

When you give a user ID access to multiple services, use an endpoint URL that includes the service instance ID (for example, https://api.us-south.assistant.watson.cloud.ibm.com/instances/6bbda3b3-d572-45e1-8c54-22d6ed9e52c2). You can find the instance ID in two places:

  • By clicking the service instance row in the Resource list. The instance ID is the GUID in the details pane.

  • By clicking the name of the service instance in the list and looking at the credentials URL.

    If you don't see the instance ID in the URL, the credentials predate service IDs. Add new credentials from the Service credentials page and use those credentials.

Versioning

API requests require a version parameter that takes a date in the format version=YYYY-MM-DD. When the API is updated with any breaking changes, the service introduces a new version date for the API.

Send the version parameter with every API request. The service uses the API version for the date you specify, or the most recent version before that date. Don't default to the current date. Instead, specify a date that matches a version that is compatible with your app, and don't change it until your app is ready for a later version.

Specify the version to use on API requests with the version parameter when you create the service instance. The service uses the API version for the date you specify, or the most recent version before that date. Don't default to the current date. Instead, specify a date that matches a version that is compatible with your app, and don't change it until your app is ready for a later version.

This documentation describes the current version of Watson Assistant, 2021-11-27. In some cases, differences in earlier versions are noted in the descriptions of parameters and response models.

Error handling

Watson Assistant uses standard HTTP response codes to indicate whether a method completed successfully. HTTP response codes in the 2xx range indicate success. A response in the 4xx range is some sort of failure, and a response in the 5xx range usually indicates an internal system error that cannot be resolved by the user. Response codes are listed with the method.

ErrorResponse

Name Description
code
integer		 The HTTP response code.
error
string		 General description of an error.
errors
ErrorDetail[]		 Collection of specific constraint violations associated with the error.

ErrorDetail

Name Description
message
string		 Description of a specific constraint violation.
path
string		 The location of the constraint violation.

The Java SDK generates an exception for any unsuccessful method invocation. All methods that accept an argument can also throw an IllegalArgumentException.

Exception Description
IllegalArgumentException An invalid argument was passed to the method.

When the Java SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it generates an exception from the com.ibm.watson.developer_cloud.service.exception package. All service exceptions contain the following fields.

Field Description
statusCode The HTTP response code that is returned.
message A message that describes the error.

When the Node SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it creates an Error object with information that describes the error that occurred. This error object is passed as the first parameter to the callback function for the method. The contents of the error object are as shown in the following table.

Error

Field Description
code The HTTP response code that is returned.
message A message that describes the error.

The Python SDK generates an exception for any unsuccessful method invocation. When the Python SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it generates an ApiException with the following fields.

Field Description
code The HTTP response code that is returned.
message A message that describes the error.
info A dictionary of additional information about the error.

When the Ruby SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it generates an ApiException with the following fields.

Field Description
code The HTTP response code that is returned.
message A message that describes the error.
info A dictionary of additional information about the error.

The Go SDK generates an error for any unsuccessful service instantiation and method invocation. You can check for the error immediately. The contents of the error object are as shown in the following table.

Error

Field Description
code The HTTP response code that is returned.
message A message that describes the error.

The Swift SDK returns a WatsonError in the completionHandler any unsuccessful method invocation. This error type is an enum that conforms to LocalizedError and contains an errorDescription property that returns an error message. Some of the WatsonError cases contain associated values that reveal more information about the error.

Field Description
errorDescription A message that describes the error.

When the .NET Standard SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it generates a ServiceResponseException with the following fields.

Field Description
Message A message that describes the error.
CodeDescription The HTTP response code that is returned.

When the Unity SDK receives an error response from the Watson Assistant service, it generates an IBMError with the following fields.

Field Description
Url The URL that generated the error.
StatusCode The HTTP response code returned.
ErrorMessage A message that describes the error.
Response The contents of the response from the server.
ResponseHeaders A dictionary of headers returned by the request.

Example error handling

try {
  // Invoke a method
} catch (NotFoundException e) {
  // Handle Not Found (404) exception
} catch (RequestTooLargeException e) {
  // Handle Request Too Large (413) exception
} catch (ServiceResponseException e) {
  // Base class for all exceptions caused by error responses from the service
  System.out.println("Service returned status code "
    + e.getStatusCode() + ": " + e.getMessage());
}

Example error handling

assistant.method(params)
  .catch(err => {
    console.log('error:', err);
  });

Example error handling

from ibm_watson import ApiException
try:
    # Invoke a method
except ApiException as ex:
    print "Method failed with status code " + str(ex.code) + ": " + ex.message

Example error handling

require "ibm_watson"
begin
  # Invoke a method
rescue IBMWatson::ApiException => ex
  print "Method failed with status code #{ex.code}: #{ex.error}"
end

Example error handling

import "github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/assistantv1"

// Instantiate a service
assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)

// Check for errors
if assistantErr != nil {
  panic(assistantErr)
}

// Call a method
result, _, responseErr := assistant.MethodName(&methodOptions)

// Check for errors
if responseErr != nil {
  panic(responseErr)
}

Example error handling

assistant.method() {
  response, error in

  if let error = error {
    switch error {
    case let .http(statusCode, message, metadata):
      switch statusCode {
      case .some(404):
        // Handle Not Found (404) exception
        print("Not found")
      case .some(413):
        // Handle Request Too Large (413) exception
        print("Payload too large")
      default:
        if let statusCode = statusCode {
          print("Error - code: \(statusCode), \(message ?? "")")
        }
      }
    default:
      print(error.localizedDescription)
    }
    return
  }

  guard let result = response?.result else {
    print(error?.localizedDescription ?? "unknown error")
    return
  }

  print(result)
}

Example error handling

try
{
    // Invoke a method
}
catch(ServiceResponseException e)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Error: " + e.Message);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Error: " + e.Message);
}

Example error handling

// Invoke a method
assistant.MethodName(Callback, Parameters);

// Check for errors
private void Callback(DetailedResponse<ExampleResponse> response, IBMError error)
{
    if (error == null)
    {
        Log.Debug("ExampleCallback", "Response received: {0}", response.Response);
    }
    else
    {
        Log.Debug("ExampleCallback", "Error received: {0}, {1}, {3}", error.StatusCode, error.ErrorMessage, error.Response);
    }
}

Data handling

Additional headers

Some Watson services accept special parameters in headers that are passed with the request.

You can pass request header parameters in all requests or in a single request to the service.

To pass a request header, use the --header (-H) option with a curl request.

To pass header parameters with every request, use the setDefaultHeaders method of the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, use the addHeader method as a modifier on the request before you execute it.

To pass header parameters with every request, specify the headers parameter when you create the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, use the headers method as a modifier on the request before you execute it.

To pass header parameters with every request, specify the set_default_headers method of the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, include headers as a dict in the request.

To pass header parameters with every request, specify the add_default_headers method of the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, specify the headers method as a chainable method in the request.

To pass header parameters with every request, specify the SetDefaultHeaders method of the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, specify the Headers as a map in the request.

To pass header parameters with every request, add them to the defaultHeaders property of the service object. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, pass the headers parameter to the request method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, use the WithHeader() method as a modifier on the request before you execute it. See Data collection for an example use of this method.

To pass header parameters in a single request, use the WithHeader() method as a modifier on the request before you execute it.

Example header parameter in a request

curl -X {request_method} -H "Request-Header: {header_value}" "{url}/v1/{method}"

Example header parameter in a request

ReturnType returnValue = assistant.methodName(parameters)
  .addHeader("Custom-Header", "{header_value}")
  .execute();

Example header parameter in a request

const parameters = {
  {parameters}
};

assistant.methodName(
  parameters,
  headers: {
    'Custom-Header': '{header_value}'
  })
   .then(result => {
    console.log(response);
  })
  .catch(err => {
    console.log('error:', err);
  });

Example header parameter in a request

response = assistant.methodName(
    parameters,
    headers = {
        'Custom-Header': '{header_value}'
    })

Example header parameter in a request

response = assistant.headers(
  "Custom-Header" => "{header_value}"
).methodName(parameters)

Example header parameter in a request

result, _, responseErr := assistant.MethodName(
  &methodOptions{
    Headers: map[string]string{
      "Accept": "application/json",
    },
  },
)

Example header parameter in a request

let customHeader: [String: String] = ["Custom-Header": "{header_value}"]
assistant.methodName(parameters, headers: customHeader) {
  response, error in
}

Example header parameter in a request

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.WithHeader("Custom-Header", "header_value");

Example header parameter in a request

var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.WithHeader("Custom-Header", "header_value");

Response details

The Watson Assistant service might return information to the application in response headers.

To access all response headers that the service returns, include the --include (-i) option with a curl request. To see detailed response data for the request, including request headers, response headers, and extra debugging information, include the --verbose (-v) option with the request.

Example request to access response headers

curl -X {request_method} {authentication_method} --include "{url}/v1/{method}"

To access information in the response headers, use one of the request methods that returns details with the response: executeWithDetails(), enqueueWithDetails(), or rxWithDetails(). These methods return a Response<T> object, where T is the expected response model. Use the getResult() method to access the response object for the method, and use the getHeaders() method to access information in response headers.

Example request to access response headers

Response<ReturnType> response = assistant.methodName(parameters)
  .executeWithDetails();
// Access response from methodName
ReturnType returnValue = response.getResult();
// Access information in response headers
Headers responseHeaders = response.getHeaders();

All response data is available in the Response<T> object that is returned by each method. To access information in the response object, use the following properties.

Property Description
result Returns the response for the service-specific method.
headers Returns the response header information.
status Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

assistant.methodName(parameters)
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response.headers);
  })
  .catch(err => {
    console.log('error:', err);
  });

The return value from all service methods is a DetailedResponse object. To access information in the result object or response headers, use the following methods.

DetailedResponse

Method Description
get_result() Returns the response for the service-specific method.
get_headers() Returns the response header information.
get_status_code() Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

assistant.set_detailed_response(True)
response = assistant.methodName(parameters)
# Access response from methodName
print(json.dumps(response.get_result(), indent=2))
# Access information in response headers
print(response.get_headers())
# Access HTTP response status
print(response.get_status_code())

The return value from all service methods is a DetailedResponse object. To access information in the response object, use the following properties.

DetailedResponse

Property Description
result Returns the response for the service-specific method.
headers Returns the response header information.
status Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

response = assistant.methodName(parameters)
# Access response from methodName
print response.result
# Access information in response headers
print response.headers
# Access HTTP response status
print response.status

The return value from all service methods is a DetailedResponse object. To access information in the response object or response headers, use the following methods.

DetailedResponse

Method Description
GetResult() Returns the response for the service-specific method.
GetHeaders() Returns the response header information.
GetStatusCode() Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

import (
  "github.com/IBM/go-sdk-core/core"
  "github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/assistantv1"
)
result, response, responseErr := assistant.MethodName(
  &methodOptions{})
// Access result
core.PrettyPrint(response.GetResult(), "Result ")

// Access response headers
core.PrettyPrint(response.GetHeaders(), "Headers ")

// Access status code
core.PrettyPrint(response.GetStatusCode(), "Status Code ")

All response data is available in the WatsonResponse<T> object that is returned in each method's completionHandler.

Example request to access response headers

assistant.methodName(parameters) {
  response, error in

  guard let result = response?.result else {
    print(error?.localizedDescription ?? "unknown error")
    return
  }
  print(result) // The data returned by the service
  print(response?.statusCode)
  print(response?.headers)
}

The response contains fields for response headers, response JSON, and the status code.

DetailedResponse

Property Description
Result Returns the result for the service-specific method.
Response Returns the raw JSON response for the service-specific method.
Headers Returns the response header information.
StatusCode Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

var results = assistant.MethodName(parameters);

var result = results.Result;            //  The result object
var responseHeaders = results.Headers;  //  The response headers
var responseJson = results.Response;    //  The raw response JSON
var statusCode = results.StatusCode;    //  The response status code

The response contains fields for response headers, response JSON, and the status code.

DetailedResponse

Property Description
Result Returns the result for the service-specific method.
Response Returns the raw JSON response for the service-specific method.
Headers Returns the response header information.
StatusCode Returns the HTTP status code.

Example request to access response headers

private void Example()
{
    assistant.MethodName(Callback, Parameters);
}

private void Callback(DetailedResponse<ResponseType> response, IBMError error)
{
    var result = response.Result;                 //  The result object
    var responseHeaders = response.Headers;       //  The response headers
    var responseJson = reresponsesults.Response;  //  The raw response JSON
    var statusCode = response.StatusCode;         //  The response status code
}

Data labels

You can remove data associated with a specific customer if you label the data with a customer ID when you send a request to the service.

  • Use the X-Watson-Metadata header to associate a customer ID with the data. By adding a customer ID to a request, you indicate that it contains data that belongs to that customer.

    Specify a random or generic string for the customer ID. Do not include personal data, such as an email address. Pass the string customer_id={id} as the argument of the header.

    Labeling data is used only by methods that accept customer data.

  • Use the Delete labeled data method to remove data that is associated with a customer ID.

Use this process of labeling and deleting data only when you want to remove the data that is associated with a single customer, not when you want to remove data for multiple customers. For more information about Watson Assistant and labeling data, see Information security.

For more information about how to pass headers, see Additional headers.

Data collection

By default, Watson Assistant service instances that are not part of Enterprise plans collect data about API requests and their results. This data is collected only to improve the services for future users. The collected data is not shared or made public. Data is not collected for services that are part of Enterprise plans.

To prevent IBM usage of your data for an API request, set one of the following options.

  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You must set the header on each message request that you do not want IBM to access for general service improvements.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by using the setDefaultHeaders method of the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by using the headers parameter when you create the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by using the set_default_headers method of the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by using the add_default_headers method of the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by using the SetDefaultHeaders method of the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing user input and Watson responses, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you send a message. You can set the header by adding it to the defaultHeaders property of the service object you use to send message requests that you do not want to be accessed.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.)
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the setDefaultHeaders method of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the headers parameter when you create the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the set_default_headers method of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the add_default_headers method of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the SetDefaultHeaders method of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by adding it to the defaultHeaders property of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • To prevent IBM from accessing training data such as intents and entities, set the X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out header parameter to true when you create or update a workspace. This option marks the workspace as opted out, and no training data for that workspace will be used. (This option does not apply to messages, which must be opted out individually.) You can set the header by using the WithHeader() method of the service object you use to create or update the workspace.
  • You can also mark a workspace as opted out by specifying a value of true for the learning_opt_out property in the JSON data that is used to create or update a workspace. This option applies only to training data, not to messages. (The HTTP header always overrides the JSON property, if both are specified.)

Example request

curl -u "apikey:{apikey}" -H "X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out: true" "{url}/{method}"

Example request

Map<String, String> headers = new HashMap<String, String>();
headers.put("X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out", "true");

assistant.setDefaultHeaders(headers);

Example request

const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '{version}',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: '{url}',
  headers: {
    'X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out': 'true'
  }
});

Example request

assistant.set_default_headers({'x-watson-learning-opt-out': "true"})

Example request

assistant.add_default_headers(headers: {"x-watson-learning-opt-out" => "true"})

Example request

import "net/http"

headers := http.Header{}
headers.Add("x-watson-learning-opt-out", "true")
assistant.SetDefaultHeaders(headers)

Example request

assistant.defaultHeaders["X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out"] = "true"

Example request

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.WithHeader("X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out", "true");

Example request

var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("{version}", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

assistant.WithHeader("X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out", "true");

Synchronous and asynchronous requests

The Java SDK supports both synchronous (blocking) and asynchronous (non-blocking) execution of service methods. All service methods implement the ServiceCall interface.

  • To call a method synchronously, use the execute method of the ServiceCall interface. You can call the execute method directly from an instance of the service.
  • To call a method asynchronously, use the enqueue method of the ServiceCall interface to receive a callback when the response arrives. The ServiceCallback interface of the method's argument provides onResponse and onFailure methods that you override to handle the callback.

The Ruby SDK supports both synchronous (blocking) and asynchronous (non-blocking) execution of service methods. All service methods implement the Concurrent::Async module. When you use the synchronous or asynchronous methods, an IVar object is returned. You access the DetailedResponse object by calling ivar_object.value.

For more information about the Ivar object, see the IVar class docs.

  • To call a method synchronously, either call the method directly or use the .await chainable method of the Concurrent::Async module.

    Calling a method directly (without .await) returns a DetailedResponse object.

  • To call a method asynchronously, use the .async chainable method of the Concurrent::Async module.

You can call the .await and .async methods directly from an instance of the service.

Example synchronous request

ReturnType returnValue = assistant.method(parameters).execute();

Example asynchronous request

assistant.method(parameters).enqueue(new ServiceCallback<ReturnType>() {
  @Override public void onResponse(ReturnType response) {
    . . .
  }
  @Override public void onFailure(Exception e) {
    . . .
  }
});

Example synchronous request

response = assistant.method_name(parameters)

or

response = assistant.await.method_name(parameters)

Example asynchronous request

response = assistant.async.method_name(parameters)

Pagination

Some API requests might return many results. To avoid performance issues, these results are returned one page at a time, with a limited number of results on each page. The starting point for each page of results is identified by a token called a cursor.

The default page size is 100 objects. To use a different page size, use the page_limit query parameterpage_limit parameterpageLimit parameterPageLimit parameter.

To change the attribute by which results are sorted, use the sort query parametersort parameterSort parameter. If you include multiple sortSort parameters on the same request, the results are sorted first by the first sorting attribute, then the second, and so on.

The supported sorting attributes vary by endpoint. For more information, see the API Reference information for each method.

For any request that uses pagination, the response includes a pagination object that specifies pagination information. This object includes two URLs that you can use to make subsequent requests:

  • refresh_url: The URL for requesting the same page of results again.
  • next_url: The URL for requesting the next page of results. The next_url property is omitted if no more results exist.

Each URL specifies the appropriate cursor parameter and retains the same page_limit and sort parameters that were used for the initial request.

For any request that uses pagination, the response includes a paginationPagination object that specifies pagination information. This object includes two cursor tokens, refreshCursorrefresh_cursorRefreshCursor and nextCursornext_cursorNextCursor, that you can specify on subsequent requests.

To request a specific page of results, specify the appropriate value by using the cursorCursor parameter. When you request subsequent pages, do not change the values of the sort and pageLimitsort and page_limitSort and PageLimit parameters (if any).

Pagination

Name Description
refreshCursorrefresh_cursorRefreshCursor
string		 The cursor value for the current page of results.
nextCursornext_cursorNextCursor
string		 The cursor value for the next page of results, if any.
refreshUrlrefreshURLrefresh_urlRefreshUrl
string		 The URL that returns the same page of results.
nextUrlnextURLnext_urlNextUrl
string		 The URL that returns the next page of results, if any.
totalTotal
integer		 Reserved for future use.
matchedMatched
integer		 Reserved for future use.

Using cursor parameter to request a specific page of results:

curl -u "apikey:{apikey}" "{url}/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/intents/hello/examples?cursor=eyJ0ZXh0Ijp7Im9yZGVyIjoiYXNjIiwiaW5kZXgiOjAsInZhbHVlIjoiSGV5In0sInBfcyI6NH0=&version=2019-02-28"

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator("{apikey}");
Assistant assistant = new Assistant("2019-02-28", authenticator);
assistant.setServiceUrl("{url}");
String workspaceId = "{workspace_id}";
String intent = "hello";
String cursor = "";

do {
  ListExamplesOptions options = new ListExamplesOptions.Builder(workspaceId, intent)
    .pageLimit(3)
    .cursor(cursor)
    .build();
  ExampleCollection response = assistant.listExamples(options).execute().getResult();
  List<Example> examples = response.getExamples();
  cursor = response.getPagination().getNextCursor();
  for (Example example : examples) {
    System.out.println(example.text());
  }
}
while(cursor != null);

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '2019-02-28',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: '{url}',
});
const cursor = null;

getNextPage(cursor);

function getNextPage(cursor) {
  const params = {
    workspaceId: '{workspace_id}',
    intent: 'hello',
    cursor,
    pageLimit: 3,
  };
  assistant.listExamples(params)
    .then(res => {
      for (const example in res.result.examples) {
        console.log(res.result.examples[example]['text']);
      }
      if(res.result.pagination.next_cursor) {
        getNextPage(res.result.pagination.next_cursor)
      }
    })
    .catch(err => {
      console.log(err)
    });
}

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

from ibm_watson import AssistantV1
from ibm_cloud_sdk_core.authenticators import IAMAuthenticator

authenticator = IAMAuthenticator('{apikey}')
assistant = AssistantV1(
    version='2019-02-28',
    authenticator = authenticator
)
assistant.set_service_url('{url}')
cursor = None

while True:
    response=assistant.list_examples(
        workspace_id='{workspace_id}',
        intent='hello',
        cursor=cursor,
        page_limit=3
    ).get_result()

    for example in response.get('examples'):
        print(example.get('text'))

    cursor=response.get('pagination').get('next_cursor')
    if not cursor:
        break

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

require "ibm_watson/authenticators"
require "ibm_watson/assistant_v1"
include IBMWatson

authenticator = Authenticators::IamAuthenticator.new(
  apikey: "{apikey}"
)
assistant = AssistantV1.new(
  version: "2019-02-28",
  authenticator: authenticator
)
assistant.service_url = "{url}"
cursor = nil

loop do
  response = assistant.list_examples(
    workspace_id: "{workspace_id}",
    intent: "hello",
    page_limit: 3,
    cursor: cursor
  )
  response.result["examples"].each { |example|
    puts example["text"]
  }
  cursor = response.result["pagination"]["next_cursor"]
  if cursor.nil?
    break
  end
end

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

package main

import (
  "fmt"
  "github.com/IBM/go-sdk-core/core"
  "github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/assistantv1"
)

func main() {
  authenticator := &core.IamAuthenticator{
    ApiKey: "{apikey}",
  }
  options := &assistantv1.AssistantV1Options{
    Version: "2019-02-28",
    Authenticator: authenticator,
  }
  assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)
  if assistantErr != nil {
    panic(assistantErr)
  }

  assistant.SetServiceURL("{url}")
  cursor := core.StringPtr("")
  pageLimit := int64(3)

  for {
    result, _, responseErr := assistant.ListExamples(
      &assistantv1.ListExamplesOptions{
        WorkspaceID: core.StringPtr("{workspace_id}"),
        Intent: core.StringPtr("hello"),
        PageLimit: &pageLimit,
        Cursor: cursor,
     },
    )
    if responseErr != nil {
      panic(responseErr)
    }
    for _, example := range result.Examples {
      fmt.Println(*example.Text)
    }
    cursor = result.Pagination.NextCursor
    if cursor == nil {
      break
    }
  }
}

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

import Foundation
import AssistantV1
let authenticator = WatsonIAMAuthenticator.init(apiKey: "{apikey}")
assistant = Assistant(version: "2019-02-28", authenticator: authenticator)
assistant.serviceURL = "{url}"
func getNextPage(cursor: String?) {
    assistant.listExamples(workspaceID: "{workspace_id}", intent: "hello", pageLimit: 2, cursor: cursor) {
        response, error in
        if let error = error {
            print(error.localizedDescription)
            return
        }
        guard let results = response?.result else {
            print("No results found")
            return
        }
        for example in results.examples {
            print(example)
        }
        if let cursor = examples.pagination.nextCursor {
            getNextPage(cursor?)
        }
    }
}
getNextPage(cursor: nil)

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

public class ListExamplesWithPagination
{
    public ListExamplesWithPagination()
    {
        IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(apikey: "{apikey}");
        AssistantService service = new AssistantService("2019-02-28", authenticator);
        service.SetServiceUrl("{url}");
        string workspaceId = "{workspace_id}";
        string intent = "hello";
        long? pageLimit = 3;
        string cursor = "";
        ListExamples(service, workspaceId, intent, pageLimit, cursor);
    }
    public void ListExamples(AssistantService service, string workspaceId, string intent, long? pageLimit, string cursor)
    {
        var result = service.ListExamples(
            workspaceId: workspaceId,
            intent: intent,
            pageLimit: 3,
            cursor: cursor
        );
        foreach (Example example in result.Result.Examples)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(example.Text);
        }
        var nextCursor = result.Result.Pagination.NextCursor;
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(nextCursor))
        {
            ListExamples(service, workspaceId, intent, pageLimit, nextCursor);
        }
    }
}

Example that retrieves and displays results one page at a time:

public void ListExamples(AssistantService service, string workspaceId, string intent, long? pageLimit, string cursor)
{
    ExampleCollection listExamplesResponse = null;
    service.ListExamples(
        callback: (DetailedResponse<ExampleCollection> response, IBMError error) =>
        {
            Log.Debug("AssistantServiceV1", "ListExamples result: {0}", response.Response);
            listExamplesResponse = response.Result;
            foreach (Example example in listExamplesResponse.Examples)
            {
                Log.Debug("AssistantServiceV1", "Example text: {0}", example.Text);
            }
            var nextCursor = listExamplesResponse.Pagination.NextCursor;
            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(nextCursor))
            {
                ListExamples(service, workspaceId, intent, pageLimit, nextCursor);
            }
            else
            {
                paginationDone = true;
            }
        },
        workspaceId: workspaceId,
        intent: intent,
        pageLimit: 3,
        cursor: cursor
    );
}
var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);
while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;
var assistant = new AssistantService("2019-02-28", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");
bool isPaginationDone = false;
string workspaceId = "{workspace_id}";
string intent = "hello";
long? pageLimit = 3;
string cursor = "";
ListExamples(service, workspaceId, intent, pageLimit, cursor);
while (isPaginationDone == false)
    yield return null;

Rate limiting

Rate limits for API requests are enforced on a per-service-instance basis. If the number of requests for a particular method and endpoint reaches the request limit within the specified time window, no further requests are accepted until the timer expires. After the timer expires, a new time window begins with the next accepted request.

The response to each HTTP request includes headers you can use to determine whether you are close to the rate limit:

  • X-RateLimit-Reset: the time the current timer expires (in UNIX epoch time)
  • X-RateLimit-Remaining: the number of requests that remain in the current time window
  • X-RateLimit-Limit: the total number of requests allowed within the time window

An HTTP status code of 429 indicates that the rate limit has been exceeded.

The number of allowed requests, and the length of the time window, vary by method and endpoint. The reference information for each endpoint specifies the rate limit that applies.

Related information

Methods

Get response to user input

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

Send user input to a workspace and receive a response.

Important: This method has been superseded by the new v2 runtime API. The v2 API offers significant advantages, including ease of deployment, automatic state management, versioning, and search capabilities. For more information, see the documentation.

POST /v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/message
(assistant *AssistantV1) Message(messageOptions *MessageOptions) (result *MessageResponse, response *core.DetailedResponse, err error)
(assistant *AssistantV1) MessageWithContext(ctx context.Context, messageOptions *MessageOptions) (result *MessageResponse, response *core.DetailedResponse, err error)
ServiceCall<MessageResponse> message(MessageOptions messageOptions)
message(params)
message(self,
        workspace_id: str,
        *,
        input: 'MessageInput' = None,
        intents: List['RuntimeIntent'] = None,
        entities: List['RuntimeEntity'] = None,
        alternate_intents: bool = None,
        context: 'Context' = None,
        output: 'OutputData' = None,
        user_id: str = None,
        nodes_visited_details: bool = None,
        **kwargs
    ) -> DetailedResponse
message(workspace_id:, input: nil, intents: nil, entities: nil, alternate_intents: nil, context: nil, output: nil, user_id: nil, nodes_visited_details: nil)
func message(
    workspaceID: String,
    input: MessageInput? = nil,
    intents: [RuntimeIntent]? = nil,
    entities: [RuntimeEntity]? = nil,
    alternateIntents: Bool? = nil,
    context: Context? = nil,
    output: OutputData? = nil,
    userID: String? = nil,
    nodesVisitedDetails: Bool? = nil,
    headers: [String: String]? = nil,
    completionHandler: @escaping (WatsonResponse<MessageResponse>?, WatsonError?) -> Void)
Message(string workspaceId, MessageInput input = null, List<RuntimeIntent> intents = null, List<RuntimeEntity> entities = null, bool? alternateIntents = null, Context context = null, OutputData output = null, string userId = null, bool? nodesVisitedDetails = null)
Message(Callback<MessageResponse> callback, string workspaceId, MessageInput input = null, List<RuntimeIntent> intents = null, List<RuntimeEntity> entities = null, bool? alternateIntents = null, Context context = null, OutputData output = null, string userId = null, bool? nodesVisitedDetails = null)

Rate limit

There is no rate limit for this operation.

Request

Instantiate the MessageOptions struct and set the fields to provide parameter values for the Message method.

Use the MessageOptions.Builder to create a MessageOptions object that contains the parameter values for the message method.

Path Parameters

  • workspace_id
    Required*
    string

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

Query Parameters

  • version
    Required*
    string

    Release date of the API version you want to use. Specify dates in YYYY-MM-DD format. The current version is 2021-11-27.

  • nodes_visited_details
    boolean

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

Request Body

MessageRequest

The message to be sent. This includes the user's input, along with optional intents, entities, and context from the last response.

parameter

WithContext method only

MessageOptions

The Message options.

MessageOptions

The message options.

parameters

  • workspaceId
    Required*
    string

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternateIntents
    boolean

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • userId
    string

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodesVisitedDetails
    boolean

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

parameters

  • workspace_id
    Required*
    str

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternate_intents
    bool

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • user_id
    str

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodes_visited_details
    bool

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

parameters

  • workspace_id
    Required*
    String

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternate_intents
    Boolean

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • user_id
    String

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodes_visited_details
    Boolean

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

parameters

  • workspaceID
    Required*
    String

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternateIntents
    Bool

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • userID
    String

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodesVisitedDetails
    Bool

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

parameters

  • workspaceId
    Required*
    string

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternateIntents
    bool?

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • userId
    string

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodesVisitedDetails
    bool?

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

parameters

  • workspaceId
    Required*
    string

    Unique identifier of the workspace.

  • input

    An input object that includes the input text.

  • intents

    Intents to use when evaluating the user input. Include intents from the previous response to continue using those intents rather than trying to recognize intents in the new input.

  • entities

    Entities to use when evaluating the message. Include entities from the previous response to continue using those entities rather than detecting entities in the new input.

    Examples:
    View
  • alternateIntents
    bool?

    Whether to return more than one intent. A value of true indicates that all matching intents are returned.

    Default: false

  • context

    State information for the conversation. To maintain state, include the context from the previous response.

  • output

    An output object that includes the response to the user, the dialog nodes that were triggered, and messages from the log.

  • userId
    string

    A string value that identifies the user who is interacting with the workspace. The client must provide a unique identifier for each individual end user who accesses the application. For user-based plans, this user ID is used to identify unique users for billing purposes. This string cannot contain carriage return, newline, or tab characters. If no value is specified in the input, user_id is automatically set to the value of context.conversation_id.

    Note: This property is the same as the user_id property in the context metadata. If user_id is specified in both locations in a message request, the value specified at the root is used.

    Possible values: 1 ≤ length ≤ 256

  • nodesVisitedDetails
    bool?

    Whether to include additional diagnostic information about the dialog nodes that were visited during processing of the message.

    Default: false

  • curl -X POST -u "apikey:{apikey}" --header "Content-Type:application/json" --data "{\"input\": {\"text\": \"Hello\"}}" "{url}/v1/workspaces/{workspace_id}/message?version=2021-06-14"
  • IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
    );

AssistantService assistant = new AssistantService("2021-06-14", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

var result = assistant.Message(
    workspaceId: "{workspaceId}",
    input: new MessageInput()
    {
        Text = "Hello"
    }
    );

Console.WriteLine(result.Response);
  • package main

import (
  "encoding/json"
  "fmt"
  "github.com/IBM/go-sdk-core/core"
  "github.com/watson-developer-cloud/go-sdk/v2/assistantv1"
)

func main() {
  authenticator := &core.IamAuthenticator{
    ApiKey: "{apikey}",
  }

  options := &assistantv1.AssistantV1Options{
    Version: "2021-06-14",
    Authenticator: authenticator,
  }

  assistant, assistantErr := assistantv1.NewAssistantV1(options)

  if assistantErr != nil {
    panic(assistantErr)
  }

  assistant.SetServiceURL("{url}")

  result, _, responseErr := assistant.Message(
    &assistantv1.MessageOptions{
      WorkspaceID: core.StringPtr("{workspace_id}"),
      Input: &assistantv1.MessageInput{
        "text": core.StringPtr("Hello"),
     },
    },
  )
  if responseErr != nil {
    panic(responseErr)
  }
  b, _ := json.MarshalIndent(result, "", "  ")
  fmt.Println(string(b))
}
  • IamAuthenticator authenticator = new IamAuthenticator("{apikey}");
Assistant assistant = new Assistant("2021-06-14", authenticator);
assistant.setServiceUrl("{url}");

String workspaceId = "{workspace_id}";

MessageInput input = new MessageInput();
input.setText("Hello");

MessageOptions options = new MessageOptions.Builder(workspaceId)
  .input(input)
  .build();

MessageResponse response = assistant.message(options).execute().getResult();

System.out.println(response);
  • const AssistantV1 = require('ibm-watson/assistant/v1');
const { IamAuthenticator } = require('ibm-watson/auth');

const assistant = new AssistantV1({
  version: '2021-06-14',
  authenticator: new IamAuthenticator({
    apikey: '{apikey}',
  }),
  serviceUrl: '{url}',
});

assistant.message({
  workspaceId: '{workspace_id}',
  input: {'text': 'Hello'}
  })
  .then(res => {
    console.log(JSON.stringify(res.result, null, 2));
  })
  .catch(err => {
    console.log(err)
  });
  • import json
from ibm_watson import AssistantV1
from ibm_cloud_sdk_core.authenticators import IAMAuthenticator

authenticator = IAMAuthenticator('{apikey}')
assistant = AssistantV1(
    version='2021-06-14',
    authenticator = authenticator
)

assistant.set_service_url('{url}')

response = assistant.message(
    workspace_id='{workspace_id}',
    input={
        'text': 'Hello'
    }
).get_result()

print(json.dumps(response, indent=2))
  • require "json"
require "ibm_watson/authenticators"
require "ibm_watson/assistant_v1"
include IBMWatson

authenticator = Authenticators::IamAuthenticator.new(
  apikey: "{apikey}"
)

assistant = AssistantV1.new(
  version: "2021-06-14",
  authenticator: authenticator
)
assistant.service_url = "{url}"

response = assistant.message(
  workspace_id: "{workspace_id}",
  input: {
    text: "Hello"
  }
)

puts JSON.pretty_generate(response.result)
  • let authenticator = WatsonIAMAuthenticator(apiKey: "{apikey}")
let assistant = Assistant(version: "2021-06-14", authenticator: authenticator)
assistant.serviceURL = "{url}"
let input = MessageInput(text: "Hello")

assistant.message(workspaceID: "{workspace_id}", input: input) {
  response, error in

  guard let message = response?.result else {
    print(error?.localizedDescription ?? "unknown error")
    return
  }

  print(message)
}
  • var authenticator = new IamAuthenticator(
    apikey: "{apikey}"
);

while (!authenticator.CanAuthenticate())
    yield return null;

var assistant = new AssistantService("2021-06-14", authenticator);
assistant.SetServiceUrl("{url}");

JObject input = new JObject();
input.Add("text", "Hello");

MessageResponse messageResponse = null;
assistant.Message(
    callback: (DetailedResponse<MessageResponse> response, IBMError error) =>
    {
        messageResponse = response.Result;
        context = messageResponse.Context;
    },
    workspaceId: "{workspace_id}",
    input: input
);

while (messageResponse == null)
    yield return null;

Response

Response Body

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.

MessageResponse

The response sent by the workspace, including the output text, detected intents and entities, and context.