Prismatic API

Reference documentation for Prismatic platform operations and the standardized API access hierarchy.

API Access Method Hierarchy

Prismatic API access follows a two-tier priority system for interactive agents (e.g., Orby). Builder agents (cni-builder, component-builder) use their own script-based pipelines and should not use MCP tools directly — see their agent docs for details.

Priority 1: MCP Tools (Interactive Agents Only)

Use MCP tools when operating within an interactive agent conversation (e.g., Orby). These handle auth, retries, and output formatting automatically.

Priority 2: Prism CLI (Scripts + Agents)

For scripts and operations not covered by MCP tools:

Built-in commands (via prism-retry.ts):

prism integrations:list --extended --output json
prism components:publish --directory ./my-component
prism integrations:import --directory ./my-integration

Custom GraphQL queries (via shared/graphql.ts):

import { graphql, GraphQLError } from "./shared/graphql.js";

const data = graphql('query { customers { nodes { id name } } }');

Or directly via CLI:

prism graphql:query 'query { customers { nodes { id name } } }'
prism graphql:query 'query($id: ID!) { customer(id: $id) { name } }' \
  --variables '{"id": "Q3VzdG9tZXI6..."}'

Decision Tree

Agent calling directly?  → Use MCP tool if available, else `prism` via Bash
Script?                  → Use shared/graphql.ts for custom queries,
                           prism-retry.ts for built-in CLI commands

Rule: NEVER create inline GraphQL clients — always use shared/graphql.ts imports.

Common Operations Cheat Sheet

These are the most frequently needed GraphQL operations. Use these exact queries — don’t guess the field names.

Read the referenced file section for the full query with all fields. Do not reconstruct queries from memory.

CLI Usage Rules

1. prism must be installed globally (npm install -g @prismatic-io/prism) — never use npx prism
2. All list commands: always use --extended --output json
3. --extended and --columns are mutually exclusive — always prefer --extended
4. For graphql:query: always use --variables flag, never string interpolation
5. Auth is handled by the CLI — no custom token exchange needed

API Endpoint

• URL: {PRISMATIC_URL}/api (default: https://app.prismatic.io/api)
• Method: HTTP POST with JSON body {"query": "...", "variables": {}}
• Auth: Bearer token in Authorization header
• Content-Type: application/json

Authentication

Obtain tokens via Prism CLI. See references/authentication.md.

Quick reference:

• prism me:token - Short-lived access token
• prism me:token --type refresh - Long-lived refresh token
• Access tokens valid for 7 days, auto-refreshed 5 minutes before expiry
• All authenticated requests return HTTP 200, even on errors - always check errors array

Pagination

All collection queries use Relay cursor-based pagination. See references/pagination-and-filtering.md.

query($after: String) {
  resources(after: $after, first: 100) {
    nodes { id name }
    pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
  }
}

Critical Patterns

1. Enum values are lowercase strings: variableScope: "customer" not "CUSTOMER", managedBy: "org" not "ORG"
2. Use updateInstanceConfigVariables (partial, safe) not updateInstance (replaces ALL config vars)
3. Always deploy after config changes: Call deployInstance to activate
4. Use parameterized variables: Never string-concatenate into queries
5. Check mutation errors: Mutations return errors { field messages } alongside results

Key References by Resource Type

Core Resources

• references/customers.md - Customer CRUD, external IDs, labels
• references/integrations.md - Integration management, publishing, testing
• references/instances.md - Instance deployment, config variables, lifecycle
• references/components.md - Component queries, action introspection, search

Connections & Config

• references/connections.md - Scoped config vars, customer config vars, connection management
• references/config-variables.md - Instance config updates, deployment patterns

Operational

• references/execution-and-logs.md - Execution results, step results, log queries, replay
• references/common-patterns.md - Batch operations, nested queries, aliased mutations, error handling
• references/api-access-methods.md - Detailed MCP tool reference, CLI patterns, migration notes