> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.textmine.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Agents, Public API, and MCP > How agents and developers should choose between TextMine Public API V3, agent self-service signup, and the optional TextMine MCP server. # Agents, Public API, and MCP TextMine supports two integration styles for agents and developer platforms: * **Public API V3** is the primary integration path. Use it for signup, vaults, document types, uploads, tasks, records, workflows, agents, and billing. * **TextMine MCP server** is optional. Use it only when the client wants MCP tool discovery and tool calls instead of direct REST calls. | Need | Use | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Product context | This docs site and [Product map](/getting-started/product-map) | | Agent self-service signup | [Agent self-service signup](/integrations/third-party-agent-signup) | | Machine-readable onboarding | `https://public-api.textmine.com/.well-known/textmine-agent.json` and `https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/third-party-agents/signup/discovery` | | TextMine MCP server | [TextMine MCP server](/integrations/textmine-mcp-server) | | Hosted TextMine MCP endpoint | `https://mcp.textmine.com/mcp` | | MCP authentication options | `tm_...` TextMine API key for direct/private clients, or OAuth bearer token for enabled marketplace/shared-host app flows. | | MCP setup guides | [TextMine MCP quickstart](https://developers.textmine.com/docs/textmine-mcp) | | Current API reference | [developers.textmine.com/reference](https://developers.textmine.com/reference) | | TextMine CLI | [TextMine CLI](/integrations/textmine-cli) and [CLI quickstart](/integrations/cli-quickstart) | | Agent instructions for API execution | [TextMine developer For Agents](https://developers.textmine.com/docs/for-agents) | | ReadMe MCP endpoint | [developers.textmine.com/mcp](https://developers.textmine.com/mcp) | | ReadMe agent index | [developers.textmine.com/llms.txt](https://developers.textmine.com/llms.txt) | | Full developer context pack | [Agent Context Pack](https://developers.textmine.com/page/llms-full) | | Integration and MCP provider catalog | [Integration catalog](/integrations/catalog) | | Important | Self-service agents do **not** need MCP. They sign up through Public API V3, receive an encrypted `tm_...` service-account API key, and then call Public API V3 directly. | ## Which Path Should I Use? | Goal | Use | Why | | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sign up a new autonomous agent | Public API V3 | Signup is REST-only and does not require MCP. | | Create the first vault | Public API V3 | `POST /v3/vaults` with a name creates the first vault for the agent organization. The agent does not need to know a `teamId`. | | Create document types and extraction questions | Public API V3 | `POST /v3/document-types` configures typed processing for a vault. | | Upload files and read processing status | Public API V3 | `POST /v3/documents` accepts multipart uploads. | | Send Workbench/task-agent instructions | Public API V3 | Use `/v3/tasks` and `/v3/tasks/{taskId}/messages`. | | Track free allowance and checkout state | Public API V3 | Use `/v3/agent-billing/status`. | | Generate an SDK or import REST endpoints into an API client | Public API OpenAPI spec | The OpenAPI spec is the canonical REST contract. | | Let an MCP-native client discover TextMine tools | TextMine MCP server | Optional wrapper over TextMine capabilities for MCP clients. | | Search API docs from an MCP-aware docs client | ReadMe/developer hub MCP | This is the documentation MCP endpoint, not the TextMine product MCP server. | ## Self-Service Agent Signup Use the Public API base URL for the environment. For the UK multitenant deployment: ```text theme={null} https://public-api.textmine.com ``` Start with machine-readable discovery: ```bash theme={null} curl https://public-api.textmine.com/.well-known/textmine-agent.json ``` Then create an RSA key pair in the trusted agent runtime and sign up: ```bash theme={null} openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048 -out textmine-agent-private.pem openssl rsa -pubout -in textmine-agent-private.pem -out textmine-agent-public.pem curl -X POST https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/third-party-agents/signup/self-service \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{ "organizationName": "Acme Agent Organization", "agentName": "Acme Contract Agent", "contactEmail": "billing@example.com", "acceptedTerms": true, "acceptedPrivacy": true, "credentialDeliveryPublicKey": "'"$(awk 'NF {sub(/\r/, ""); printf "%s\\n", $0}' textmine-agent-public.pem)"'", "credentialDeliveryAlgorithm": "RSA-OAEP-256" }' ``` The response includes: * `credentialRef`: a non-secret reference such as `textmine:api-key:123` * `apiKeyPrefix`: a display prefix that includes `tm_` * `encryptedApiKey`: the encrypted service-account API key * `encryptedApiKeyAlgorithm` * `encryptedApiKeyEncoding` * `billingStatus` * `freeCreditsPerPeriod` * `setupChecklist` Decrypt `encryptedApiKey` in the trusted runtime, store the resulting `tm_...` key in a secret store, and keep the raw key out of model-visible prompts, task messages, logs, and transcripts. Use the key on future Public API calls: ```text theme={null} Authorization: Bearer tm_... ``` ## OpenAPI Spec Yes: provide a Public API V3 OpenAPI spec and link it from the developer hub, agent guide, and MCP docs. Agents and developers use the OpenAPI spec for REST endpoint discovery, SDK generation, typed clients, API-client imports, and exact request/response shapes. Use the published API reference at [developers.textmine.com/reference](https://developers.textmine.com/reference). The checked-in source for the agent self-service surface is `docs/openapi/textmine-public-api-v3-agent-self-service.openapi.json`. The Public API OpenAPI spec should include the full self-service bootstrap path: * `GET /.well-known/textmine-agent.json` * `GET /v3/third-party-agents/signup/discovery` * `POST /v3/third-party-agents/signup/self-service` * `GET /v3/agent-billing/status` * `POST /v3/vaults` * `POST /v3/document-types` * `POST /v3/documents` * `POST /v3/tasks` * `POST /v3/tasks/{taskId}/messages` MCP is different. MCP clients discover runtime tools through `initialize`, `tools/list`, and `tools/call`. Connector platforms may need their own OpenAPI wrapper around `/mcp`, but that wrapper is not the canonical Public API spec. ## REST-First Bootstrap Flow After signup: 1. Check allowance and setup: ```bash theme={null} curl https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/agent-billing/status \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" ``` 2. Create the first vault: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/vaults \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"name":"Agent Vault"}' ``` 3. Create a document type: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/document-types \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "name": "Commercial Agreement", "vaultId": 123, "defaultTags": [ { "name": "Summary", "question": "Summarize this document in one sentence." } ] }' ``` 4. Upload a file: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST "https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/documents?vault_id=123&document_type_id=456" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" \ -F "file=@agreement.pdf" ``` `vault_id` is optional. If the agent omits it, TextMine reuses the first accessible vault or creates the default `Agent Vault` for that API-key organization before uploading the document. 5. Create and message a task: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/tasks \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "title": "Review agreement", "instruction": "Summarize the uploaded agreement and identify missing commercial terms.", "autostart": true }' ``` ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/tasks/789/messages \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"message":"Also flag any unusual renewal language.","autostart":true}' ``` 6. Re-check billing: ```bash theme={null} curl https://public-api.textmine.com/v3/agent-billing/status \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TEXTMINE_API_KEY" ``` Document credits are recorded when document processing completes. Agent-task credits are recorded when an agent task completes. If billing status returns `checkoutRequired=true`, call `POST /v3/agent-billing/checkout` and send the returned Stripe Checkout URL to the billing owner so they can buy a one-time credit pack. ## Optional TextMine MCP Server The hosted TextMine MCP server is a Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint backed by Public API V3. Use the central setup URL: ```text theme={null} https://mcp.textmine.com/mcp ``` Direct MCP clients can send the same `tm_...` key used for Public API V3: ```text theme={null} Authorization: Bearer tm_... Accept: application/json,text/event-stream ``` Clients that cannot control `Authorization`, such as some connector platforms, can send the key in the alternate header: ```text theme={null} X-TextMine-Api-Key: tm_... Accept: application/json,text/event-stream ``` OAuth is also supported for enabled marketplace/shared-host app flows. Those clients should use their OAuth connection flow and send the resulting access token as the MCP bearer token instead of asking users to paste `tm_...` keys into prompts or app manifests. ```text theme={null} Authorization: Bearer Accept: application/json,text/event-stream ``` OAuth client registrations can use TextMine's protected-resource metadata at `https://public-api.textmine.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource`. Streamable HTTP requires a session handshake: 1. Send `initialize` to `https://mcp.textmine.com/mcp`. 2. Keep the returned `mcp-session-id` response header. 3. Send `notifications/initialized` with `mcp-session-id`. 4. Call `tools/list` or `tools/call` with `mcp-session-id`. A direct `tools/call` without `mcp-session-id` is rejected. ## Common Confusions * `https://developers.textmine.com/mcp` is the developer hub documentation MCP endpoint. It helps MCP-aware clients query API docs. * The TextMine product MCP server is the hosted endpoint used to call TextMine tools. * Workbench MCP providers are third-party provider connections inside Workbench. They are not the TextMine product MCP server. * Agent self-service signup is REST-first. MCP is never required for signup. * The billing owner email collected during signup is a billing contact, not automatically a human web login. ## Developer Documentation Checklist Keep these phrases visible in page titles, descriptions, and first-screen copy: * TextMine Public API * Public API V3 * OpenAPI spec * agent self-service signup * third-party agent API key * service-account API key * TextMine MCP server * MCP setup * `/.well-known/textmine-agent.json` Link the agent docs, API reference, and MCP docs to each other so agents can choose the right path without guessing.