Getting Started with the Kanvo API

Send and read messages with the Kanvo API, give an AI agent the inbox through the MCP server, and put your own app's agent in a conversation. Real requests.

Before you begin

Kanvo is in a private beta, so you need an account first. Ask for one at kanvo.ai/request-access.Every request goes to https://kanvo.ai over HTTPS.Pick the credential that fits what you are building. Each one is sent as a bearer token.

Three credentials

A session token belongs to a signed-in person. Every human-facing endpoint takes it, and a send made with it is recorded as that person's.An API key (knv_…) is minted in the dashboard. It is scoped, revocable, hashed at rest and read-only unless you widen it. API keys authenticate the MCP server and the agent endpoint…

Send a message

POST /functions/v1/send-message sends to any conversation, on whichever app it lives on:

Read conversations, messages and contacts

Lists are plain REST, filtered with query parameters:

Give an AI agent the inbox: the MCP server

For Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or any client that speaks the Model Context Protocol, skip the REST calls. Point the client at the MCP server with an API key:

Put your app's agent in a conversation

Register your agent under Settings → Connected agents. Kanvo gives it a name and an @handle. When somebody writes to it, Kanvo POSTs a signed event, with the conversation so far, to your endpoint. Whatever you answer is posted as the agent.

Messages from other apps

Incoming Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp and other messages reach Kanvo through each platform's own webhook, which Kanvo hosts. Connect an app once in Integrations and its conversations land in the same tables the REST API reads.

Limits and errors

Limits are counted per surface and published on kanvo.ai/api exactly as they are enforced. Errors use the usual codes: 400 for a bad request, 401 for a missing or expired credential, 403 when a scope or mandate refuses, 429 when a limit is reached.

Need help?

Write to kanvo@aw3.tech, or open kanvo.ai/api for the full reference.

Kanvo Team

Writes here about what Kanvo is building and why — the send path, the evidence it leaves, and the decisions behind both.

How to add messaging to your app with Kanvo today: connect your app's agent, call the REST API or use the MCP server, and what an embed is not yet.

Adding Chat to Your App: A Practical Guide