REST API and Developer Access

KompWatch offers several ways to access your competitive intelligence data programmatically. There is no public key-authenticated REST API yet — it is on the roadmap — but current options cover most developer use cases.

What's Available Today

Method	Direction	Auth	Best for
Export endpoints	Pull (on-demand)	Session cookie	Scripts, BI tools, scheduled exports
Webhooks	Push (event-driven)	HMAC signature	Real-time integrations, Slack bots, automation
CSV / JSON download	Pull (manual)	Browser session	Ad-hoc analysis, spreadsheets

Export Endpoints (Pull)

The export endpoints documented in Exporting Your Data are callable via curl or any HTTP client. They currently require a browser session cookie — there are no API keys yet.

Changes

# All changes, JSON
curl -H "Cookie: <session>" \
  "https://kompwatch.com/api/export/changes?format=json"

# Changes for one competitor
curl -H "Cookie: <session>" \
  "https://kompwatch.com/api/export/changes?format=json&competitorId=<id>"

# Changes as CSV (default)
curl -H "Cookie: <session>" \
  "https://kompwatch.com/api/export/changes"

Digests

# Specific digest as PDF
curl -H "Cookie: <session>" \
  "https://kompwatch.com/api/export/digests?digestId=<id>&format=pdf" \
  -o digest.pdf

# Specific digest as CSV
curl -H "Cookie: <session>" \
  "https://kompwatch.com/api/export/digests?digestId=<id>&format=csv"

Getting a session cookie:

Log into kompwatch.com in your browser
Open DevTools → Application → Cookies → kompwatch.com
Copy the value of the session cookie and pass it as -H "Cookie: <name>=<value>"

Session cookies expire when your browser session ends or after 30 days of inactivity. For long-running scripts, re-authenticate and refresh the cookie periodically. API key authentication is coming with the public REST API.

Webhooks (Push)

Webhooks are the recommended integration method for real-time or near-real-time workflows. KompWatch pushes a JSON payload to your endpoint whenever a change is detected and passes the confidence threshold.

Available on Pro (digest cadence) and Team (real-time) plans
Signed with HMAC-SHA256 so you can verify authenticity
Payload includes competitor, change, contentZone, severity, confidence, and a deep link to the change in your dashboard

See Webhook Payload Format for the full schema, headers, signature verification, and retry behavior.

Common webhook patterns:

Goal	Approach
Post to Slack	Point webhook at a Slack incoming webhook URL — KompWatch auto-detects and formats it
Route by content zone	Use Zapier Paths or a custom middleware to fan out by `change.contentZone`
Trigger a CI pipeline	Forward the payload to a GitHub Actions or Buildkite webhook URL
Feed an AI workflow	Pipe the structured payload to an LLM prompt via Zapier or Make

See Filtering Slack Alerts by Content Zone for a Zapier routing walkthrough.

MCP Server Integration

KompWatch does not yet have an MCP server, but one is on the roadmap. MCP would let AI assistants like Claude Desktop or Cursor query your competitive intelligence data in real time — asking questions like "what has Acme changed in the past 30 days?" from inside an AI workflow.

In the meantime, you can feed KompWatch data into AI workflows via webhook → Zapier → your AI tool. The webhook payload already includes an AI-generated summary (change.summary), so downstream prompts get structured input without further processing.

See MCP Server and AI Integrations for details and the early-access sign-up.

Public REST API (Roadmap)

A key-authenticated REST API covering competitors, snapshots, changes, and digests is on the roadmap. It will include:

API keys — no session cookie required; suitable for server-to-server use
GET /competitors — list all competitors and their status
GET /competitors/:id/changes — paginated change history with filters
GET /digests — list and retrieve digests
POST /competitors/:id/snapshot — trigger an on-demand snapshot

If you have a specific use case that the REST API would unblock — automated reports, custom dashboards, internal tooling — email support@kompwatch.com with a description. Use-case demand shapes what ships first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the export endpoints in a scheduled script today? Yes — the cookie-authenticated endpoints work from any HTTP client. For long-running scripts, plan to refresh the session cookie periodically (every 30 days or after a new login).

Is there a rate limit on the export endpoints? Export endpoints are not intended for high-frequency polling. Call them no more than once per digest cycle (daily for Pro, weekly for Free). For real-time data, use webhooks instead.

Can I write data back via API — add competitors, trigger snapshots? Not yet via the public surface. Manual snapshot triggers are available from the UI (see Manual Snapshot Trigger). Programmatic snapshot triggers are planned for the REST API.

What format are IDs in the API responses? Competitor IDs are prefixed cmp_ and change IDs are prefixed chg_. Both are short opaque strings (e.g. cmp_a1b2c3).

Building something with KompWatch data? Email support@kompwatch.com — we're happy to help with integration questions and will prioritize API features based on real use cases.