---
title: "Start a Ploti session"
method: POST
path: "/v1/tools/start_session"
---

# Start a Ploti session

`POST /v1/tools/start_session`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.ploti.ai`
- URL: `https://api.ploti.ai/v1/tools/start_session`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

Open a working session; the first call for any question about a US address, parcel, zoning, owner, sale, permit, sign or site. Returns the session id needed by session-scoped tools, the session's Ploti link, and the guides to start from. Optionally sets the initial viewport. Call this first.

## Request body

- object
  - `title` string, required: Short label for this session, shown to the user in Ploti. Describe the task, e.g. 'Industrial sites near Tampa'.
  - `place` string: A place to open the viewport on, as navigate takes it, e.g. 'Winter Garden, FL': the same as calling navigate with it straight after. Left out, the session has no viewport until navigate sets one.

## Response `200`

What the tool returned: its text, any images, and structured data.

- object
  - `text` string, required
  - `images` object[], required
    - `mimeType` string
    - `data` string, byte
  - `data` unknown

## Other responses

- `400`: invalid_input: the arguments do not fit the tool's input schema.
- `403`: insufficient_scope: the credential may not use this tool.
- `404`: not_found: there is no such tool.
- `413`: payload_too_large: the body is over 256 KB (2 MB for /v1/tools).
- `415`: unsupported_media_type: a body was sent without Content-Type: application/json.
- `422`: tool_error: the tool refused or failed; error.message says why.
- `429`: rate_limited: this credential is over its rate. Retry after the Retry-After header's seconds.
- `500`: internal: Ploti failed. Retry; if it keeps happening, contact support.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/ploti/apis/ploti-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/ploti/apis/ploti-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/ploti/apis/ploti-api/revisions/8c2c91c72d52?raw)