> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hoista.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# HTTP API

> The API the desktop app and hoist use, and what to use instead to script Hoista.

The desktop app and `hoist` talk to Hoista's engine over an HTTP API: on this computer through a socket in the state folder that only your user can open, and on a [remote](https://docs.hoista.dev/guides/remote.md) at `https://<your-remote>/api`.

It's built for those two, not as a public interface. Routes and their answers can change from one version to the next without notice, so don't build on it.

To work with Hoista from your own tools:

| To | Use |
| - | - |
| Script it, or run it in CI | `hoist` with `--json`. See [In scripts and CI](https://docs.hoista.dev/cli/overview.md#in-scripts-and-ci). |
| Let an AI agent manage your projects | The [MCP server](https://docs.hoista.dev/reference/mcp.md), with the access you give each agent |
| Get told when something happens | [Webhooks](https://docs.hoista.dev/guides/webhooks.md) |

## From ChatGPT or another computer

For ChatGPT and other web agents, Hoista on your computer serves MCP over HTTP on `127.0.0.1:8788`. Point a tunnel or proxy at it; see [From your computer](https://docs.hoista.dev/agents/tools/chatgpt.md#from-your-computer). Only sign-in and `/mcp` are served there, not this API.

To reach Hoista from another computer, run it in server mode behind HTTPS, on a server or a Mac mini. In server mode every route needs a sign-in: the desktop app and `hoist` use a key each computer gets when you approve it with your passkey, and agents like ChatGPT use `/mcp` with access you approve the same way. See [Self-host Hoista](https://docs.hoista.dev/guides/self-host.md).

## Related

> [card] [CLI reference](https://docs.hoista.dev/cli/overview.md)
>
> Every hoist command.

> [card] [MCP server](https://docs.hoista.dev/reference/mcp.md)
>
> Connections and the tools to start with.

> [card] [Webhooks](https://docs.hoista.dev/guides/webhooks.md)
>
> Send events to a background agent.


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