canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/canibuild.com/canibuild

# canibuild API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for canibuild API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The canibuild API provides building permit and zoning information for property addresses, allowing applications to check what can be built on a parcel before drafting plans. It exposes endpoints for searching existing permits, lodging permit requests, and looking up zoning rules tied to an address. Builders, real estate platforms, and design tools use it to surface feasibility data without manually scraping municipal records.

## For AI agents

Look up building permits and zoning rules for a property address, and submit permit requests for new construction projects. Useful for site feasibility checks and pre-construction due diligence.

## Scope

Does not handle architectural design, contractor sourcing, or payment for permit fees - use for permit search and zoning lookups only.

## Capabilities

- Search existing building permits filed for a given address or project type
- Submit a new building permit request with project metadata
- Retrieve zoning classification and restrictions for a specific address
- Surface pre-construction feasibility data inside design and quoting tools
- Validate whether a proposed structure fits zoning rules before drafting plans

## Use cases

### Pre-Construction Feasibility Check

Before a builder quotes a job, they need to know whether the proposed structure is allowed on the parcel. The canibuild API returns zoning classification and existing permit history for a supplied address, so a quoting tool can flag projects that will hit zoning blockers early. This shortens the back-and-forth with councils and avoids quoting work that cannot proceed.

Example prompt: Call GET /zoning with address=123 Main St and return the zoning classification along with any existing permits from GET /permits for that address.

### Permit Submission Workflow

Construction admin tools can lodge permit requests directly through POST /permits with the project address and project type. This removes the manual portal entry step from a workflow and gives the team an audit trail of submission attempts and their statuses. Integration is suitable for builder back-office tools that already capture project data.

Example prompt: POST /permits with address and projectType=garage to lodge a new permit request and return the response payload.

### Real Estate Listing Enrichment

Real estate platforms can call the zoning endpoint to display what a buyer is allowed to build on a listed property. Listings show zoning classification and any active permit history, helping buyers evaluate development potential before making an offer. This data appears alongside the standard listing fields on the property page.

Example prompt: For each listing address, call GET /zoning and GET /permits and attach the returned zoning class and permit count to the listing record.

### AI Agent Construction Assistant

An agent advising on home improvement projects calls canibuild via Jentic to verify zoning and permit status before recommending a contractor or quoting timeline. The agent uses Jentic to discover the right operation by intent, loads the schema, and executes the call without managing canibuild credentials directly.

Example prompt: Search Jentic for 'check building permits at an address', load the searchPermits operation schema, and execute it for a user-supplied address.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | /permits | Search building permits |
| POST | /permits | Request a building permit |
| GET | /zoning | Get zoning information for an address |

## Key resources

- **permits** — Search existing building permits or submit a new permit request for a given address and project type
- **zoning** — Retrieve zoning classification and restrictions tied to a specific property address

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the canibuild API by hand means setting its Authorization key header and calling the permit and zoning routes yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import canibuild from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** canibuild takes its permit and zoning inputs as parameters rather than as a resource in the URL path, so limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as permit and zoning searches. You choose the operations it may call, so creating a permit is not included unless you add it.
- **Credential handling:** Your canibuild API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected into the Authorization header at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'check zoning for an address' or 'search building permits', and Jentic returns the matching canibuild operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Canva Connect API** — Design and document creation alongside permit and zoning lookups
- **Canny API** — Capture customer feedback for tools that surface canibuild data
- **CaptureIQ** — Document capture and extraction for permit paperwork instead of structured permit lookups

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for canibuild API?

canibuild does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call canibuild API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### What authentication does the canibuild API use?

The canibuild API uses an API key passed in the Authorization header. Through Jentic, the key is stored in the encrypted vault and the agent receives a scoped token, so the raw key never enters the agent's prompt context.

### Can I look up zoning rules for a specific address with the canibuild API?

Yes. Call GET /zoning with the address as a query parameter and the response returns the zoning classification tied to that address.

### How do I submit a building permit request through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'request a building permit', load the requestPermit operation, then execute POST /permits with address and projectType in the request body.

### What are the rate limits for the canibuild API?

The OpenAPI spec does not publish explicit rate limits. Treat as a low-volume third-party endpoint and implement client-side backoff on 429 responses; check canibuild's portal for current quotas.

### Does the canibuild API cover regions outside the listed addresses?

Coverage depends on which municipal records canibuild has indexed. The /permits and /zoning endpoints accept any address string but return data only where canibuild has source records, so verify coverage for your target region before depending on it.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the canibuild API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, you decide which canibuild operations your agent may call and which credentials it uses, so you can allow the read-only lookups like GET /permits and GET /zoning while leaving out the POST /permits operation that lodges a new permit request. The canibuild API takes its address and project inputs as parameters rather than as resources in the URL path, so you scope by choosing the operations the agent may invoke rather than by path. Your stored API key is injected at execution time under your own rules, and the agent only ever reaches the endpoints you have permitted.