CommCare HQ API

Name: CommCare HQ API API
Brand: CommCare HQ API
Availability: InStock

★ Only Publicly Available SpecHealthcareClinical DataapiKey, basic17 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Read and write CommCare HQ cases, forms, mobile workers, and SMS history. Useful for agents that sync field data into analytics warehouses or trigger follow-up workflows from form submissions.

Quickstart

Get started with CommCare HQ API in minutes using your preferred integration method.

# Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf)
{
  "jentic": {
    "url": "https://api.jentic.com/mcp",
    "auth": "oauth"
  }
}

# Then ask your agent:
"list commcare form submissions"

# → Jentic returns the GET /events tool with parameter schema, agent executes.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with CommCare HQ API API.

Retrieve a specific case from a CommCare project space and read its case properties

Create or update a case by submitting CaseXML to the case endpoint

Bulk-fetch cases by ID list to hydrate a downstream system in one round trip

List form submissions filtered by app, xmlns, or date range for analytics ingestion

GET STARTED

Start building with CommCare HQ API API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Spec

Use for: Get a CommCare case by case ID for follow-up triage, List all form submissions in the maternal-health project for the last 7 days, Retrieve a photo attachment captured in a CommCare form, Find all mobile workers assigned to a specific project space

Not supported: Does not handle clinical billing, EHR record exchange (HL7/FHIR), or patient-facing portals — use for CommCare project data access only.

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for CommCare HQ API, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for CommCare HQ API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. CommCare HQ is Dimagi's mobile data collection and case management platform used widely in global health, social services, and frontline worker programs. The API exposes 17 endpoints to read and write cases, ingest XForm submissions, list mobile and web users, fetch applications and lookup tables (fixtures), and pull SMS message history. Operations are scoped to a CommCare project space (the {domain} path parameter) and most are read-oriented, with case create/update via XML and form submission via the legacy receiver endpoint.

Use Cases

Patterns agents use CommCare HQ API API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Field Data Sync to Analytics Warehouse

Periodically pull form submissions and case data from CommCare HQ into a data warehouse for program reporting. The agent calls GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form with date filters, paginates through results, and stores the JSON into BigQuery or Snowflake. Attachments such as photos can be downloaded individually via the form attachment endpoint when imagery is part of the program record. This replaces brittle one-off CSV exports with a scheduled, idempotent pull.

Call GET /a/maternal-health/api/v0.5/form with received_on filters covering the last 24 hours, page through results, and write each submission to the forms table in the warehouse.

Frontline Worker Roster Reconciliation

Keep an HR or payroll system in sync with the mobile worker roster on CommCare HQ. The agent lists workers via GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/user, compares the result to the HR system of record, and flags additions or terminations. This is useful for NGOs and ministries of health that need an accurate active-worker count for stipend payouts and program audits.

Fetch all mobile workers in the project space malaria-2026 via GET /a/malaria-2026/api/v0.5/user and diff the result against the HRIS roster to produce an add/terminate list.

Case Triage Automation

When a high-risk case is opened in the field, an agent fetches the case properties via GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/{caseId}, applies a triage rule, and updates case state by POSTing CaseXML back to /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case. This shortens the loop between data entry and clinical follow-up without requiring CommCare app changes.

Fetch case 7c1f... via GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/{caseId}; if risk_score > 8, POST a CaseXML update to /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case setting status to escalated.

AI Agent Field Data Lookup via Jentic

Surface CommCare data to an AI assistant used by program managers. The agent searches Jentic for fetch a commcare case, loads the case-by-id operation schema, and executes it with the API key isolated in the Jentic vault. The same wrapper supports listing forms, pulling attachments, and reading lookup tables, so the assistant can answer ad-hoc questions about field operations without anyone exporting CSVs.

Through Jentic, search fetch a commcare case, load the GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/{caseId} schema, and execute it for case ID 7c1f... in the maternal-health project.

Key Endpoints

17 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for commcare hq api, keeping it validated and agent-ready.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/{caseId}

Get a specific case

POST

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case

Create or update a case via CaseXML

POST

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/bulk-fetch

Bulk fetch cases by ID

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form

List form submissions

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form/{formId}/attachment/{attachmentName}

Get a form attachment

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/user

List mobile workers

POST

/a/{domain}/receiver

Submit a form (XML)

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/{caseId}

Get a specific case

POST

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case

Create or update a case via CaseXML

POST

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case/bulk-fetch

Bulk fetch cases by ID

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form

List form submissions

GET

/a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form/{formId}/attachment/{attachmentName}

Get a form attachment

Why though Jentic?

Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.

Credential isolation

CommCare API keys (X-API-Key) and Basic auth credentials are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents call operations through scoped Jentic tokens; the raw header value never enters the agent's context.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search Jentic by intent (for example, list commcare form submissions) and Jentic returns the matching CommCare operation with its input schema, so the agent picks the right endpoint without scraping confluence docs.

Time to first call

Direct CommCare integration: 1-2 days to handle XForm payloads, project-space scoping, and pagination quirks. Through Jentic: under 1 hour — search, load schema, execute.

Related APIs

Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.

Alternative

KoboToolbox API

KoboToolbox is a humanitarian-sector data collection platform with a similar mobile-first model

Pick KoboToolbox when the program already runs on Kobo forms; pick CommCare for case-management workflows and longitudinal client tracking.

Alternative

ODK Central API

Open Data Kit is the open-source data collection toolkit CommCare's XForm format derives from

Pick ODK Central for self-hosted, open-source data collection without case management; pick CommCare HQ when you need cases, app builder, and managed hosting.

Complementary

SurveyMonkey API

SurveyMonkey covers web survey distribution where CommCare focuses on offline mobile workflows

Use SurveyMonkey alongside CommCare when an additional online survey channel is needed for stakeholders who do not use the mobile app.

FAQs

Specific to using CommCare HQ API API through Jentic.

Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for CommCare HQ API?

Dimagi does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call CommCare HQ API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.

What authentication does the CommCare HQ API use?

Two schemes are supported: an API key passed in the X-API-Key header, or HTTP Basic auth with a CommCare username and password. When called through Jentic the credential is held in the Jentic vault and never enters the agent's prompt.

Can I create or update cases through the API?

Yes. POST /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/case accepts CaseXML to create or update a case in a specific project space. Form submissions can also be sent to the legacy POST /a/{domain}/receiver endpoint when you need to submit a full XForm rather than a case-only update.

How do I list every form submission in a project?

Call GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form. The endpoint paginates and supports filters such as received_on date ranges, app_id, and xmlns so you can scope a sync to a specific application or time window without pulling the entire submission history.

Can I download attachments such as photos from a form?

Yes. After identifying a form via GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form/{formId}, call GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form/{formId}/attachment/{attachmentName} to download the binary attachment by its name as recorded on the submission.

How do I pull CommCare data through Jentic?

Run pip install jentic, then await client.search('list commcare form submissions'), load the matching operation schema, and execute it. The underlying call is GET /a/{domain}/api/v0.5/form with the project domain you select at runtime.