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

# Hivelight API

Hivelight is a legal practice management platform that organises matters (legal cases or files), tasks, users, workflows, and workspaces. The API exposes CRUD for matters with archive and notes operations, task lists, user lookup, webhooks for event-driven integration, and workflow and workspace endpoints. It is intended for law firms that need to programmatically read or update matter and task state across their practice management system.

## For AI agents

Manage Hivelight matters, tasks, workflows, users, and webhooks for legal practice automation.

## Scope

Does not handle trust accounting, billing, or document generation - use for legal matter and task management only.

## Capabilities

- Create, update, archive, and restore Hivelight matters with structured fields
- Add notes to matters for audit trail and case-file context
- List and retrieve tasks attached to matters or users
- Look up users and their workspace memberships
- Register webhooks to receive matter and task events in real time
- Trigger and inspect workflows that automate matter transitions

## Use cases

### Matter Intake Automation

Law firms triage new client intake into Hivelight matters using either an intake form or a CRM trigger. The API supports POST `/api/matters` with the structured client and engagement fields so a matter is created instantly and assigned to the right team. Time from intake submission to matter creation drops from manual hours to API seconds.

Example prompt: Create a Hivelight matter titled 'Smith v Acme' with client_id cli_999 and assignee user_lawyer_42.

### Task and Deadline Tracking

Practice managers need a single view of upcoming task deadlines across all active matters. The agent calls GET `/api/tasks` with filters for status and due date, then surfaces overdue or near-due tasks to the responsible lawyer. This avoids missed deadlines that come from manually checking each matter.

Example prompt: List Hivelight tasks due within the next 7 days and group by assignee.

### Webhook-Driven Case Updates

Document automation systems and client portals need real-time notification when matter state changes. Hivelight webhooks deliver matter and task events, letting agents update related systems immediately without polling. This keeps client-facing portals in sync with internal practice management.

Example prompt: Create a Hivelight webhook subscribed to matter status events for the firm's workspace pointing at the agent's ingestion URL.

### Agent-Run Practice Workflow

An AI legal-ops agent connected via Jentic ingests new client emails, creates the matching Hivelight matter, adds an opening note, and assigns the responsible lawyer. The X-API-Key stays in your Jentic One instance, so the agent never holds the raw credential. Setup takes under an hour because operation schemas load on demand.

Example prompt: From a new client email, create the Hivelight matter, add an opening note with the email summary, and assign user_lawyer_42.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| POST | `/api/matters` | Create a new matter |
| GET | `/api/matters/{matterid}` | Fetch a specific matter |
| POST | `/api/matters/{matterid}/archive` | Archive a matter |
| POST | `/api/matters/{matterid}/notes` | Add a note to a matter |
| GET | `/api/tasks` | List tasks |

## Key resources

- **Matters** — Legal cases or engagements with notes and archive support
- **Tasks** — Tasks attached to matters and users
- **Users** — Workspace user records
- **Webhooks** — Event subscriptions for matter and task events
- **Workflows** — Automation flows triggered on matters
- **Workspace** — Top-level firm-wide context

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the Hivelight API by hand means managing an X-API-Key header and tracking legal matters and their nested notes and tasks by id. Through Jentic you install once, import the Hivelight API from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Hivelight puts the matter id in the URL path (`/api/matters/{matterid}/notes`, `/api/matters/{matterid}/archive`), so a rule can pin your agent to one matter and the operations around it. You choose the operations it may call, so destructive ones like deleting or archiving a matter are not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** Your Hivelight X-API-Key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected into the X-API-Key header at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'create a legal matter', and Jentic returns the matching Hivelight operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Actionstep API** — Actionstep is a full legal practice management platform with broader workflow features
- **Asana API** — General task management that can mirror Hivelight task state for non-legal team members
- **monday.com API** — Generic work management API that some firms use instead of legal-specific tools

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Hivelight API use?

Hivelight uses an API key sent in the X-API-Key header on every request. Through Jentic, the key is stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and added to the request at execution time, so the agent never reads the raw header.

### Can I archive and restore matters with the Hivelight API?

Yes. POST `/api/matters/{matterid}/archive` moves a matter into archived state, and DELETE `/api/matters/{matterid}/archive` restores it back to active. This is useful for closing out completed engagements without permanently deleting case data.

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

Hivelight does not publish hard rate limits in its OpenAPI spec. Keep request volume to a few per second per workspace and back off on 429 responses; for batch matter or task imports throttle to avoid impacting the firm's interactive usage.

### How do I create a matter through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'create hivelight matter', load POST `/api/matters`, and execute with the matter title, client id, and assignee fields. Run pip install jentic and use the async SearchRequest, LoadRequest, ExecutionRequest pattern.

### Does Hivelight support webhooks for matter changes?

Yes. The webhooks resource lets you subscribe to matter and task events so external systems (client portals, document automation, billing) can react in real time instead of polling for changes.

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

Yes. Because you self-host Jentic One, your own rules decide which Hivelight operations and credentials the agent may use. Since Hivelight carries the matter id in the URL path, such as `/api/matters/{matterid}/notes` and `/api/matters/{matterid}/archive`, you can pin the agent to a single matter and the operations around it. You pick the operations it may call, so destructive actions like archiving or deleting a matter stay out of reach unless you explicitly add them.