Snapshots

A snapshot is the structured output of one scan: the items found, cross-item trends, an executive summary and narrative, and — when a prior comparable snapshot exists — an overlay of what changed. The product-side explanation is at scans and snapshots.

All snapshot endpoints are bearer-authenticated reads (60/min bucket). An id that does not exist or belongs to another account returns 404 not_found.

The envelope

The data object of a snapshot has this top-level shape:

items[]               regulatory items — the core payload
trends[]              cross-item trends
executive_summary     { bottom_line, priorities[] }
executive_narrative   prose written for an executive reader (optional)
_briefing             sub-editor editorial block (optional; see below)
driftOverlay          changes vs a prior snapshot (optional; see below)
translations          { "<lang>": { executive_narrative, … } } (optional)
_meta                 { engine, model, searches, estimatedCost, inputFingerprint, … }

Each item carries at minimum a jurisdiction and an area; typical items also have title, source, impact (High | Medium | Low), likelihood (Confirmed | Likely | Possible), date, and summary. Additional fields may appear over time — treat the envelope as open.

The _briefing block

_briefing is the sub-editor’s output — the editorial furniture the product’s Briefing tab renders around the narrative. Seven documented fields:

Fields are validated independently after generation: a field that fails validation is absent, not null — treat every field as optional, and the whole block as optional on older snapshots and engine paths that skip the sub-editor.

List snapshots

GET /v1/snapshots

Snapshot starring is retired: there is no starred filter, and sending one is rejected with 422 and code unknown_parameter rather than silently returning the unfiltered list.

curl "https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots?jurisdiction=UK&from=2026-06-01T00:00:00Z&limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

200:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "a1b2…",
      "title": "UK · EU — AML / KYC (12m)",
      "created_at": "2026-07-20T09:14:11.000Z",
      "cost_cents": 55,
      "actual_cost_cents": 61.4,
      "item_count": 18,
      "trend_count": 4,
      "jurisdiction_count": 2
    }
  ],
  "pagination": { "limit": 10, "offset": 0, "total": 37 }
}

List rows are summaries — counts, not content. Fetch the id for the envelope.

Retrieve a snapshot

GET /v1/snapshots/{id}

curl https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots/a1b2… \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

200:

{
  "id": "a1b2…",
  "title": "UK · EU — AML / KYC (12m)",
  "config": { "jurisdictions": ["UK", "EU"], "areas": ["AML / KYC"], "horizon": 12 },
  "data": {
    "items": ["…"],
    "trends": ["…"],
    "executive_summary": { "bottom_line": "…", "priorities": ["…"] },
    "executive_narrative": "Over the next twelve months…",
    "_meta": { "engine": "v4", "model": "…" }
  },
  "cost_cents": 61.4,
  "created_at": "2026-07-20T09:14:11.000Z"
}

Sub-resources

Three sub-resources project a single key out of the envelope, so you can fetch just what you need instead of the whole document:

curl https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots/a1b2…/items \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

Executive narrative

GET /v1/snapshots/{id}/executive-narrative

curl "https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots/a1b2…/executive-narrative?language=fr" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

200:

{ "executive_narrative": "Au cours des douze prochains mois…", "language": "fr" }

Changes overlay (/drift)

GET /v1/snapshots/{id}/drift returns the snapshot’s driftOverlay — the scan-time comparison recorded when the snapshot was created: what moved between this snapshot and the prior comparable one. The product’s Change Monitor card is a richer, recomputed-on-read view of the same question. The field keeps its original name on the wire for stability.

curl https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots/a1b2…/drift \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

200 — the overlay object, verbatim. When the snapshot has no comparison (for example, the first scan of a given configuration):

{ "available": false }

The briefing sub-resource

GET /v1/snapshots/{id}/briefing returns the _briefing block without fetching the whole envelope.

curl https://api.regsn.app/v1/snapshots/a1b2…/briefing \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REGSN_API_KEY"

200 — { "available": true } plus the briefing fields:

{
  "available": true,
  "briefing_headline": "The grace period is over",
  "pull_quote": "…",
  "sentiment_label": "Tightening",
  "sentiment_rationale": "…"
}

Snapshots that predate the sub-editor, or whose pass produced no valid fields, return the same shape as /drift’s first-run case:

{ "available": false }

See also

• Scans — how snapshots get made.
• Exports — turn a snapshot into a PDF, deck, infographic, or audio briefing.
• Changes between scans — the product-side view of the overlay.