Create a session

POST /api/v1/forward/sessions Creates a session by compiling the Template baseline with the Identity Config override, then starting a runtime Session.

Headers

Header	Required	Description
`Authorization`	Yes	`Bearer <PAT or SAT>`
`Content-Type`	Yes	`application/json`
`Idempotency-Key`	No	Optional idempotency key for unsafe requests.

Body parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`identity_id`	string	Yes	Forward Identity ID.
`template_id`	string	Yes	Forward Template ID.
`title`	string	No	Session title.
`metadata`	object	No	Custom metadata.
`config`	object	No	Per-session configuration override. Only allowlisted fields are accepted.
`config.environment_variables`	object	No	Session environment variables as key-value pairs. They are merged on top of the compiled Template + Identity Config result; Session-level values override base-layer values with the same key.
`resources`	array	No	Session-level resources, currently file mounts.
`resources[].type`	string	Yes when `resources` is used	Resource type. Currently `file`.
`resources[].file_id`	string	Yes when `resources` is used	File ID from the Files API.
`resources[].mount_path`	string	No	Mount path inside the agent container. If omitted, Forward derives one from the filename.

Merge semantics for config.environment_variables:

Forward first compiles the Template environment_variables baseline and the Identity Config override layer to produce the base environment variables.
Key-value pairs supplied in the request are added to the base environment variables. New keys are added, while Session-level values override base-layer values with the same key.
Variables omitted from the request remain in the compiled Template + Identity Config result.

Example request

curl -s -X POST 'https://api.qoder.com/api/v1/forward/sessions' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QODER_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "identity_id": "idn_xxx",
  "template_id": "tmpl_support",
  "title": "Customer support session",
  "metadata": {
    "source": "web",
    "biz_id": "ticket_123"
  },
  "config": {
    "environment_variables": {
      "API_KEY": "sk-xxx",
      "REGION": "cn-hangzhou"
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "file",
      "file_id": "file_019e6a18dc09abcd",
      "mount_path": "/data/input.py"
    }
  ]
}'

Example response

HTTP 200 OK

{
  "id": "sess_xxx",
  "type": "session",
  "identity_id": "idn_xxx",
  "template": {
    "id": "tmpl_support",
    "type": "template",
    "name": "Support assistant",
    "model": "ultimate",
    "version": 3
  },
  "source_type": "api",
  "status": "idle",
  "title": "Customer support session",
  "metadata": {
    "source": "web"
  },
  "config": {
    "environment_variables": {
      "API_KEY": "sk-xxx"
    }
  },
  "stats": {
    "active_seconds": 0,
    "duration_seconds": 0
  },
  "usage": {
    "total_credits": 0
  },
  "archived_at": null,
  "created_at": "2026-06-22T10:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-06-22T10:00:00Z"
}

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
`id`	string	Session ID.
`type`	string	Always `session`.
`identity_id`	string	Forward Identity ID.
`template`	object	Template summary.
`source_type`	string	Session source. Direct API creation uses `api`.
`status`	string	`idle`, `running`, `rescheduling`, `canceling`, or `terminated`.
`archived_at`	string\|null	Archive timestamp.
`created_at`	string	Creation timestamp.
`updated_at`	string	Update timestamp.

Errors

HTTP	Type	Code	Trigger
400	`invalid_request_error`	`invalid_request_body`	Invalid request body.
403	`permission_error`	`template_access_denied`	Identity cannot use the Template.
404	`not_found_error`	`identity_not_found`	Identity does not exist or is deleted.
404	`not_found_error`	`template_not_found`	Template does not exist.
409	`conflict_error`	`identity_disabled`	Identity is disabled.
422	`invalid_request_error`	`runtime_config_invalid`	Effective runtime config is invalid.
401	`authentication_error`	`authentication_required`	The PAT or SAT is invalid or expired.

Notes

source_type is assigned by Forward and is not accepted in the create request.
incremental_streaming_enabled is a legacy streaming toggle retained for backward compatibility. It is not recommended for new integrations and cannot be changed after creation. New integrations that need streaming output should use event_deltas[] when subscribing to the Session Event Stream. If this field is set to true, event_deltas[] does not take effect.
Uploaded files must already exist in the Files API before being passed in resources.

Create a session

Headers

Body parameters

Example request

Example response

Response fields

Errors

Notes

Send session events

Stream session events

​Headers

​Body parameters

​Example request

​Example response

​Response fields

​Errors

​Notes

​Related

Send session events

Stream session events

Headers

Body parameters

Example request

Example response

Response fields

Errors

Notes

Related