# Create lead

Create lead is a command in the HeadHoncho API. Add a lead to one company, the way a person adds one by hand. Send what you know; the rest can be filled in later.

Page: https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/create_lead | Part of the HeadHoncho API docs: https://headhoncho.app/docs/api | Machine-readable: https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/openapi.json | Everything in one file: https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/llms-full.txt

## The request

Reference for **Create lead**, HeadHoncho API v1. It is a command, sent to the base address `https://api.headhoncho.app`.

`POST /api/v1/commands/create-lead`

The key needs the **Leads** area at **do**. An answered call costs 1 credit; a refusal costs nothing. See [credits](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#credits).

It runs the app's own command `create-lead`. Send an `Idempotency-Key` header with every call: the same key with the same body returns the first answer and runs nothing twice. See [the model](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/model#idempotency).

## Parameters

| Name | Kind | Required | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `company_id` | id, in the JSON body | Yes | From Who am I. | `cmp_14f5` |
| `client_name` | text, in the JSON body | No | The customer, as they gave it. | `R. Azoulay` |
| `client_phone` | text, in the JSON body | No | Any format; stored as E.164. | `+12175550142` |
| `address` | object, in the JSON body | No | line1, city, state and postal_code, all four. line2 is optional. | `{"line1": "2590 Main St", "city": "Bloomington", "state": "IL", "postal_code": "61701"}` |
| `job_type_id` | id, in the JSON body | No | The service asked for, from Who am I. | `jt_02` |
| `wanted_start` | datetime, in the JSON body | No | ISO 8601. When they want it, with wanted_end. | `2026-10-30T09:00:00-05:00` |
| `wanted_end` | datetime, in the JSON body | No | ISO 8601. The end of the window. | `2026-10-30T12:00:00-05:00` |
| `urgency` | text, in the JSON body | No | urgent, high or normal. One of `urgent`, `high`, `normal`. | `normal` |
| `notes` | text, in the JSON body | No | Anything the crew or the office should know. | `Two flights of stairs` |

## Try it with your key

Paste your key and change the values. The box builds the call as a cURL line and a fetch line, ready to copy. It never sends anything itself.

Paste your key on the web page and it fills a cURL line and a fetch line with your key and the example values. The page never sends the key anywhere. The same lines with a placeholder key are under Examples below.

## What comes back

accepted, lead_id, ticket (for example L-2041), number, state (new) and position: the event position, usable as after= on the next read. A lead sent twice is two leads, so send it once; the Idempotency-Key protects a retry of the same call.

It never deletes anything. It changes only what the command names, and it writes the change to the job's history with who asked for it.

## Every field in the answer

Types are read from the example answer. Money is a plain number in the company's currency. A time carries its offset from UTC (`Z` is UTC). Ids are opaque text. A field with no line of its own here has its name spelled out; the common fields mean the same on every page.

| Field | Type | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `accepted` | true or false | True when the command ran. A command that cannot run is an error instead. |
| `lead_id` | id (text) | The id of the lead. |
| `state` | text | The state or region. |
| `position` | whole number | Where the change landed in the event log. Pass it as `after` on a read to see your own write. |
| `ticket` | text | The job number the ticket shows. |
| `number` | whole number | The number people say out loud, such as the job number. |

## Which door this is

It is the app's New lead button: a lead typed by hand. It is never kept out by the take rules and no AI reads it. A call or a message from a leads group reaches the app by its own door, not this one.

## Errors that apply

| Code | Status | What it means |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [`missing_key`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#missing_key) | 401 | Send your key as Authorization: Bearer hh_live_... |
| [`unknown_key`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#unknown_key) | 401 | That key is not one we issued, or it was revoked. |
| [`no_access`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#no_access) | 403 | This credential does not reach that. Ask the person who made it for access. |
| [`read_only`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#read_only) | 403 | This credential may read this area but not change it. |
| [`not_found`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#not_found) | 404 | No such record in the companies this credential reaches. |
| [`out_of_scope`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#out_of_scope) | 404 | No such company in the companies this credential reaches. |
| [`invalid`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#invalid) | 422 | Some fields were refused. See fields. |
| [`missing_idempotency_key`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#missing_idempotency_key) | 400 | Send an Idempotency-Key header on every command. |
| [`idempotency_mismatch`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#idempotency_mismatch) | 409 | This Idempotency-Key was used with a different body. |
| [`idempotency_in_progress`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#idempotency_in_progress) | 409 | A command with this Idempotency-Key is still running. Wait a moment and send it again. |
| [`no_credits`](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors#no_credits) | 402 | Out of credits. Top up on Settings › Credits, or turn on auto top-up. |

## Related

- [Update lead](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/update_lead): Change what a lead asked for: the customer, the address, the service, the time, the urgency or the notes. Only the fields you send change.
- [Mark lead lost](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/mark_lead_lost): Close an open lead as lost, with the reason. It moves to Archive on the company's own clock.
- [Pass lead](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/pass_lead): Say a new lead is not yours to take, with an optional reason. It leaves the list to answer.
- [Book lead](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/book_lead): Turn a lead into a job with everything the lead holds. The lead becomes won and is linked to the job.
- [Dismiss lead](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/dismiss_lead): Send a lead to Trash as a mistake. It counts nowhere and is erased after 30 days.
- [Review conversion](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/review_conversion): Decide an ad click the matcher would not guess at: pick the job it produced, or reject it. Only then does it reach the Google file.
- [Schedule follow up](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/schedule_follow_up): Book a date to chase a job or a draft lead again. The job moves onto Follow up when the company has that status.
- [Update follow up](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/update_follow_up): Move the date of an open follow-up, or change why it is open.
- [Resolve follow up](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/resolve_follow_up): Say the chase happened. The follow-up is closed, and the job goes back to the line when it was the last stop.
- [Cancel follow up](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/cancel_follow_up): Call off a follow-up that should never have been booked. It is removed, and no chase is recorded.
- The same records in the app: [the Leads panel](https://headhoncho.app/docs/marketing/sources).
- How the API fits together: [the model](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/model), [API keys](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/keys), [errors](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/errors) and [the MCP server](https://headhoncho.app/docs/api/mcp).

## Examples

### Answer

```json
{
  "accepted": true,
  "lead_id": "lead_5d21",
  "state": "new",
  "position": 88601,
  "ticket": "L-2041",
  "number": 2041
}
```

### cURL

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.headhoncho.app/api/v1/commands/create-lead" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer hh_live_..." \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 6f1d2c9e-1b7a-4c1e-9a52-0d3f8e4b7a10" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "company_id": "cmp_14f5",
  "client_name": "R. Azoulay",
  "client_phone": "+12175550142",
  "address": {
    "line1": "2590 Main St",
    "city": "Bloomington",
    "state": "IL",
    "postal_code": "61701"
  },
  "job_type_id": "jt_02",
  "wanted_start": "2026-10-30T09:00:00-05:00",
  "wanted_end": "2026-10-30T12:00:00-05:00",
  "urgency": "normal",
  "notes": "Two flights of stairs"
}'
```

### Python

```python
import requests
import uuid

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.headhoncho.app/api/v1/commands/create-lead",
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer hh_live_...",
        "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()),
    },
    json={
        "company_id": "cmp_14f5",
        "client_name": "R. Azoulay",
        "client_phone": "+12175550142",
        "address": {
            "line1": "2590 Main St",
            "city": "Bloomington",
            "state": "IL",
            "postal_code": "61701",
        },
        "job_type_id": "jt_02",
        "wanted_start": "2026-10-30T09:00:00-05:00",
        "wanted_end": "2026-10-30T12:00:00-05:00",
        "urgency": "normal",
        "notes": "Two flights of stairs",
    },
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())
```

### JavaScript

```javascript
const response = await fetch("https://api.headhoncho.app/api/v1/commands/create-lead", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: "Bearer hh_live_...",
    "Idempotency-Key": crypto.randomUUID(),
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "company_id": "cmp_14f5",
    "client_name": "R. Azoulay",
    "client_phone": "+12175550142",
    "address": {
      "line1": "2590 Main St",
      "city": "Bloomington",
      "state": "IL",
      "postal_code": "61701"
    },
    "job_type_id": "jt_02",
    "wanted_start": "2026-10-30T09:00:00-05:00",
    "wanted_end": "2026-10-30T12:00:00-05:00",
    "urgency": "normal",
    "notes": "Two flights of stairs"
  }),
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
```

### Your AI

```text
Tool: create_lead
Arguments: company_id (id, required), client_name (text, optional), client_phone (text, optional), address (object, optional), job_type_id (id, optional), wanted_start (datetime, optional), wanted_end (datetime, optional), urgency (text, optional), notes (text, optional)
Access: do on Leads
Hints: readOnly=false, destructive=false, idempotent=false, openWorld=false
Try asking: "Using HeadHoncho, create lead with company_id cmp_14f5 and client_name R. Azoulay."
```