> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orbitsearch.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a watcher

> Start watching a profile on a schedule; Orbit refreshes it and appends what it finds.

Each profile has one watcher per organization. Creating a watcher for a profile you already watch updates that watcher and turns it back on. The first run happens `interval_seconds` from now.

Each run adds new information about the person to the profile. See [how watchers work](/concepts/watchers) for phases, scheduling and billing, and [Watch a profile](/guides/watching-profiles) for the end-to-end flow with webhooks.


## OpenAPI

````yaml openapi.json POST /v3/watchers
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Orbit API
  version: 3.0.0
  description: Search for people and enrich known Orbit profiles.
servers:
  - url: https://api.orbitsearch.com
    description: Production
security:
  - bearerAuth: []
tags:
  - name: Search
    description: Find people and poll search results.
  - name: Enrich
    description: Read or enrich known Orbit profiles.
  - name: Watchers
    description: Watch a profile on a schedule and read what each run found.
  - name: Webhooks
    description: Register endpoints that receive signed event deliveries.
paths:
  /v3/watchers:
    post:
      tags:
        - Watchers
      summary: Create a watcher
      description: >-
        Start watching a profile. Orbit checks it on the schedule you choose and
        adds what it finds to the profile. Each profile has one watcher per
        organization; creating a watcher for a profile you already watch updates
        that watcher and turns it back on. Requires the `watchers:write` scope.
      operationId: createWatcher
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/WatcherCreateRequest'
            example:
              orbit_id: 83f1b564-3607-4618-b8c9-a886410ceb32
              interval_seconds: 86400
              phases:
                - existing_sources
                - existing_socials
                - new_sources
      responses:
        '201':
          description: The watcher.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Watcher'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '403':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Forbidden'
        '429':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/RateLimited'
components:
  schemas:
    WatcherCreateRequest:
      type: object
      required:
        - orbit_id
        - interval_seconds
      properties:
        orbit_id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          description: >-
            The profile to watch — the `id` returned by search and profile
            reads.
        interval_seconds:
          type: integer
          minimum: 3600
          maximum: 2592000
          description: >-
            How often to refresh, from `3600` (hourly) to `2592000` (every 30
            days).
        phases:
          type:
            - array
            - 'null'
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/WatcherPhase'
          description: Restrict runs to these phases. Omit or send `null` to run all three.
    Watcher:
      type: object
      required:
        - id
        - orbit_id
        - enabled
        - interval_seconds
        - created_at
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
        orbit_id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          description: The watched profile.
        enabled:
          type: boolean
          description: Whether runs are scheduled.
        interval_seconds:
          type: integer
          description: >-
            Seconds between runs, from `3600` (hourly) to `2592000` (every 30
            days).
        phases:
          type:
            - array
            - 'null'
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/WatcherPhase'
          description: Phases each run covers; `null` runs all three.
        next_run_at:
          type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          format: date-time
          description: When the next run is scheduled.
        last_run_at:
          type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          format: date-time
        last_run_status:
          type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          enum:
            - dispatched
            - completed
            - failed
            - null
          description: Outcome of the most recent run.
        run_count:
          type: integer
        update_count:
          type: integer
          description: Runs that found new information.
        paused_reason:
          type:
            - string
            - 'null'
          description: >-
            Set when Orbit paused the watcher, for example
            `insufficient_credits`.
        created_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
    WatcherPhase:
      type: string
      enum:
        - existing_sources
        - existing_socials
        - new_sources
      description: >-
        `existing_sources` watches sources already on the profile for updates;
        `existing_socials` watches the person's social activity; `new_sources`
        looks for new sources about the person.
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      required:
        - status
        - error
      properties:
        status:
          type: string
          enum:
            - failed
        error:
          type: object
          required:
            - code
            - message
          properties:
            code:
              type: string
            message:
              type: string
  responses:
    BadRequest:
      description: The request is not valid.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    Unauthorized:
      description: The API key is missing or not valid.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    Forbidden:
      description: The API key does not have the required scope.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    RateLimited:
      description: The API key exceeded a rate limit.
      headers:
        Retry-After:
          description: Seconds to wait before another request.
          schema:
            type: integer
            minimum: 0
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
  securitySchemes:
    bearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      bearerFormat: Orbit API key
      description: Use an Orbit API key from the developer dashboard.

````