Demodesk API

Setup — Get Your API Key

Check .env for DEMODESK_API_KEY. If missing, follow one of the options below.

Option A: Auto-extract (if logged into Demodesk in browser)

Extract the API key from a logged-in Demodesk browser session. Falls back to Option B if cookie extraction fails.

# 1. Get session cookie from Chrome cookie store (macOS)
SESSION_COOKIE=$(sqlite3 "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Cookies" \
  "SELECT encrypted_value FROM cookies WHERE host_key='.demodesk.com' AND name='_demodesk_session'" 2>/dev/null)

# 2. Exchange session cookie for Bearer token
BEARER=$(curl -s -X POST "https://demodesk.com/api/v1/users/login" \
  -H "Cookie: _demodesk_session=$SESSION_COOKIE" \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json,base64; print(base64.b64decode(json.load(sys.stdin)['meta']['access_token']).decode())")

# 3. Extract auth headers from decoded Bearer bundle
ACCESS_TOKEN=$(echo "$BEARER" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['access_token'])")
CLIENT=$(echo "$BEARER" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['client'])")
UID_VAL=$(echo "$BEARER" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['uid'])")

# 4. Fetch existing API key (or generate new one)
API_KEY=$(curl -s "https://demodesk.com/api/v1/users/show_api_key" \
  -H "access-token: $ACCESS_TOKEN" -H "client: $CLIENT" -H "uid: $UID_VAL" -H "token-type: Bearer" \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['api_key'])")

# 5. Save to .env
echo "export DEMODESK_API_KEY=$API_KEY" >> .env
grep -qxF '.env' .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo '.env' >> .gitignore

Note: Chrome cookie decryption is OS-dependent (macOS uses Keychain, Linux uses DPAPI/kwallet). Attempt this best-effort and fall back to Option B on failure.

Option B: Copy from settings

1. Open https://demodesk.com/manage/settings/internet-accounts#:~:text=API%20Key
2. Click the eye icon to reveal the key (or "Generate API Key" if you're an admin)
3. Save it:

echo 'export DEMODESK_API_KEY=paste-your-key-here' >> .env
grep -qxF '.env' .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo '.env' >> .gitignore

Option C: Manual navigation

Settings > Integrations > Connections > scroll to the API Key section.

Important

• The export keyword is required in .env — without it, source .env sets the variable but subprocesses (like curl) won't see it.
• Always add .env to .gitignore if not already there.
• The API key inherits permissions from the user who created it. Admin keys have company-wide access.

Loading the Key

source .env && curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings?limit=5"

Always verify the key is non-empty after sourcing: [ -z "$DEMODESK_API_KEY" ] && echo "Key missing" && exit 1

Known Gotchas

1. Rate limit errors return {"error":{"code":"invalid_api_key"}} not 429. If the key worked before, wait 60 seconds and retry. Don't assume the key is wrong.
2. Filter brackets need URL-encoding: use %5B / %5D instead of [ / ].
3. Always capture response to $RESP before piping to jq — error responses crash jq.
4. No /users endpoint — get the meeting owner via the recording detail endpoint and filter for permission:"host" in the participants array.

Live API Reference

For endpoint schemas, filters, and response fields, fetch the live OpenAPI spec:

curl -s https://demodesk.com/api/docs/v2/generated.yaml | head -500

Never rely on memorized schemas — always check the live spec for current field names, filter parameters, enum values, and rate limits.

Quick Reference (paths only)

Base URLs

• V2: https://demodesk.com/api/v2
• V1: https://demodesk.com/api/v1

Pagination

Cursor-based. limit accepts 1–100 (default 25). Check meta.hasNext in the response — if true, pass meta.nextCursor as the cursor= query parameter.

Recipes

1. List recent ready recordings (last 7 days)

source .env
RESP=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings?limit=100&filter%5Bstatus%5D=ready&filter%5BcreatedAfter%5D=$(date -v-7d +%Y-%m-%d)")
echo "$RESP" | jq '.data[] | {token, title, createdAt, duration}'

2. Bulk download all recordings

source .env
CURSOR=""
while true; do
  RESP=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
    "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings?limit=100&filter%5Bstatus%5D=ready${CURSOR:+&cursor=$CURSOR}")
  echo "$RESP" | jq -r '.data[] | .token' | while read -r TOKEN; do
    DETAIL=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
      "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings/$TOKEN")
    URL=$(echo "$DETAIL" | jq -r '.temporaryDirectUrl // empty')
    [ -n "$URL" ] && wget -q -O "${TOKEN}.mp4" "$URL"
    sleep 1  # rate-limit aware
  done
  HAS_NEXT=$(echo "$RESP" | jq -r '.meta.hasNext')
  [ "$HAS_NEXT" != "true" ] && break
  CURSOR=$(echo "$RESP" | jq -r '.meta.nextCursor')
done

3. Get transcript (plaintext + translated)

source .env
# English plaintext
RESP=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings/TOKEN/transcript?format=plaintext")
echo "$RESP" | jq -r '.text'

# German translation
RESP=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings/TOKEN/transcript?format=plaintext&lang=de")
echo "$RESP" | jq -r '.text'

Note: If the transcript is still processing, the API returns 202 — wait and retry.

4. Batch fetch transcripts (up to 100 tokens)

source .env
RESP=$(curl -s -X POST -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"recordingTokens": ["token1", "token2", "token3"]}' \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/transcripts/batch")
echo "$RESP" | jq '.data'

5. Get meeting owner name

source .env
RESP=$(curl -s -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v2/recordings/TOKEN")
echo "$RESP" | jq '.participants[] | select(.permission == "host") | .name'

V1: Upload External Recordings

source .env
curl -s -X POST -H "api-key: $DEMODESK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "External Call",
    "recording_url": "https://example.com/recording.mp4",
    "scheduled_at": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }' \
  "https://demodesk.com/api/v1/externally_recorded_demos"

Webhooks

Not self-serve. Email support@demodesk.com with your endpoint URL.

Available events: demo.scheduled, demo.rescheduled, demo.canceled, demo.started, demo.ended, recording.uploaded, recording.transcription_postprocessed, and more.

Workflow for AI Assistants

1. Check .env for DEMODESK_API_KEY — if missing, run the setup flow above.
2. source .env and verify the key is non-empty.
3. Fetch the live OpenAPI spec if you need schema details for fields, filters, or enums.
4. Use curl -s and capture the response to a $RESP variable first.
5. Check for errors before piping through jq.
6. Use limit=100 and filter client-side when possible (rate-limit aware).
7. URL-encode filter brackets (%5B / %5D).
8. Handle rate limits: invalid_api_key error but key worked before → wait 60 seconds.
9. Handle 202 responses (transcript still processing) → wait and retry.
10. Handle pagination: check meta.hasNext, use meta.nextCursor.