API Documentation

Microtask

A Microtask is one unit of work that you can complete in a short amount of time. The ideal Microtask can be completed by pressing the correct button, or by entering a short text answer. You can have Microtasks that fill out a form of your choosing.

Bucket

Before you can create any Microtasks, you need to Create a Bucket to contain them. When you create a Bucket you will receive an API Token. Save this in a safe spot, because it will only be displayed once, and it is required for authentication.

Helper

A Helper is a person who has access to your Microtasks and can help you complete them. You can Manage Your Helpers to add, remove or edit their permissions to your Buckets.

id

The unique ID that is given to your Microtask when you create it.

is_html

This is a boolean (0 or 1). If it is true (1), then the Microtask is written in HTML. If it is false (0), then the Microtask is written in Markdown.

title

A string up to 256 characters long that describes the Microtask.

priority

This is an integer between 0 and 100 that indicates how important this Microtask is to you. Higher numbers are more important.

type

This is a string that defines how a Microtask will be completed.

• "yesno": A yes/no question. The Microtask can be completed by clicking a Yes or No button.
• "multi": A multiple choice question. The Microtask can be completed by clicking one of the buttons that you specify in the "answers" field.
• "fill": A fill in the blank question. The Microtask can be completed by typing into a text box.
• "form": The Microtask is completed by filling out the HTML form that you specify.

question

This is the HTML or Markdown text that defines the work that needs to be done. It can be up to 5000 characters long. If you are using HTML, keep in mind that the HTML will be presented in a sandboxed iframe. Javascript will not work and links will need a target of "_blank" if you want them to work.

answers

For multiple choice questions, this field is the JSON encoded array of strings that form the names for each button that you have defined for this Microtask. It can be up to 1000 characters long.

num_answers

This is the number of matching answers that are required for the Microtask to be completed. In the case of an HTML Form type question, T4SK can't know how to check for a consensus, so this will instead be the number of total answers required to complete the Microtask.

The default value is 1, which means that only one answer is required for the Microtask to be completed. If instead, you want the task to be completed when multiple answers are in agreement, then you can increase this number. A value of 2 means that the task will be completed once two different Helpers post the same answer. This would require a minimum of 3 Helpers in order to break ties.

The owner of the account is a Super User and may give any of their Helpers Super User powers as well. A Super User's work always overrides the consensus and immediately completes the Microtask.

num_entered

This is a read only number that indicates the number of answers submitted for this Microtask so far.

can_super

This is a boolean (0 or 1). The default value is 1 which means that when a super user completes the task, it will immediately cause the task to be competed and will bypass any consensus verification required by the num_answers field. If the value is set to 0 then the super user will be treated as a regular user with regard to the consensus algorithm. A super user is the creator of the account and any helpers that have been given the super user privileges.

completed_at

If the Microtask has been completed, this is the date and time at which it was completed.

created_at

This is the date and time at which the Microtask was created.

final_answer

If the Microtask has been completed, this is the final answer that was determined by the consensus from everyone who worked on the Microtask. If your task is of type "HTML Form", then T4SK can't know how to form a consensus, so this will instead be a JSON array of answers for you to process.

progress

When fetching a single Microtask via the API, this will be an array showing the work submitted so far for this Microtask, including the name of the person who submitted the work, the answer they submitted, and the number of seconds that they spent working on the task. Note, that this only records the number of seconds that the Microtask was visible on the screen. The user could have taken a break with the page open, so this number isn't 100% reliable.

passthrough_data

When you create a Microtask, you can specify a string, up to 256 characters long. This string will not be displayed when working on the Microtask. Instead, it will be passed back to your software once the task is completed. This is a useful way to link a Microtask to some private data on your end, perhaps by passing through your internal ID number for this Microtask.