> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.squawkvoice.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Get guidelines > Read the guidelines saved on an agent's draft This returns the draft: what you see in the **Guidelines** editor in Studio, and what **Talk** and the test **Chat** use. On a published agent, live calls, website chats and emails use the published guidelines until the next **Publish**, `needs_publish` is `true` when the agent has any unpublished change, not only to its guidelines, and it can stay `true` after an edit is changed back: it says a publish may be needed, not what is in it. `live_version` names the version that is live. Guidelines refer to actions and variables with `{{...}}` placeholders, and the API returns them by ID, such as `{{action.}}`, where Studio shows names. Keep them exactly as returned when you send the text back with [Replace guidelines](https://docs.squawkvoice.ai/api-reference/agents/replace-guidelines.md). ## OpenAPI ````yaml api-reference/openapi.yaml GET /api/v1/assistants/{assistantId}/guidelines openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: SquawkVoice API version: '1.0' description: >- Place on-demand campaign calls, and manage and publish an agent's guidelines, from your own systems. Every request is authenticated with an API key sent in the `X-API-Key` header. servers: - url: https://api.squawkvoice.ai security: - apiKey: [] tags: - name: on-demand-calls x-group: On-Demand Calls description: Place a campaign call for one contact, and cancel it before it is dialed. - name: agents x-group: Agents description: >- Read and replace an agent's guidelines, publish the agent, and see which version is live. paths: /api/v1/assistants/{assistantId}/guidelines: get: tags: - agents summary: Get guidelines description: Returns the guidelines saved on the agent's draft. operationId: getGuidelines parameters: - $ref: '#/components/parameters/assistantId' responses: '200': description: The agent's guidelines. content: application/json: schema: type: object required: - success - data properties: success: type: boolean const: true data: type: object required: - assistant_id - guidelines - needs_publish - live_version properties: assistant_id: type: string format: uuid description: The agent's ID. guidelines: type: string description: >- The guidelines on the agent's draft, as Markdown. An empty string when the agent has none. Placeholders for actions and variables appear by ID, such as `{{action.}}`. needs_publish: $ref: '#/components/schemas/NeedsPublish' live_version: $ref: '#/components/schemas/LiveVersion' example: success: true data: assistant_id: 3c7e1a52-8d4f-4b9a-a0e6-5f2d9c8b1e74 guidelines: >- ## Role You book appointments for Bodywell Clinic. ## Booking Check availability with {{action.8b2f6d10-4c3e-4a7b-9e15-2d6c0f8a3b91}} before offering a time. needs_publish: false live_version: version_id: 5e0b9c41-7a2d-4f6e-b8c3-1d9a0e4f7b62 version_number: 3 name: null published_at: '2026-10-29T14:02:11.000Z' activated_at: null '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized' '403': $ref: '#/components/responses/AgentForbidden' '404': $ref: '#/components/responses/AgentNotFound' '429': $ref: '#/components/responses/TooManyRequests' components: parameters: assistantId: name: assistantId in: path required: true description: >- The agent's ID. Open the agent in Studio and select **Copy ID** in its header. schema: type: string format: uuid schemas: NeedsPublish: type: boolean description: >- `true` when the agent has been published and has an edit that isn't live yet, anywhere in the agent and not only in its guidelines, so phone calls, website chats and emails get it only after a publish, with **Publish** in Studio or [Publish an agent](/api-reference/agents/publish-agent). It is set by the edit, so it can stay `true` after an edit is changed back: a publish then answers `400` with nothing to publish, which you can treat as nothing to do. Always `false` for an agent that has never been published. LiveVersion: description: >- The version phone calls, website chats and emails use now. `null` when the agent has never been published: its conversations use the draft. oneOf: - type: object required: - version_id - version_number - name - published_at - activated_at properties: version_id: type: string format: uuid description: >- The version's ID. A conversation on a published version records that version's ID in the variable `interaction.AGENT_VERSION_ID`. A conversation on the draft, such as **Talk** or the test **Chat**, records `draft`. version_number: type: integer description: >- The version's number, as **Version History** in Studio shows it (V1, V2, and so on). name: type: - string - 'null' description: The version's name, or `null` when it has none. published_at: type: string format: date-time description: When this version was published. activated_at: type: - string - 'null' format: date-time description: >- When this version was last made live again with **Make this version active** in Studio, or `null` if never. - type: 'null' Error: type: object description: >- Most errors have `success: false` and a readable `error`. Some agent errors and rate-limit errors carry `message` instead. properties: success: type: boolean const: false error: type: string description: What went wrong. details: description: More detail, when there is any. message: type: string description: What went wrong, on errors that don't use `error`. data: type: object description: >- Extra detail on a few errors, such as the live version when there is nothing to publish, or the running publish on a `409`. responses: Unauthorized: description: >- The API key is missing, unknown, revoked or expired. The reply is the same in every case. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: success: false error: 'Unauthorized: Invalid credentials' AgentForbidden: description: The agent isn't in your account. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: message: 'Forbidden: Workspace does not belong to your account.' AgentNotFound: description: Agent not found. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: message: Assistant not found. TooManyRequests: description: >- Too many requests. Wait for the number of seconds in the `Retry-After` header, then retry. headers: Retry-After: description: Seconds to wait before retrying. schema: type: integer content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: status: type: string const: error message: type: string example: status: error message: Too many requests, please try again later. securitySchemes: apiKey: type: apiKey in: header name: X-API-Key description: >- An API key from **Manage → API Keys** in Studio. See [Authentication](/api-reference/authentication). ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.