Task Schemas

Tasks in Autoken are defined using a simplified JSON schema format. This page documents the schema structure and conventions.

Overview

Each task is defined in a JSON file with the following structure:

{
  "name": "task-name",
  "description": "Human-readable description of the task",
  "category": "category-name",
  "icon": "lucide-icon-name",
  "pricingModel": { ... },
  "input": { ... },
  "output": { ... },
  "schemas": { ... },
  "methods": { ... }
}

Simplified Schema Format

The input and output fields use a simplified format where each field is defined directly without wrapping in properties.

✓ Simplified Format

{
  "input": {
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Search query",
      "required": true
    },
    "limit": {
      "type": "number",
      "default": 10
    }
  }
}

✗ Old Format (Not Used)

{
  "inputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "query": {
        "type": "string"
      }
    },
    "required": ["query"]
  }
}

Key differences: In the simplified format, fields are defined directly under input/output, and required: true is set on individual fields instead of a separate array.

Field Types

Type	Description	Example
`string`	Text values	`"hello"`
`number`	Numeric values (integer or float)	`42`, `3.14`
`boolean`	True/false values	`true`
`object`	Nested structured data	`{ "key": "value" }`
`array`	Lists of items	`[1, 2, 3]`
`artifact`	Binary file reference (SHA-256 hash)	`"abc123..."`
`schema`	Data structure definition	`{ "type": "object", ... }`

Field Properties

required

Set to true to mark a field as required.

"query": { "type": "string", "required": true }

default

Specify a default value for optional fields.

"limit": { "type": "number", "default": 10 }

description

Human-readable description of the field.

"query": { "type": "string", "description": "The search query" }

enum

Restrict values to a specific set of options.

"format": { "type": "string", "enum": ["mp3", "wav", "ogg"] }

items

Define the type of items in an array.

"tags": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }

Pricing Model

The pricingModel field defines how the task is priced. Providers set actual USD prices when they register.

{
  "pricingModel": {
    "unit": "megabyte",
    "unitLabel": "MB",
    "outputField": "megabytesUsed",
    "modifiers": {
      "type": ["datacenter", "residential", "mobile"]
    }
  }
}

Field	Description
`unit`	Unit of measurement (e.g., "request", "character", "megabyte", "second")
`unitLabel`	Human-readable label for the unit
`inputField`	Input field used for cost calculation
`outputField`	Output field used for cost calculation
`modifiers`	Input options that affect pricing (e.g., quality tiers)

Exported Schemas

Tasks can export reusable schemas that other tasks can reference using the schemas field.

{
  "name": "social-search",
  "schemas": {
    "post": {
      "platform": { "type": "string", "required": true },
      "content": { "type": "string", "required": true },
      "url": { "type": "string", "required": true },
      "author": { "type": "string" },
      "timestamp": { "type": "string" }
    }
  },
  "output": {
    "results": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "$ref": "#/schemas/post" }
    }
  }
}

Reference Formats

#/schemas/post - Reference a schema within the same task
social-search.post - Reference a schema from another task

Task Methods

Methods allow operations on an existing task execution. They're defined in the methods field.

{
  "name": "proxy-rent",
  "methods": {
    "extend": {
      "description": "Extend an existing proxy rental",
      "input": {
        "duration": { 
          "type": "number", 
          "description": "Additional seconds", 
          "required": true 
        }
      },
      "output": {
        "expiresAt": { "type": "string" },
        "additionalCost": { "type": "number" }
      }
    }
  }
}

Complete Example

{
  "name": "translate-text",
  "description": "Translate text between languages",
  "category": "language",
  "icon": "languages",
  "pricingModel": {
    "unit": "character",
    "unitLabel": "char",
    "inputField": "text"
  },
  "input": {
    "text": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Text to translate",
      "required": true
    },
    "language": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Target language code (e.g., 'es', 'fr', 'de')",
      "required": true
    },
    "sourceLanguage": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Source language (auto-detected if not specified)"
    }
  },
  "output": {
    "translatedText": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The translated text"
    },
    "detectedLanguage": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The detected source language"
    },
    "characterCount": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Number of characters translated"
    }
  }
}