Shortcut Platform API

Turn natural language into executable spreadsheets. Same AI powering our web app, now in your code. Create an API key, submit jobs with simple prompts, and get back fully functional Excel files.

Get Started with AI

Use our pre-built prompt to build your first integration

Open in Cursor

Paste into Claude Code, Cursor, or your preferred AI agent

How It Works

1

Create API Key

Generate from account settings

2

Submit Job

Send prompt + files, get instant run ID

3

Poll Status

Check completion every few seconds

4

Download Result

Get fully functional Excel file

Key Capabilities

Async Processing

Fire-and-forget architecture. Up to 5 concurrent jobs, 25min max timeout per job.

• Instant run ID
• Background execution
• Polling-based status

File Context

Upload files (100MB each) for data-driven automation. PDFs auto-indexed.

• 5 files per job
• Excel templates
• PDF extraction

Real Execution

Not just text generation—creates fully functional Excel files. Production-ready output.

• Formulas work
• Charts render
• Same as web app

Quick Example

Python
import requests
import time

API_KEY = 'sc-xxx...'  # Replace with your API key
BASE_URL = 'https://api.shortcut.ai/api/spreadsheets'
headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'}

# Submit a job
response = requests.post(
    BASE_URL,
    headers=headers,
    json={'prompt': 'Create a sales report with summary statistics'}
)
run_id = response.json()['runId']
print(f"Job submitted: {run_id}")

# Poll status until completed
while True:
    response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/{run_id}", headers=headers)
    status = response.json()['status']
    print(f"Status: {status}")

    if status == 'completed':
        break
    elif status in ['failed', 'error']:
        print(f"Job failed: {response.json()}")
        exit(1)

    time.sleep(3)

# Download result
response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/{run_id}/download", headers=headers)
with open('result.xlsx', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)
print("Result saved to result.xlsx")

What You Can Build

Automated Reporting

"Generate weekly sales report with YoY comparison charts"

Schedule jobs, process uploaded CSVs, email results

PDF Data Extraction

"Extract tables from invoice PDFs into structured spreadsheet"

Upload PDFs, auto-indexed and searchable, export to Excel

Data Transformation

"Combine 5 regional sheets, standardize dates, add summary pivot"

Complex multi-step workflows in plain English

User File Processing

"Clean user-uploaded data and generate analysis dashboard"

Handle uploads in your app, transform with AI, return results

Technical Details

500
Requests/min
Rate limit per API key
5
Concurrent Jobs
Max parallel processing
25min
Max Timeout
Per job processing limit
100MB
File Size
Per file upload limit

Enterprise Features

Secure API key authentication
Credit-based billing (shared with web app)
Team billing support
Audit logs & usage tracking
Production-proven (same backend as web)

OpenAPI Specification

Use our auto-generated spec for type-safe client generation, testing tools, or API exploration.

https://api.shortcut.ai/api/spreadsheets/openapi.json

Ready to get started?

Explore the interactive API reference with live examples, or jump straight to building with our AI-powered quick start.