Ably Platform API
✓ Official Vendor SpecCommunicationsPush Notificationsbasic, bearer22 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Publish realtime messages, manage push device registrations and channel subscriptions, and issue auth tokens via Ably's Platform REST API.
Use for: I need to register a mobile device for push notifications, Subscribe device 'd-123' to channel 'alerts', Publish a push notification to all devices subscribed to 'alerts', List every channel that currently has push subscribers
Not supported: Does not handle account-level app or key provisioning, queue management, or integration rules — use the Ably Control API for those, and Platform API for messages, presence, and push.
The Ably Platform API is the broader REST surface for Ably's realtime platform, covering pub/sub messaging on channels plus the full push notification stack. It exposes 22 endpoints across messages, presence, push device registrations, channel subscriptions, and push publish, alongside token issuance for client auth. The spec is published in Ably's open-specs repository, so the schema tracks the live platform. Use it when a server needs to publish, audit history, or manage push subscriptions without standing up a WebSocket.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the Platform API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Platform API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
1
Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with Platform API.
Publish messages to a channel and fetch message history
Read channel presence and presence history
Register a device for push notifications and update its registration
Subscribe a device to push notifications on specific channels
List channels with at least one subscribed device
Publish a push notification directly to specific devices
Issue short-lived Ably tokens scoped by capability
Use Cases
Patterns agents use Platform API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Mobile Push Notification Delivery
Mobile apps register devices with Ably so backends can push notifications without dealing with APNs and FCM directly. POST /push/deviceRegistrations registers the device, POST /push/channelSubscriptions binds it to a channel, and POST /push/publish or POST /channels/{channel_id}/messages with push extras delivers the payload. The full flow stays inside one platform API.
Register device 'd-123' for push, subscribe it to channel 'alerts', and publish a push message 'New alert' to that channel
Realtime Pub/Sub from a Backend
Server-side workloads publish events to Ably channels for fan-out to web and mobile clients. POST /channels/{channel_id}/messages handles the publish, GET /channels lists active channels, and GET /channels/{channel_id}/messages retrieves history. This pattern is suited to dashboards, multi-user editing, and live ops alerts.
Publish a JSON event to channel 'orders' and fetch the last 50 messages for verification
Push Subscription Inventory
Operations teams need visibility on which channels have active push subscribers and which devices belong to a given user. The push endpoints support listing channels with subscribers, fetching individual device registrations, and patching them to update tokens. This keeps push hygiene under control as devices churn.
List all channels with push subscribers and fetch the device registration for device ID 'd-123'
Agent-Driven Push and Pub/Sub via Jentic
AI agents that orchestrate notifications can drive Ably's Platform API as a tool. Through Jentic, an agent searches by intent, loads the matching push or messages operation, and executes with the API key from the Jentic vault. This lets the agent register devices, subscribe them, and publish in sequence without juggling SDKs.
Search Jentic for 'send a push notification', load the Ably push schema, and execute the publish call with the channel and payload
Key Endpoints
22 endpoints — the ably platform api is the broader rest surface for ably's realtime platform, covering pub/sub messaging on channels plus the full push notification stack.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
POST
/channels/{channel_id}/messages
Publish a message to a channel
GET
/channels/{channel_id}/messages
Get message history for a channel
POST
/push/deviceRegistrations
Register a device for push notifications
POST
/push/channelSubscriptions
Subscribe a device to a channel
POST
/push/publish
Publish a push notification to devices
GET
/push/channels
List channels with subscribed devices
POST
/keys/{keyName}/requestToken
Request a short-lived Ably token
POST
/channels/{channel_id}/messages
Publish a message to a channel
GET
/channels/{channel_id}/messages
Get message history for a channel
POST
/push/deviceRegistrations
Register a device for push notifications
POST
/push/channelSubscriptions
Subscribe a device to a channel
POST
/push/publish
Publish a push notification to devices
GET
/push/channels
List channels with subscribed devices
POST
/keys/{keyName}/requestToken
Request a short-lived Ably token
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
Ably API keys are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents call operations by ID and Jentic applies HTTP Basic or bearer auth at execution time, so credentials never enter the agent's context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search by intent (e.g., 'register a device for push') and Jentic returns the matching Platform API operation along with its input schema.
Time to first call
Direct integration: 2-4 days to wire up auth, push device lifecycle, and history paging across 22 endpoints. Through Jentic: a few hours — search, load schema, execute.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using Platform API through Jentic.
What authentication does the Ably Platform API use?
The API supports HTTP Basic auth (using the Ably API key) and bearer token auth via tokens issued by POST /keys/{keyName}/requestToken. Through Jentic, both schemes are stored in the Jentic vault and applied at execution time, so the agent never holds the raw key.
Can I send push notifications with the Ably Platform API?
Yes. Register devices via POST /push/deviceRegistrations, bind them to a channel with POST /push/channelSubscriptions, and publish via POST /push/publish or POST /channels/{channel_id}/messages with push extras. List active push channels with GET /push/channels.
How do I register a mobile device for push through Jentic?
Search Jentic for 'register a device for push notifications' to find POST /push/deviceRegistrations, load the schema, and execute the call with the device platform, token, and client ID. Jentic injects the Ably credential from the vault.
What are the rate limits for the Ably Platform API?
Rate limits are not encoded in the spec; Ably enforces them per account based on the active plan. Inspect message volumes via the stats surface and check the Ably account dashboard for the current ceiling. On 429 responses, back off and retry with jitter.
How do I unregister a push device when a user signs out?
Call DELETE /push/deviceRegistrations/{device_id} for a single device, or DELETE /push/deviceRegistrations with a query filter to unregister matching devices in bulk. Pair with DELETE /push/channelSubscriptions to clean up subscriptions before the device disappears.
Is the Platform API the same as the REST API?
The Platform API is a superset of the REST surface: it includes the same channels, messages, presence, and key endpoints, plus the push device registrations, subscriptions, and push publish endpoints. Pick the Platform API when push notifications are in scope, the REST API when only pub/sub and token issuance are needed.
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