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A snapshot monitor watches the structured output of a Task Run on a schedule. Each execution re-runs the same task and compares the result against the previous snapshot. When the system detects a material change—new data, a removed field, a significant value shift—it fires a webhook. This gives you task cron with built-in deduplication and reasoning about what actually changed, at a fraction of the cost of running full Task API calls independently. Typical use cases:
  • Executive team or board changes at a company
  • Competitor pricing or product page updates
  • Regulatory filing status changes
  • Job posting additions or removals

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Prerequisites

Generate your API key on Platform: 
export PARALLEL_API_KEY="PARALLEL_API_KEY"

​
Step 1. Create a Task Run to establish a baseline

A snapshot monitor requires a completed Task Run as its starting point. The run’s output schema becomes the template the monitor tracks over time. Create a Task Run that extracts structured data—here, the executive team of a company:
cURL
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.parallel.ai/v1/tasks/runs \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header "x-api-key: $PARALLEL_API_KEY" \
  --data '{
    "input": "Who are the current C-suite executives at Acme Corp (acme.com)?",
    "processor": "base",
    "output_schema": {
      "type": "json",
      "json_schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "executives": {
            "type": "array",
            "items": {
              "type": "object",
              "properties": {
                "name": { "type": "string" },
                "title": { "type": "string" }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }'
Response: 
{
  "run_id": "taskrun_a1b2c3d4e5f6",
  "status": "queued"
}
Wait for the run to complete (poll GET /v1/tasks/runs/{run_id} or use a webhook). Once status is "completed", note the run_id—you’ll use it in the next step. See Task API Quickstart for full details on creating and polling task runs.

​
Step 2. Create a snapshot monitor

Create a snapshot monitor that re-runs the same task weekly and fires when the output changes:
cURL
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.parallel.ai/v1/monitors \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header "x-api-key: $PARALLEL_API_KEY" \
  --data '{
    "type": "snapshot",
    "frequency": "1w",
    "processor": "lite",
    "settings": {
      "task_run_id": "taskrun_a1b2c3d4e5f6"
    },
    "webhook": {
      "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
      "event_types": ["monitor.event.detected"]
    },
    "metadata": { "external_id": "acme-snapshot-001" }
  }'
Response: 
{
  "monitor_id": "monitor_c3d4e5f6a1b2",
  "type": "snapshot",
  "status": "active",
  "frequency": "1w",
  "processor": "lite",
  "settings": {
    "task_run_id": "taskrun_a1b2c3d4e5f6"
  },
  "webhook": {
    "url": "https://example.com/webhook",
    "event_types": ["monitor.event.detected"]
  },
  "metadata": { "external_id": "acme-snapshot-001" },
  "created_at": "2025-04-23T20:21:48.037943Z"
}

​
Step 3. Receive and retrieve events

When the monitor detects a material change, your webhook receives: 
{
  "type": "monitor.event.detected",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-17T09:00:12.000000+00:00",
  "data": {
    "monitor_id": "monitor_c3d4e5f6a1b2",
    "event": {
      "event_group_id": "mevtgrp_9f8e7d6c5b4a3d2c1b0a"
    },
    "metadata": { "external_id": "acme-snapshot-001" }
  }
}
Fetch the events for that execution using the event_group_id as a query parameter:
cURL
curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.parallel.ai/v1/monitors/${MONITOR_ID}/events?event_group_id=${EVENT_GROUP_ID}" \
  --header "x-api-key: $PARALLEL_API_KEY"
Response: 
{
  "events": [
    {
      "event_id": "evt_9f8e7d6c5b4a",
      "event_group_id": "mevtgrp_9f8e7d6c5b4a3d2c1b0a",
      "event_date": "2025-12-17",
      "event_type": "snapshot",
      "changed_output": {
        "type": "json",
        "content": {
          "executives": [{ "name": "Jane Smith", "title": "CFO" }]
        },
        "basis": [
          {
            "field": "executives",
            "citations": [{ "url": "https://acme.com/press/leadership-update" }],
            "reasoning": "Official press release confirms the CFO transition from John Doe to Jane Smith.",
            "confidence": "high"
          }
        ]
      },
      "previous_output": {
        "type": "json",
        "content": {
          "executives": [{ "name": "John Doe", "title": "CFO" }]
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
  • changed_output contains only the fields that changed, each with basis (citations and reasoning).
  • previous_output contains the full output from the prior run for comparison.
See Research Basis for the full basis schema.

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Next Steps