manus

# Manus

Manus is an autonomous AI agent that handles complex tasks asynchronously. Particularly strong at **deep research** with parallel processing, web browsing, and generating comprehensive reports with data visualizations.

## When to Use Manus

- **Deep research** - Market analysis, competitive landscaping, product comparisons
- **Stock/financial analysis** - Company research, technical analysis, price charts
- **Product research** - Feature comparisons across brands, specs analysis
- **Report generation** - Creates markdown reports, CSVs, charts, and visualizations
- **Multi-source synthesis** - Gathers and combines information from multiple websites
- **Long-running tasks** - Anything taking 1-10+ minutes of autonomous work

## Research Prompt Examples

Effective research prompts are specific about scope, sources, and desired output:

**Product comparison:**
```
Find the best 4K monitors for Mac with Thunderbolt connectivity and 120Hz+ refresh rate.
Focus on BenQ, Samsung, Dell, LG. Only include models released in the last year.
Compare specs, prices, and Mac-specific features. Output a comparison table.
```

**Stock/company analysis:**
```
Analyze [TICKER] stock: company profile, recent performance, technical indicators,
valuation metrics, and insider activity. Include a price chart for the past year.
```

**Market research:**
```
Research the [industry] market: key players, market size, growth trends,
recent developments, and competitive landscape. Focus on [region/segment].
```

**Competitive analysis:**
```
Compare [Product A] vs [Product B] vs [Product C]: features, pricing,
user reviews, pros/cons. Create a decision matrix for [use case].
```

## Environment Setup

Requires `MANUS_API_KEY` environment variable. Base URL: `https://api.manus.ai`

## Core Workflow

1. **Create task** → Returns `task_id` immediately
2. **Poll status** → Check until `status` is `completed` or `failed`
3. **Return results** → Extract output text and file attachments

## Creating a Task

```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"<task description>","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'
```

**Agent Profiles:**
- `manus-1.6-lite` - Fast, simple tasks (quick lookups, simple questions)
- `manus-1.6` - Standard (default, good for most research)
- `manus-1.6-max` - Complex reasoning (deep research, multi-source analysis, detailed reports)

**Response:**
```json
{"task_id":"abc123","task_title":"...","task_url":"https://manus.im/app/abc123"}
```

## Checking Task Status

```bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY"
```

**Status values:** `pending`, `running`, `completed`, `failed`

Poll every 5-10 seconds until completed.

**Extract text output:**
```bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq -r '.output[] | select(.role=="assistant") | .content[] | select(.type=="output_text") | .text'
```

**Extract file attachments:**
```bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq -r '.output[] | select(.role=="assistant") | .content[] | select(.type=="output_file") | "\(.fileName): \(.fileUrl)"'
```

## Listing Tasks

```bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq '.data[] | {id, status, title: .metadata.task_title}'
```

## Multi-turn Conversations

Continue an existing task by including `taskId`:

```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"follow-up question","taskId":"abc123","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'
```

## Delete a Task

```bash
curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY"
```

## Advanced Options

| Parameter | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| `taskMode` | `chat`, `adaptive`, or `agent` |
| `projectId` | Associate with project for shared instructions |
| `attachments` | Array of file objects (see below) |
| `connectors` | Pre-configured connector IDs (Gmail, Calendar, Notion) |
| `createShareableLink` | Enable public access URL |

## File Attachments

Attach files using one of three formats:

**URL attachment:**
```json
{"prompt":"Analyze this","attachments":[{"type":"url","url":"https://example.com/doc.pdf"}]}
```

**Base64 attachment:**
```json
{"prompt":"What's in this image?","attachments":[{"type":"base64","data":"<base64>","mime_type":"image/png"}]}
```

**File ID (after upload):**
```json
{"prompt":"Review this file","attachments":[{"type":"file","file_id":"file-xxx"}]}
```

## Projects

Create a project with shared instructions:
```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/projects" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"name":"My Project","instruction":"Always respond concisely"}'
```

Use project in task:
```bash
curl -s -X POST "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type:application/json" -d '{"prompt":"...","projectId":"proj_xxx","agentProfile":"manus-1.6"}'
```

## Best Practices

- Use `manus-1.6-lite` for simple queries (faster, cheaper)
- Use `manus-1.6` or `manus-1.6-max` for research tasks
- Always report `task_url` so user can view progress in browser
- Poll status with reasonable intervals (5-10s for simple, 15-30s for research)
- Check `credit_usage` field to track consumption
- For research: be specific about scope, timeframe, sources, and desired output format
- Research tasks typically produce multiple output files (reports, CSVs, charts) - extract all attachments
- Manus uses parallel processing for multi-faceted research - one prompt can cover multiple angles

## Error Handling

Check for failed tasks:
```bash
curl -s -X GET "https://api.manus.ai/v1/tasks/{task_id}" -H "API_KEY:$MANUS_API_KEY" | jq '{status, error}'
```

If `status` is `failed`, the `error` field contains the reason. Common issues:
- Invalid API key → Check `MANUS_API_KEY` is set
- Task timeout → Simplify prompt or use `manus-1.6-max`
- Rate limited → Wait and retry

## API Reference

For complete endpoint documentation, see [references/api.md](references/api.md).