Are.na · Index

Are.na

Fifteen years of channel-based research collection, with a documented v3 API and a public OpenAPI spec

Tier A · StrongToolAppServiceare.na

Are.na is where people collect and connect things: images, text, links and files gathered into channels, and channels connected to each other. It has run for fifteen years and it describes its users as students, designers, academics, collectors and researchers who defy categorisation. The model is the point. A block can live in many channels at once, so the same image sits in three different lines of thought without being copied. That is closer to how research actually works than a folder is. For this corpus the API is the reason to record it. Version 3 is documented, and the developer surface is unusually complete: an OpenAPI specification at api.are.na/v3/openapi.json, a full markdown reference at /developers/all.md, a compact markdown reference at /developers/all-compact.md, an explorable docs page, a dedicated developer sitemap and an llms.txt that indexes all of it. The llms.txt states plainly that it covers the API and not the website. There is a mobile app beside the web version.

For an agent

Take the compact markdown reference first: https://www.are.na/developers/all-compact.md. Are.na publishes both a full and a compact version, and the compact one is built for a context window. Use the OpenAPI spec at api.are.na/v3/openapi.json when you need exact shapes. It is a real specification, not a docs page. Read the llms.txt caveat. It says outright that it documents the API and not the website, so do not expect it to describe the product. Model a block as belonging to many channels. That is the core of the data model, and treating a channel as a folder will produce the wrong queries.

Why it is here. Fifteen years of collected research with a documented API and a compact markdown reference is a rare combination. Most inspiration tools give an agent nothing but pictures.

Install command, framework, licence and component list.

Facts

License: Unknown
Pricing: Freemium, Subscription, Free but account required
Framework: Not applicable
Styling: Not applicable
Distribution: Web app / online tool, Public HTTP API, Mobile application
Platform: Web, iOS
Content type: Images / textures / backgrounds, Prose / writing, Dataset / structured records
Agent readiness: Public API without auth, llms.txt, Structured documentation, Login required
Accessibility: Unknown
Maturity: Actively maintained
Pricing detail: Free to sign up, with a paid tier that lifts limits. No figure appears on the front page. The API needs an account.

Helps you build

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Notable for

channels that a block can belong to many of
public v3 API with an OpenAPI spec
full and compact markdown references for models
llms.txt states it covers the API, not the site
running for fifteen years

Provenance

Verified 2026-08-30. HTTP 200. https://www.are.na/ 200, 147 KB; the page reads "Are.na is Online software for saving and organizing the content that is important to you", "A toolkit for assembling new worlds from the scraps of the old" and "For the last 15 years and 21 days, Are.na has been a place for students, designers, academics, collectors, researchers, and many other people who defy categorization to share and connect ideas.", with Sign up, Log in and "Download the app" controls. https://www.are.na/llms.txt 200 at 9,931 bytes and not a catch-all: it reads "Users collect content — images, text, links, files — into channels, building personal and collaborative knowledge networks", declares "Version: 3.0.0" and "This document covers the Are.na developer API. It does not describe the full website.", and lists API docs at /developers/explore, the OpenAPI spec at https://api.are.na/v3/openapi.json, a full markdown reference at /developers/all.md, a compact markdown reference at /developers/all-compact.md and a developer sitemap at /developers/sitemap.xml. /sitemap.xml 404. Listed under Organization on designengineer.tools.

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