Intake and request lists

Intake answers one question: what must the client give before the work can start, and what may start before they have given it all?

Smallest form

There is no intake key. Preconditions are ask steps at the top of the graph, and the request list is a function of the job:

services/annual-accounts.ts

    consent: { ask: 'client', to: 'consent' },
    terms: { ask: 'client', to: 'sign', how: 'esign' },

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /annual-accounts {"client":{"name":"Ada Lovelace","email":"ada@example.com"},"company":"acme","kind":"company","max_usd":90,"year":"2025","opened":"payroll","key":"books-2025"}
← job_7Hq2 · waiting · on party · $90.00 held · consent · consent

Every form

On an ask step

Key	Written	Left out	Does
`ask`	`'buyer' \| <party input>`	required	Who acts: the buyer, or a `party`, `party?` or `party[]` input.
`to`	`AskTo`	required	What the party does: `'sign'`, `'consent'`, `'answer'`, `'upload'`, `'decide'`, `'direct'` or `'grant'`.
`items`	`(job) => AskItem[]`	none	For `answer` and `upload`: a request list derived from the job. A step can start on one item: `after: '<ask>.<item>'`.
`expires`	`Within`	`'7d'`	When the link stops working; a second expiry lapses the job.
`remind`	`'${number}d'[]`	[`'1d'`]	Reminders, each this long before the link expires.

Each item of a request list

Key	Written	Left out	Does
`id`	`string`	required	Its name: a step can start on it with `after: '<ask>.<item>'`.
`label`	`string`	required	The question or the document asked for, as the party reads it.
`optional`	`true`	none	The ask is done without it.
`remind`	`'${number}d'[]`	none	Reminders for this item alone, each this long before the link expires, while the item is still open.
`from`	`string`	none	Where it comes from, as the party reads it: `on the 2025 return`. The customer portal shows it beside the item.

What the party sends for a list: POST /asks/:id, through their link

Key	Written	Left out	Does
`items`	`Record`	none	A request list's items: each answered (`answer` or `file`), waived with a reason, or substituted.
`decline`	`unknown`	none	The party says no. A decline ends the job at `declined`.
`reason`	`unknown`	none	Why, with a decline.

The job waits on the client from the first step. Each ask is their own link, and neither needs an account. Their time on it never counts against your deadline.

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq3?t=rE5VINsEvPPB93bDQLooDc {}   # terms · sign
  ask     ask_7Hq4 · organizer · upload · expires 2026-11-01T14:02:11.000Z
  item    bank · Statements for the bank account, 2025 · open · remind 2d
  item    payroll · Statements for the payroll account, 2025 · open · remind 2d · opened this year

The list comes from the subject

items is your code, run on the job. Here it reads last year's accounts off the subject and adds the one the client opened since, so this year's list writes itself. Each item can carry its own reminders and a from the client reads beside it:

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq6?t=j-Rd4ngI-U2rfgStAvuMN_ {}   # terms · sign
  ask     ask_7Hq7 · organizer · upload · expires 2026-11-01T14:02:11.000Z · from 2025, job_7Hq2
  item    bank · Statements for the bank account, 2026 · open · remind 2d
  item    payroll · Statements for the payroll account, 2026 · open · remind 2d
  item    card · Statements for the card account, 2026 · open · remind 2d · opened this year

A repair can re-ask only some items: a rejection routed { to: '<ask>', items } asks again for just what its code names (One submission per element).

The open list, on every surface:

captured/intake-tabs.txt · magic values: none

$ npx services.dev jobs get job_7Hq2 --json   # its wait and its open request list
  "id": "job_7Hq2",
  "status": "waiting",
  "on": "party",
    "id": "ask_7Hq4",
    "step": "organizer",
    "to": "upload",
    "status": "open",
        "id": "bank",
        "status": "open",
        "id": "payroll",
        "status": "open",
        "from": "opened this year"

captured/intake-tabs.txt · 200 · magic values: none

$ curl http://localhost:8787/jobs/job_7Hq2   # its wait and its open request list
  "id": "job_7Hq2",
  "status": "waiting",
  "on": "party",
    "id": "ask_7Hq4",
    "step": "organizer",
    "to": "upload",
    "status": "open",
        "id": "bank",
        "status": "open",
        "id": "payroll",
        "status": "open",
        "from": "opened this year"

captured/intake-tabs.txt · magic values: none

→ tools/call get_job {"id":"job_7Hq2"}   # its wait and its open request list
  "id": "job_7Hq2",
  "status": "waiting",
  "on": "party",
    "id": "ask_7Hq4",
    "step": "organizer",
    "to": "upload",
    "status": "open",
        "id": "bank",
        "status": "open",
        "id": "payroll",
        "status": "open",
        "from": "opened this year"

captured/intake-tabs.txt · magic values: none

await lingua.jobs.get("job_7Hq2")   // its wait and its open request list
  "id": "job_7Hq2",
  "status": "waiting",
  "on": "party",
    "id": "ask_7Hq4",
    "step": "organizer",
    "to": "upload",
    "status": "open",
        "id": "bank",
        "status": "open",
        "id": "payroll",
        "status": "open",
        "from": "opened this year"

An agent reads the list and carries the link to the client, who answers through it.

Start on one item

after: '<ask>.<item>' starts a step as soon as that item is in, while the rest are still open:

services/annual-accounts.ts

    reconcile: { by: async (_, job) => ({ accounts: accounts(job) }), after: 'organizer.bank' },

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq7?t=Veld6gxJn8YTVqzW-IuUdK {"items":{"bank":{"file":"bank-2026.pdf"}}}   # organizer · upload
← job_7Hq3 · waiting · on party · $90.00 held
  record  consent · client · consent | terms · client · sign · esign | screen · code | organizer.bank · answered | reconcile · code

Waive and substitute

An item the client can't send is waived with a reason, or substituted with what they have. Either way the list is done, and the record says which:

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq7?t=Veld6gxJn8YTVqzW-IuUdK {"items":{"payroll":{"waive":"The payroll account closed in March 2025."},"card":{"substitute":"A ledger export of the card account"}}}   # organizer · upload
← job_7Hq3 · delivered · $90.00 charged
  record  consent · client · consent | terms · client · sign · esign | screen · code | organizer.bank · answered | reconcile · code | organizer.payroll · waived | organizer.card · substituted | organizer · client · upload | summary · ai | review · ai · pass

Screen, then refer out

A step at the top can route the job before any work: here a screen sends a kind of client the brand doesn't take to a declared end that charges $0.

captured/service-intake.txt · magic values: none

→ POST /annual-accounts {"client":{"name":"Ada Lovelace","email":"ada@example.com"},"company":"helping-hands","kind":"charity","max_usd":90,"year":"2026","key":"books-charity"}
← job_7Hq4 · waiting · on party · $90.00 held · consent · consent
→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq8?t=bpNrN7KRd_tVwQ97uaCGlt {}   # consent · consent
→ POST /asks/ask_7Hq9?t=TS_n-HMFWeuUfAgAcvC1gx {}   # terms · sign
← job_7Hq4 · ended · referred_out · $0
  record  consent · client · consent | terms · client · sign · esign | screen · code | referred_out · ended

A client who declines consent ends the job at declined, and owes nothing.

Seven surfaces

Op	API	CLI	MCP	SDK	Docs	App
`job.get`	`GET /jobs/:id`	`jobs get <job>`	`get_job`	`jobs.get()`	1 error page	customer portal
`ask.get`	`GET /asks/:id`	`asks get <ask>`	never: a person acts	never: a person acts	1 error page	hosted link, owner console
`ask.complete`	`POST /asks/:id`		never: a person acts	never: a person acts	6 error pages	hosted link
`ask.reissue`	`POST /asks/:id/reissue`, `POST /asks/:id/link`	`asks reissue <ask>`	`reissue_ask`	`asks.reissue()`	3 error pages	customer portal, owner console

Objects: ask_. Events: ask.opened, item.done, ask.reminded, ask.done, ask.expired, ask.voided, ask.relinked, consent.given, job.paused, job.ended.

Operations has every column of every row.

The customer portal lists every open ask and item across jobs, with each item's source, under Outstanding items (The customer portal).

Refusals

Code	Category	HTTP	Why
`ask_expired`	conflict	410	This ask expired.
`needs_the_party`	blocked	403	Only the party can do this, through their own link.
`input_invalid`	invalid_request	422	The order doesn't match the Service's input.

In the example brands

The lines that use it in the example brands, as their files write them, and what check read aloud for each file.

legal · services/trademark-response.ts · 21 lines

    evidence: { ask: 'client', to: 'upload', items: () => [{ id: 'specimen', label: 'A specimen showing the mark in use' }] },

npx services.dev check · captured/legal-walk.txt

services/trademark-response.ts · 21 lines · $349 per job, within 48 hours, charged on file's receipt.
  steps   consent · client · consent → read · ai · cites source → evidence · client · upload → draft · ai → attack · ai · adversarial · 3 lenses → respond · attorney · * · stamped · 2-item checklist → file · USPTO → fee · USPTO · routed

The legal example runs every one of its files, captured.

tax · services/annual-return.ts · 45 lines

    organizer: { ask: 'owner', to: 'upload', items: requestList, expires: '180d' },
    file: {
      submit: efile, to: 'IRS and states', receipt: 'receipts', each: { of: 'jurisdictions', lead: j => j === 'US' },
      rejected: { ein_mismatch: { to: 'organizer', items: reask.ein_mismatch }, schedule_missing: { to: 'organizer', items: reask.schedule_missing }, math: 'draft', '*': 'prepare' }, perfect: '10d',
    },

npx services.dev check · captured/tax-check.txt

services/annual-return.ts · 45 lines · $1,800 per job, filed 5 days before its deadline, 20% off if late, or we pay the penalty and its interest, up to $5,000, after we ask the IRS to take it off, charged when file is accepted.
  steps   consent · owner · consent · §7216, may disclose to a preparer outside the US and a lender you name → organizer · owner · upload → compute · code · cites depreciation and carryforward schedules → draft · ai · cites the workpapers and the records the organizer took → check · ai · adversarial · 3 lenses → sign · signer · * · stamped in the paid-preparer block · 3-item checklist → authorize · owner · sign · Form 8879-CORP or 8879-PE → file · IRS and states → prepare · preparer · * · 1-item checklist · routed → tentative · code · cites the year as the ledger stands, less the estimates paid · routed → pay · Treasury and states · routed → extend · IRS and states · routed

The tax example runs every one of its files, captured.

The tax example's organizer builds its list the same way: what last year's return carried, from job.subject.prior('compute'); the year's estimates to confirm, from job.subject.fact('paid', { period, all: true }); and an account number for each state. Annual return runs consent, a year's request list and the re-asks a rejection sends back to it.