Happenstance

Search your professional network and research people using the Happenstance API.

Security Scan

The skill's requests (curl + a single HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY) and runtime instructions align with its stated purpose of calling the Happenstance API, but the package has no listed homepage or known source so provenance cannot be verified.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description, required binary (curl), and single required env var (HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY) are appropriate for a wrapper around the Happenstance API. However the skill metadata lists no homepage and the source is unknown, which reduces confidence in the publisher.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md contains explicit curl-based API calls, polling instructions, and guidance limited to the Happenstance endpoints (api.happenstance.ai). It does not instruct reading local files, harvesting other environment variables, or sending data to unrelated external endpoints.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files — instruction-only. This minimizes on-disk persistence and the skill only relies on an existing curl binary.

Credentials

Only the HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY is required and declared as the primary credential, which is proportional for an API client. No unrelated secrets or config paths are requested.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false (normal). Model invocation is not disabled (default), so the agent could call this skill autonomously; that is expected for skills but worth noting if you prefer to restrict autonomous network calls.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent: it simply issues authenticated HTTP calls to api.happenstance.ai using an API key. Before installing, verify the provider and developer because the package has no homepage or known source. Treat HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY as sensitive — create a dedicated key with the least privileges, monitor and rotate it, and avoid reusing other credentials. Be aware calling the skill can use paid credits (billing endpoints are referenced). If you have concerns about automated network access, prefer manual invocation or restrict agent autonomy. Finally, confirm Happenstance's privacy and terms (the SKILL.md links their developer docs) before sharing or researching people via this skill.

Search your network and get detailed research profiles on people using the Happenstance API.

Documentation: https://developer.happenstance.ai

Authentication

All requests require the HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY environment variable. Pass it as a Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY

Base URL: https://api.happenstance.ai

Billing

• Search: 2 credits per search (including find-more)
• Research: 1 credit per completed research
• Check balance with GET /v1/usage
• Purchase credits at https://happenstance.ai/settings/api

Available Operations

1. Search Your Network

Search for people across groups and connections. Searches run asynchronously.

Start a search:

curl -s -X POST https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "engineers who have worked on AI infrastructure",
    "include_my_connections": true,
    "include_friends_connections": true
  }'

You can also search within specific groups by adding "group_ids": ["uuid1", "uuid2"]. Get group IDs from GET /v1/groups.

At least one search source is required: group_ids, include_my_connections: true, or include_friends_connections: true.

Response:

{"id": "search-uuid", "url": "https://happenstance.ai/search/search-uuid"}

Poll for results (every 5-10 seconds until status is COMPLETED or FAILED):

curl -s https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/search/SEARCH_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

Completed response includes:

• status: RUNNING, COMPLETED, or FAILED
• results: array of people, each with id, name, current_title, current_company, summary, weighted_traits_score, socials (with happenstance_url, linkedin_url, twitter_url), mutuals, and traits
• has_more: boolean indicating if more results are available
• mutuals: top-level array of mutual connections (results reference these by index)
• traits: top-level array of trait definitions (results reference these by index)

2. Find More Results

When has_more is true on a completed search, get additional results that exclude all previously returned people. Costs 2 credits.

curl -s -X POST https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/search/SEARCH_ID/find-more \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

Response:

{"page_id": "page-uuid", "parent_search_id": "search-uuid"}

Then poll with the page_id:

curl -s "https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/search/SEARCH_ID?page_id=PAGE_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

3. Research a Person

Get a detailed professional profile for a specific person. Runs asynchronously.

Start research:

curl -s -X POST https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/research \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"description": "Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, @garrytan on Twitter"}'

Include as many details as possible (full name, company, title, location, social handles) for best results.

Response:

{"id": "research-uuid"}

Poll for results (every 5-10 seconds until status is COMPLETED, FAILED, or FAILED_AMBIGUOUS):

curl -s https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/research/RESEARCH_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

Completed response includes a profile object with:

• person_metadata: full_name, alternate_names, profile_urls, current_locations, tagline
• employment: array of jobs with company_name, job_title, start_date, end_date, description
• education: array with university_name, degree, start_date, end_date
• projects: array with title, description, urls
• writings: array of publications with title, description, date, urls
• hobbies: array with description
• summary: overall text summary with supporting urls

4. List Groups

Get the groups you can search within:

curl -s https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/groups \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

Returns {"groups": [{"id": "uuid", "name": "Group Name"}, ...]}.

5. Check Credits and Usage

curl -s https://api.happenstance.ai/v1/usage \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HAPPENSTANCE_API_KEY"

Returns balance_credits, has_credits, purchases, usage history, and auto_reload settings.

Error Handling

Errors use RFC 7807 format:

{"type": "about:blank", "title": "Bad Request", "status": 400, "detail": "Description must not be empty", "instance": "/v1/research"}

Key status codes:

• 401: Invalid or missing API key
• 402: Insufficient credits
• 429: Too many concurrent requests (max 10 running searches or research requests)
• 500/503: Server error, retry with backoff

Tips

• Always check credits before starting multiple searches or research requests.
• Search typically completes in 30-60 seconds. Research takes 1-3 minutes.
• Each search returns up to 30 results. Use find-more for additional pages.
• When presenting search results, include the person's name, title, company, summary, and Happenstance profile link.
• When presenting research, summarize the profile and link to sources.
• The more data sources the user connects, the better the search results.