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Generating an artifact involves making an API call to a dedicated C1 endpoint. This is done using a standard OpenAI client library, configured to connect to the C1 Artifacts service.

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Configuring the API Client

To begin, initialize your OpenAI client to use the C1 Artifacts endpoint and your Thesys API key. Artifact API Endpoint: https://api.thesys.dev/v1/artifact
You can create a new API key from Developer Console.
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://api.thesys.dev/v1/artifact",
  apiKey: process.env.THESYS_API_KEY,
});

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Structuring the Request

The API call’s payload has two main parts:
  • messages array for your prompt
  • metadata object for C1-specific instructions.

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The messages Array

This is where you provide the prompt to generate the artifact. The content of the user message can include rich context, like data or a detailed description of the desired output. You can also include a system prompt to provide high-level instructions.

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The metadata Object

This object provides C1-specific instructions for the generation. It must contain a thesys key, whose value is a stringified JSON object. Inside the thesys object, the c1_artifact_type property tells C1 what kind of artifact to generate, for example 'slides' or 'report'. 
{
  "c1_artifact_type": "slides", // or 'report' for generating a report
  "id": "unique-id-for-the-artifact"
}

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Full Example: Generating Slides

This example brings the concepts together to generate a slide deck from a prompt. The artifact variable in the response will contain the C1 DSL string, which is ready to be sent to your frontend for rendering.
src/app/api/generate-slides/route.ts
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://api.thesys.dev/v1/artifact",
  apiKey: process.env.THESYS_API_KEY,
});

export async function POST(req: NextRequest): Promise<NextResponse> {
  const artifact = await client.chat.completions.create({
    model: "c1/artifact/v-20251030", // Specify the model
    messages: [
      {
        role: 'system',
        content: 'system prompt here: it can include high-level instructions or context for the generation.',
      },
      {
        role: 'user',
        content: 'Generate a presentation showcasing the top 10 AI tools that can transform business operations, with implementation timelines and ROI calculations.',
      },
    ],
    metadata: {
      thesys: JSON.stringify({
        c1_artifact_type: 'slides',
        id: 'unique-id-for-the-artifact', // this is required for editing the artifact in future
      }),
    }
  });

  // artifact.choices[0].message.content contains the C1 DSL string for the generated artifact
  return { "content": artifact.choices[0].message.content };
}