# AX Check: circleback.ai Checked 2026-09-19. Circleback gives agents docs, CLI, and pricing with no login wall. 20 of 23 checklist items passed: install commands, API/MCP/CLI docs, and pricing all extract cleanly. Only the raw homepage lacks a Markdown response. ## Onboarding needs a login ## Coding sessions All three independent sessions (DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, Qwen 3.8 Max) completed the task and correctly reported Circleback's tiered pricing (Free $0, Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35 per user/month), each noting the annual-billing basis and stating assumptions rather than guessing a bare figure. ### DeepSeek V4 Pro [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/421b5909-71af-43f8-aa76-0a261a535d03) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/circleback.ai/sessions/deepseek.json) README.md and final output give per-tier pricing ($0/$15/$25/$35 per user/month) explicitly labeled 'billed annually' and sourced from circleback.ai/pricing, with plan-based assumptions (rate limits, storage, teams) named. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained a real Circleback API key. It explored the public docs, OpenAPI spec, and confirmed the hosted API is live (401 on unauthenticated calls), then wrote a local Node script and only tested it with no key and with a fabricated fake key (cb_fake_example_key), both of which correctly failed with 401. No authenticated operation against the real product was ever demonstrated. The agent explicitly states account/API-key creation requires a human via Settings → API keys. Event 118: ```text == unauthenticated /oauth/test {"error":"Request unauthenticated."} HTTP:401 ``` Event 130: ```text == fake key (real HTTP round-trip) Unauthorized: check that your Circleback API key is valid (should start with cb_). exit=1 ``` Event 137: ```text I **cannot create an API key myself** — that requires a human Circleback account (Settings → API keys). So I couldn't exercise an authenticated call. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-service way to obtain an API key**: The product's authentication model requires creating an account and generating an API key through the web app UI (Settings → API keys). This is normal login/account gating, not a product defect, but it fully prevented the agent from making any authenticated call. The agent correctly identified this and stopped rather than guessing or fabricating a working key. Event 137: ```text I **cannot create an API key myself** — that requires a human Circleback account (Settings → API keys). So I couldn't exercise an authenticated call. ``` Event 83: ```text To get started, go to **Settings → API keys** in Circleback and create an API key. Keys look like `cb_` and are shown once at creation, so store yours somewhere safe. ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Kimi K3 [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/7d97f2d6-0497-446f-b627-c1afe682e227) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/circleback.ai/sessions/kimi.json) Final output gives per-tier pricing (Free $0, Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35) with explicit assumptions stated: 'Per-user/month (yearly billing shown; monthly is higher)' plus feature/rate-limit differences per plan. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent found a real hosted Circleback API (with OpenAPI spec, docs, and auth scheme) but could not obtain an API key itself. Creating a key requires logging into a Circleback account UI (Settings → API keys), which the agent has no path to do headlessly. It only tested the auth boundary with no key and a dummy key, both correctly rejected. No authenticated operation against the real product was ever completed. Event 111: ```text I can't execute a live authenticated run because creating an API key requires logging into a Circleback account (**Settings → API keys**). ``` Event 109: ```text Auth check failed (401): {'error': 'The provided API key is invalid.'} ``` Event 79: ```text env | grep -iE 'circleback|^CB_' ; echo "env-check-done" ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-service way to generate an API key**: The Circleback API requires a key created from the account Settings page, which requires a human login. This is normal product authentication behavior, not a defect, but it stopped the agent from completing a live authenticated call. The agent correctly identified this and stopped rather than fabricating success. Event 111: ```text I can't execute a live authenticated run because creating an API key requires logging into a Circleback account (**Settings → API keys**). ``` Event 85: ```text {"error":"Request unauthenticated."} HTTP 401 ``` Event 109: ```text Auth check failed (401): {'error': 'The provided API key is invalid.'} ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Add a documented way to provision a developer API key without full account UI login**: Currently the only way to get a cb_ key is via Settings → API keys inside the logged-in app, per the release notes and API docs fetched at seq 68 and 75. For automated/CI or agent-driven onboarding, consider a documented CLI or scripted key-issuance flow. Verify by having a fresh script obtain a key and successfully call GET /oauth/test without a human clicking through the web UI. Event 68: ```text Create an API key from Settings → API keys, then explore the API docs and try every endpoint with your key. ``` Event 75: ```text To get started, go to Settings → API keys in Circleback and create an API key. ``` ### Qwen 3.8 Max [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/797a30bd-1c32-4747-ba4a-cdae881010c1) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/circleback.ai/sessions/qwen.json) README.md pricing table gives Free/Pro/Business/Enterprise tiers with basis stated (per user/month, yearly discount, API included from Free tier) rather than a bare number. #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained real Circleback credentials. It explored the product's hosted JSON-RPC/MCP endpoint at https://circleback.ai/api/mcp and confirmed the endpoint and auth wiring work by getting a 401 with a fake API key, but it explicitly states there is no account or API key available in the sandbox, so no authenticated operation against real product data was ever performed. Event 83: ```text I have no Circleback account/API key in this environment, so I couldn't run a live authenticated call against real meeting data. ``` Event 77: ```text Error: HTTP 401: {"error":"The provided API key is invalid."} ``` Event 56: ```text {"error":"Request unauthenticated."} HTTP:401 ``` #### Hallucinated URLs - **Guessed subdomains that do not resolve**: The agent guessed several plausible subdomains (docs., developers., api.) for both circleback.com and circleback.ai to find documentation/API hosts. These were guesses, not links found in any documentation, and they failed with DNS resolution errors rather than a normal 404, confirming they were invented rather than broken real links. Event 18: ```text curl: (6) Could not resolve host: docs.circleback.com ``` Event 18: ```text curl: (6) Could not resolve host: developers.circleback.com ``` Event 30: ```text https://docs.circleback.ai -> curl: (6) Could not resolve host: docs.circleback.ai ``` Event 42: ```text https://api.circleback.ai/v1/meetings -> curl: (6) Could not resolve host: api.circleback.ai ``` #### Blockers - **No real Circleback API key available in the sandbox**: This is a test-environment limitation, not a product defect: the sandbox had no way to self-serve a Circleback account or API key (the CLI's `cb auth login` opens a browser, which is unavailable), so the agent could only validate the request/response wiring using a fabricated key that predictably returned 401, and never exercised a real authenticated call. Event 77: ```text Error: HTTP 401: {"error":"The provided API key is invalid."} ``` Event 83: ```text I have no Circleback account/API key in this environment, so I couldn't run a live authenticated call against real meeting data. ``` - **Wrong domain assumed initially (circleback.com vs circleback.ai)**: Agent error: the agent first tried circleback.com, which turned out to be an unrelated address-book/contact-management product, wasting a few exploration steps before it discovered the correct product domain circleback.ai via npm package metadata. Event 24: ```text CircleBack - Address Book Management and Contact Updates | Apps & APIs ``` Event 29: ```text https://circleback.ai -> 200 ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Publish a discoverable API reference page at a standard path**: No docs/developers subdomain or /api path exists on circleback.ai (all returned 404 or DNS failures); the only way the agent found the API shape (tool names like SearchMeetings/ReadMeetings, the /api/mcp endpoint, and required 'intent' parameter) was by downloading and reverse-engineering the @circleback/cli npm package source. Add a linked API/developer reference from the main site or pricing page (where 'API, MCP, and CLI access' is mentioned) and verify it resolves at a path like circleback.ai/docs or circleback.ai/developers. Event 30: ```text https://circleback.ai/docs -> 404 ``` Event 42: ```text https://circleback.ai/help/api -> 404 ``` Event 36: ```text # Circleback CLI Search and access your meetings, transcripts, emails, calendar events, and more from the terminal. ``` ### Task given to each agent Help me build a simple example using Circleback. Tell me how pricing works, and briefly tell me whether this product will be easy for you to manage. Let me know if you get blocked. If this product has no developer workflow you can act on, say so plainly and stop. Stay light: use the hosted product through its SDK or API. Do not start local service stacks or wait for long-running commands; if the quickstart requires either, say so plainly and stop. No product credentials were supplied and no purchases were authorized. ## Score: B · 84/100 (provisional) Grades come from completed site checks. Coding sessions and skipped checks do not affect the score. ### Clarity - **Failed** — Homepage answers Markdown requests ```text Homepage returned text/html even when Markdown was requested via Accept header. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index ```text llms.txt links API, MCP, CLI, webhooks, getting-started guides, integrations and security docs. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance ```text llms.txt groups resources under Accessing data, Getting started, Recording, Integrations and Product sections. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills ```text llms.txt describes the public API, MCP server, and CLI with links to each. ``` - **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists ```text llms.txt is a compact Markdown index of Circleback docs, guides, API, MCP, CLI and webhooks. ``` - **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable ```text Getting-started recording and automations guides fetch directly as standalone Markdown pages. ``` - **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget ```text Markdown guides measure 466 and 594 tokens, well under the 8000-token budget. ``` - **Skipped** — Product-docs links survive format changes ```text Homepage Markdown unsupported, so link preservation across formats cannot be measured. ``` - **Pass** — The compact guide is independently actionable ```text Recording guide gives concrete capture routes, calendar setup, and import steps. ``` - **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve ```text Fetched install/next-step links (API, MCP, CLI, recording, automations) all returned 200. ``` ### Onboarding - **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart ```text llms.txt links a Getting started with recording guide covering bot, desktop, mobile, and import capture routes. ``` - **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable ```text CLI docs give extractable install command npm install -g @circleback/cli plus auth login steps. ``` - **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction ```text CLI page shows many inline command examples (cb meetings search, cb transcripts read) without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit ```text CLI docs state API-key login links to Settings → API keys and CIRCLEBACK_API_KEY usage. ``` ### Pricing - **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction ```text Pricing.md and pricing.json render all plan prices as plain text without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated ```text Pro $18/$15, Business $29/$25, Enterprise $35 stated openly; no gating. ``` - **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit ```text Prices are per user/month with monthly vs annual billing and feature limits explicit. ``` - **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions ```text 3 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4 Pro: README.md and final output give per-tier pricing ($0/$15/$25/$35 per user/month) explicitly labeled 'billed annually' and sourced from circleback.ai/pricing, with plan-based assumptions (rate limits, storage, teams) named. Kimi K3: Final output gives per-tier pricing (Free $0, Pro $15, Business $25, Enterprise $35) with explicit assumptions stated: 'Per-user/month (yearly billing shown; monthly is higher)' plus feature/rate-limit differences per plan. Qwen 3.8 Max: README.md pricing table gives Free/Pro/Business/Enterprise tiers with basis stated (per user/month, yearly discount, API included from Free tier) rather than a bare number. This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade. ``` ### Activation - **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable ```text Circleback API overview documents auth, base URL, pagination, rate limits and per-endpoint reference pages. ``` - **Pass** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed ```text MCP server at https://circleback.ai/api/mcp documented with OAuth, transports, client setup and tool list. ``` - **Pass** — A CLI install path is documented ```text CLI guide documents npm install -g @circleback/cli, cb auth login, and command examples. ``` - **Pass** — SDK packages resolve on their registries ```text Registry lookup for npm:@circleback/cli returned HTTP 200. ``` - **Skipped** — Agent skills are published ```text No agent skills surface is offered or documented in the fetched Circleback pages. ``` [Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/circleback.ai/report.json)