# AX Check: thenewblack.ai Checked 2026-10-30. Agents can install, authenticate, and price this product fast. 21 of 23 checks passed: CLI, API, MCP server and skills are all documented with working install paths, and pricing is stated openly with no login wall. ## Onboarding needs a login ## Coding sessions All three independent sessions (DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, Kimi K3, Qwen 3.8 Max) completed the task and correctly reported plan prices of $15/$35/$65/$195 per month, along with credit allotments and per-tier costs for images and video, all pulled directly from the public pricing and catalogue pages without needing to log in. ### DeepSeek V4.1 Flash [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/b76cce21-f6ff-44ea-a86f-c991617be6f5) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/thenewblack.ai/sessions/deepseek.json) Gave plan prices ($15/$35/$65/$195 a month) with monthly credits, about 1 credit per image and 10 per video, tier pricing and pack limits, all from the fetched pricing page and catalogue. (seq 42, seq 58, seq 79) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained its own API credential. It researched the public docs, catalogue, and OpenAPI spec extensively (all reachable without a key) and built a working example script, but every authenticated call was blocked by a 401 missing_key wall. The agent explicitly states it lacks an API key and that creating one requires a free account plus a paid plan/pack to actually generate, then stops rather than attempting self-service signup. Event 77: ```text {"error":{"code":"missing_key","message":"Send your API key as: Authorization: Bearer tnb_live_..."}} http=401 ``` Event 76: ```text Blocked: set TNB_API_KEY. Create one under profile -> API / MCP (needs a free account). exit=2 ``` Event 79: ```text I don't have an API key, and creating one requires a free account (plus payment for a plan/pack to actually generate). I verified the wall precisely — an unauthenticated generate call returns 401 missing_key ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No self-service way to obtain an API key without human signup**: The product requires creating an account via the hosted web app and generating a key from the profile's API/MCP tab before any authenticated endpoint (including the cheapest workflow, remove_background-v1) can be called. This is normal product authentication behavior, not a defect, but it fully stopped the agent from running a live generation end-to-end. Event 77: ```text {"error":{"code":"missing_key","message":"Send your API key as: Authorization: Bearer tnb_live_..."}} http=401 ``` Event 79: ```text creating one requires a free account (plus payment for a plan/pack to actually generate) ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Kimi K3 [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/0096452f-4661-42aa-8c63-19960864133c) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/thenewblack.ai/sessions/kimi.json) Stated plan prices with included credits, per-tier credit costs per image, per-second video billing, and plan-based rate limits, all drawn from fetched pricing and catalogue pages. (seq 28, seq 29, seq 66) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent found the live documented REST API, correctly derived base URL/auth header format from the docs, and verified endpoints return structured 401 errors without a key and with an invalid dummy key. However it never obtained a real API key — account creation requires a paid subscription plan and human sign-up, which the agent could not self-serve. No authenticated operation against the live API was ever completed. Event 53: ```text curl -s --max-time 15 -w "\nHTTP %{http_code}\n" https://thenewblack.ai/api/v1/workflows ``` Event 57: ```text {"error":{"code":"missing_key","message":"Send your API key as: Authorization: Bearer tnb_live_..."}} HTTP 401 ``` Event 66: ```text Blocked on final execution:** I can't create an account (requires sign-up + a paid plan before you can mint an API key). ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **Account creation requires a paid plan before an API key can be minted**: Product behavior, not agent error or test-environment limitation: The New Black AI requires a human to sign up and subscribe to a paid plan ($15/mo minimum) before an API key can be generated. This is a self-service account creation wall the agent could not pass without human intervention, so no authenticated call to the live API could be completed within the session. Event 66: ```text Blocked on final execution:** I can't create an account (requires sign-up + a paid plan before you can mint an API key). With a real key exported as `TNB_API_KEY`, the script runs end-to-end as-is. ``` - **No SDK package exists on PyPI or npm**: Agent error avoided, this is accurate product behavior: the agent checked both major package registries and found no official SDK, confirming the product is REST/MCP/CLI only, which it then correctly worked around by writing a stdlib-only HTTP client. Event 9: ```text 404 404 ``` Event 12: ```text No official SDK on PyPI or npm. Let me check the site itself for developer/API documentation. ``` #### Suggested Changes - **Add a free or no-plan-required way to generate a test API key**: On the Profile > API page (referenced in the pricing/API docs at /clothing_fashion_api_integrations), allow creation of a limited sandbox or trial API key without first requiring a paid subscription. Verify by checking that a newly registered account without an active plan can call GET /api/v1/workflows or /api/v1/credits successfully rather than returning missing_key/invalid_key errors tied to plan status. Event 66: ```text Blocked on final execution:** I can't create an account (requires sign-up + a paid plan before you can mint an API key). ``` ### Qwen 3.8 Max [View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/787628a0-15b2-463a-baf8-04043897ec0c) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/thenewblack.ai/sessions/qwen.json) Gave plan prices ($15/$35/$65/$195 per month, with credit allotments) and credit costs per workflow and tier. Named the assumptions: tier and resolution, per-second video billing, pack-only limits, Ultra needing Pro or above, rollover caps. (seq 50, seq 44, seq 92, examples/thenewblack/README.md) #### End-to-end onboarding - **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent discovered the full hosted API (OpenAPI spec, live catalogue, pricing) with no key required for read-only endpoints, and built a working demo script that correctly constructs requests and validates required fields. But it never obtained a real TNB_API_KEY — the sandbox environment only exposed PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY, unrelated to this product. It tested a fabricated bad key and got a clean 401, then stopped, explicitly stating in its final message that it lacked a key and could not execute a paid generation end-to-end. Event 6: ```text PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY= ``` Event 70: ```text 401 invalid_key: This API key is unknown or revoked. ``` Event 92: ```text Blocked on one thing only: **no `TNB_API_KEY` in this environment**, so I could not execute a paid generation end-to-end. ``` #### Hallucinated URLs None identified in this transcript. #### Blockers - **No API key available to run a real generation**: The product requires a tnb_live_ API key created from the account's API/MCP tab to call POST /generate. The sandbox had no such credential (only an unrelated gateway key), so the agent could only dry-run requests and confirm a deliberately invalid key is rejected with a clean 401. This is a normal authentication requirement, not a product defect — the agent correctly identified it as a credential gap rather than treating it as broken. Event 33: ```text {"error":{"code":"missing_key","message":"Send your API key as: Authorization: Bearer tnb_live_..."}} ``` Event 70: ```text 401 invalid_key: This API key is unknown or revoked. ``` Event 92: ```text Blocked on one thing only: **no `TNB_API_KEY` in this environment**, so I could not execute a paid generation end-to-end. ``` #### Suggested Changes None identified in this transcript. ### Task given to each agent Help me build a simple example using The New Black AI. 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 for a Markdown Accept header; no Markdown representation offered. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index ```text llms.txt lists products, pricing, features, guides and developer links with descriptions. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance ```text llms.txt organizes links under Products, Pricing, Features, Guides, Developers and Company headings. ``` - **Pass** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills ```text llms.txt Developers section links the REST API, Claude MCP server and Shopify app. ``` - **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists ```text llms.txt is a compact Markdown guide to products, pricing, features, guides and developers. ``` - **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable ```text llms.txt is directly retrievable at the standard path with organized sections and links. ``` - **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget ```text llms.txt measured 1103 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 llms.txt and MCP page give concrete connect steps, server URL, API key scopes and CLI/skill install commands. ``` - **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve ```text Fetched install/next-step targets (MCP page, mcp.thenewblack.ai, GitHub skill, OpenAPI) all returned 200. ``` ### Onboarding - **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart ```text CLI page gives concrete first steps: npx install, tnb login, then tnb generate commands. ``` - **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable ```text Install commands extractable: npx @thenewblack/cli --help and npm install -g @thenewblack/cli. ``` - **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction ```text CLI page shows runnable commands and JSON output without interaction. ``` - **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit ```text Node 18+ prerequisite and API key from profile API tab or TNB_API_KEY stated. ``` ### Pricing - **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction ```text Pricing page renders plan cards and full comparison table as static HTML text. ``` - **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated ```text Starter $15, Pro $35, Business $65, Enterprise $195 per month stated openly. ``` - **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit ```text Credits per month, credit bank caps, seats and API rate limits listed per plan. ``` - **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions ```text 3 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: Gave plan prices ($15/$35/$65/$195 a month) with monthly credits, about 1 credit per image and 10 per video, tier pricing and pack limits, all from the fetched pricing page and catalogue. (seq 42, seq 58, seq 79) Kimi K3: Stated plan prices with included credits, per-tier credit costs per image, per-second video billing, and plan-based rate limits, all drawn from fetched pricing and catalogue pages. (seq 28, seq 29, seq 66) Qwen 3.8 Max: Gave plan prices ($15/$35/$65/$195 per month, with credit allotments) and credit costs per workflow and tier. Named the assumptions: tier and resolution, per-second video billing, pack-only limits, Ultra needing Pro or above, rollover caps. (seq 50, seq 44, seq 92, examples/thenewblack/README.md) This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade. ``` ### Activation - **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable ```text OpenAPI 3.1 spec fetched at /api/v1/openapi.json with 36 paths and bearer auth. ``` - **Pass** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed ```text MCP server URL https://mcp.thenewblack.ai/api/mcp documented with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor setup steps. ``` - **Pass** — A CLI install path is documented ```text CLI install documented: npx @thenewblack/cli --help and npm install -g @thenewblack/cli, command tnb. ``` - **Pass** — SDK packages resolve on their registries ```text npm registry lookup for @thenewblack/cli returned HTTP 200. ``` - **Pass** — Agent skills are published ```text Claude Code skill published at github.com/newblackai/claude-skill with npx skills add install. ``` [Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/thenewblack.ai/report.json)