Inventory Manager API · items
Dispatch a quantity out of on-hand
POST /items/{sku}/dispatch
Dispatch a quantity out of on-hand — issued by the fulfillment system at ship authorisation (409 InsufficientStock if on-hand is short).
orderId links the movement to the sales order. Appends inventory.stock-dispatched. reference (the dispatch id) is required and is the idempotency key: a retry with the same reference is acknowledged and appends nothing.
Access
Requires allocations:write.
How scopes come from roles: Scopes and roles. Getting a token: Authentication and app tokens.
Retries
reference (the dispatch id) is required and is the idempotency key: a retry with the same reference is acknowledged and appends nothing.
A retry with the same key answers 200, with what the first call recorded.
Why every write carries a key: Idempotency and retries.
Facts appended
inventory.stock-dispatched
What a fact is: Facts and the journal.
AI agent tool
Agents call this as inventory_dispatch_stock (Inventory: Dispatch stock), in the stock toolset.
Connecting an agent: AI agents.
Example
Two units leave Main for a sales order; their hold goes with them.
curl -X POST 'https://inventory.getmanifold.io/items/WIDGET-BLUE/dispatch' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MANIFOLD_TOKEN" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{
"locationId": "loc_019cadd3-8330-7e12-aa44-2cd5f05da74a",
"quantity": 2,
"orderId": "ord_01a1612f-7ea8-705d-b799-e8d57826848d",
"reference": "dsp_309cca80-6f93-1b13-35a3-a6c100d3dd4d"
}'const response = await fetch("https://inventory.getmanifold.io/items/WIDGET-BLUE/dispatch", {
method: "POST",
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.MANIFOLD_TOKEN}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
body: JSON.stringify({
"locationId": "loc_019cadd3-8330-7e12-aa44-2cd5f05da74a",
"quantity": 2,
"orderId": "ord_01a1612f-7ea8-705d-b799-e8d57826848d",
"reference": "dsp_309cca80-6f93-1b13-35a3-a6c100d3dd4d"
}),
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
const answer = await response.json();{
"locationId": "loc_019cadd3-8330-7e12-aa44-2cd5f05da74a",
"quantity": 2,
"orderId": "ord_01a1612f-7ea8-705d-b799-e8d57826848d",
"reference": "dsp_309cca80-6f93-1b13-35a3-a6c100d3dd4d"
}{
"id": "itm_019cd543-e6f8-7bec-b392-ec0ac6b812ed",
"sku": "WIDGET-BLUE",
"name": "Widget, blue",
"tracking": "none",
"costingMethod": "fifo",
"kind": "stock",
"counted": true,
"sellable": true,
"barcodes": [
{
"value": "9300000000019",
"type": "gtin"
}
],
"hsCodes": [
{
"country": "AU",
"code": "39269000"
}
],
"countryOfOrigin": "AU",
"weightGrams": 240,
"packedSize": {
"lengthMm": 120,
"widthMm": 80,
"heightMm": 60
},
"ownPackaging": false,
"accounts": {
"inventory": "1400",
"revenue": "4000",
"expense": "5000"
},
"taxClass": "standard",
"stock": [
{
"locationId": "loc_019cadd3-8330-7e12-aa44-2cd5f05da74a",
"onHand": 140,
"reserved": 10,
"damaged": 2,
"awaitingIdentification": 0,
"inTransit": 0,
"incoming": 24
},
{
"locationId": "loc_019cd06e-3b38-7e92-b496-c92f8184a3aa",
"onHand": 18,
"reserved": 0,
"damaged": 0,
"awaitingIdentification": 0,
"inTransit": 6,
"incoming": 0
}
],
"backordered": 0,
"cost": {
"costCents": 1250,
"source": "receipt",
"at": "2026-10-22T01:20:03.000Z"
},
"createdAt": "2026-03-10T01:02:03.000Z",
"updatedAt": "2026-10-22T02:05:00.000Z"
}The panel writes this call in other languages. It does not send it: Manifold's APIs do not take calls from a web
page on another site, so run the call from your own code or terminal. The whole API as OpenAPI: inventory-manager.openapi.json. Base URL https://inventory.getmanifold.io.
Errors
Every refusal is a status and a JSON body whose _tag names it. A refused call changes nothing.
401
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Unauthorized reason | The token is missing, expired or not one Manifold issued. | Get a fresh token and send the call again. |
TokenAlreadyUsed tokenId | A single-use app token was already spent. | Mint a new token for this call. |
402
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
SubscriptionRequired status | The organization's subscription has lapsed, so writes are refused. | An owner settles billing. Reads still work meanwhile. |
403
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
TenantRequired userId | The token names no organization. | Choose the organization, then get a new token. |
ScopeRequired required | The token's roles do not grant the scope this call needs. | Ask an owner or admin for a role that grants it. |
404
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
ItemNotFound sku | No such record in this organization. | Check the id in the path or the body. |
LocationNotFound locationId | No such record in this organization. | Check the id in the path or the body. |
409
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
LocationArchived locationId | The location is archived, and an archived location takes no changes or stock. | Use an active location. |
InsufficientStock sku, available, requested, locationId | Fewer units are free than the call needs. available and requested say how many. | Receive or move stock in first, or ask for fewer. |
LocationNotFulfillable locationId | The organization does not ship from this location. | Choose a location that ships, or set this one to ship. |
MirroredFromSource source | This area is fed by your source system until the organization goes live. | Make the change in the source system, or go live first. |
503
| Refusal | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
RequestLogUnavailable tokenId, reason | The service could not record the request, so it did nothing. | Send the same request again, with the same key. |
How refusals work everywhere: Errors.