Topics and watchlists

Two scopes, one analytics surface

Every analytical endpoint in the Intel API runs against a scope. There are two kinds, and both expose the same surface — the only thing that changes is the path prefix.

Scope	What	Maintained by	Available on
Curated topic	Named, stable slice (`global`, `cyber`, `finance`, `disinfo`)	Exorde	Every tier; topic scope per key
Custom watchlist	Your own keyword, phrase, entity, or domain scope	You	See and Know

Both expose trending, volume, volume-by-keyword, narrative, entities, platforms, posts, and alerts. Cluster analytics on watchlists require Know. A useful mental model: a curated topic is a slice Exorde already runs at scale with a learned 14-day baseline; a watchlist is the same machinery pointed at terms you define. Same code path, same envelope shape, same ranking math.

Curated topics

The four public curated topics:

Topic	What it tracks	Typical signal
`global`	Top storylines across the global conversation — geopolitics, macro, mainstream news	Iran-Israel exchange, ECB rate decision, Eurovision aftermath
`cyber`	Cybersecurity incidents, threat actors, vulnerabilities, ransomware, breaches	”dark web” 6.67σ spike on breach disclosures
`finance`	Markets, central banks, crypto, earnings, macro indicators	Fed pivot rumours, Bitcoin ETF flows, earnings beats
`disinfo`	Coordinated narrative ops, bot activity, deepfake claims, info-warfare signals	Multi-platform synchronised posting around an election

Additional curated slices (defense, energy, geopolitics, MENA, ai_tech, named-entity slices) are available to enterprise Know customers on request — email [email protected] with the desired scope.

Topic access is scoped per key. GET /v1/me returns your topics array. A Watch-tier trial is scoped to global only.

curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/topics/cyber/trending \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY"

If you call a topic your key isn’t scoped for, you get 403 topic_denied. The error envelope tells you which topics you do have:

{
  "error": "topic_denied",
  "message": "Key not authorised for topic 'cyber'",
  "requested_topic": "cyber",
  "allowed_topics": ["global"],
  "trace_id": "8b3a47ce91d04f17"
}

Listing topics

curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/topics \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY"

{
  "topics": [
    { "topic": "global",  "is_default": true,  "description": "Global conversation" },
    { "topic": "cyber",   "is_default": false, "description": "Cybersecurity" },
    { "topic": "finance", "is_default": false, "description": "Markets & macro" },
    { "topic": "disinfo", "is_default": false, "description": "Information operations" }
  ],
  "count": 4,
  "default_topic": "global"
}

Analytics endpoints on curated topics

The full surface, by tier. Concept pages cover the response envelopes in depth.

Endpoint	Purpose	Watch	See	Know
`/v1/topics/{t}/trending`	Top terms by rolling z-score	✅	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/volume`	Time-series of conversation volume	✅	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/volume/keywords`	Per-keyword volume breakdown	✅	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/narrative`	Editorial summary + sub-narrative weights (alpha)	✅	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/alerts`	LLM-validated volume-spike alerts	✅	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/clusters`	Conversation clusters with titles + entities	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/entities`	Named-entity leaderboard	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/entities/cooccurrence`	Entity co-occurrence graph	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/entities/timeline`	Entity mention time-series	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/platforms`	Source-platform breakdown	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/search`	Full-text search across topic	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/narratives/history`	Time-series of narrative shifts	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/posts` (cluster/entity/narrative evidence)	Source posts	❌	✅	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/reports/latest`	Editorial intelligence reports	❌	❌	✅
`/v1/topics/{t}/reports/archive`	Historical reports	❌	❌	✅

Hitting an endpoint above your tier returns 403 upgrade_required with current_tier, required_tier, and feature in the envelope. See Errors.

Custom watchlists

Watchlists are your private scopes. You define the terms; the API runs the same analytics against the matching post stream.

Term types

Type	Matches	Example
`keyword`	Substring match against entity names and cluster themes	`ransomware`
`phrase`	Same mechanism as keyword; may contain spaces	`zero day exploit`
`entity`	Exact lowercase match on cluster entities	`lockbit`
`domain`	Exact match on cluster top domains	`bleepingcomputer.com`

Mixed-type watchlists work and are common. A brand watchlist typically combines keyword (brand name + variants), domain (corporate sites), and entity (key executives). A threat-intel watchlist combines entity (named threat actors) and keyword (CVE families, malware names).

Create a watchlist

curl -X POST https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "acme-monitoring",
    "base_topic": "global",
    "terms": [
      { "type": "keyword", "value": "acme" },
      { "type": "keyword", "value": "acme corp" },
      { "type": "domain",  "value": "acme.com" },
      { "type": "entity",  "value": "jane doe" }
    ]
  }'

{
  "id": "wl_01HXYZ7DKMSV2X9WJEQ5RQ4N3F",
  "client_id": "see_a8c41d92",
  "name": "acme-monitoring",
  "base_topic": "global",
  "terms": [
    { "type": "keyword", "value": "acme" },
    { "type": "keyword", "value": "acme corp" },
    { "type": "domain",  "value": "acme.com" },
    { "type": "entity",  "value": "jane doe" }
  ],
  "term_count": 4,
  "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-05-19T13:00:00Z"
}

base_topic defines the universe the watchlist filters from. global matches the broadest stream; cyber filters to cybersecurity-tagged posts only. Most brand watchlists base on global; most threat-intel watchlists base on cyber.

Query a watchlist

The full analytics surface mirrors topic endpoints, with /watchlists/{id}/... instead of /topics/{topic}/.... Same JSON shapes, same tier gates.

# All See-tier:
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../trending  -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../narrative -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../alerts    -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../entities  -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../platforms -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../volume    -H "X-API-Key: $K"
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../posts     -H "X-API-Key: $K"

# Know-tier only:
curl https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ.../clusters  -H "X-API-Key: $K"

A trending response on a watchlist:

{
  "watchlist_id": "wl_01HXYZ7DKMSV2X9WJEQ5RQ4N3F",
  "name": "acme-monitoring",
  "snapshot_id": "2026-05-19T13:00:00Z",
  "terms": [
    { "term": "acme",     "score": 142.3, "rank": 1, "delta_24h": 0.4 },
    { "term": "ceo",      "score":  87.1, "rank": 2, "delta_24h": 1.2 },
    { "term": "earnings", "score":  61.8, "rank": 3, "delta_24h": 3.7 }
  ],
  "data_freshness": { "snapshot_age_seconds": 312, "level": "ok" }
}

Identical envelope to /topics/{t}/trending, with watchlist_id + name swapping in for topic. Code written for one works on the other.

Update or delete

# Rename
curl -X PATCH https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ... \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "acme-brand-q3"}'

# Replace terms (whole-array replacement)
curl -X PATCH https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ... \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"terms": [{"type":"keyword","value":"acme"},{"type":"domain","value":"acme.com"}]}'

# Delete
curl -X DELETE https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/watchlists/wl_01HXYZ... \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY"

PATCH on terms is whole-array replacement, not a delta. Send the full intended term list; anything missing from the new array is removed.

Limits and validation

Quota	Watch	See	Know
Custom watchlists	—	4	20
Terms per watchlist	—	10	50

Hitting a cap returns a typed envelope:

{
  "error": "watchlist_limit_reached",
  "message": "Your tier allows up to 4 watchlists",
  "current_tier": "see",
  "limit": 4,
  "current": 4,
  "trace_id": "8b3a47ce91d04f17"
}

Validation errors at create/patch time:

`error`	When
`watchlist_term_limit_reached`	More than allowed terms in payload
`validation_error`	Empty `terms`, missing `name`, invalid `term_type`
`unknown_topic`	`base_topic` not in curated set
`duplicate_watchlist_name`	Name already used by this client

Full list: Errors.

Webhooks (push delivery)

See and Know tiers can register webhook URLs to receive alerts and watchlist signals as they fire, instead of polling.

curl -X POST https://intel-v1.exorde.io/v1/subscriptions \
  -H "X-API-Key: $EXORDE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "alert",
    "scope": { "kind": "topic", "topic": "cyber" },
    "delivery": {
      "kind": "webhook",
      "url":  "https://your.app/exorde-webhook",
      "secret": "whsec_..."
    }
  }'

Quota	Watch	See	Know
Webhook subscriptions	—	20	50

Webhook payloads carry the same JSON shape as the corresponding poll endpoint, plus a delivery_id for dedup and an HMAC-SHA256 signature in the X-Exorde-Signature header for verification. Full setup, signature verification, and dedup pattern: Alerts → Webhook delivery.

When to use which

Use a curated topic when your use case aligns with one of the four public slices. Less setup, same analytics, baselines already learned over months of data.
Use a watchlist for anything outside the curated slices — a specific brand, actor, campaign, domain, or niche.
Combine both. A common pattern: poll /v1/topics/cyber/alerts for industry-wide signals and maintain a watchlist scoped to your own brand for company-specific monitoring.
Know-tier customers can request private curated topics — a topic that behaves like cyber or finance but is exclusive to your account, with bespoke baselines and audience-tuned narrative voice. Email [email protected] with the desired scope.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. API version 1.2.8.

Getting started

Core concepts

Signals

Build

Two scopes, one analytics surface

Curated topics

Listing topics

Analytics endpoints on curated topics

Custom watchlists

Term types

Create a watchlist

Query a watchlist

Update or delete

Limits and validation

Webhooks (push delivery)

When to use which

​Two scopes, one analytics surface

​Curated topics

​Listing topics

​Analytics endpoints on curated topics

​Custom watchlists

​Term types

​Create a watchlist

​Query a watchlist

​Update or delete

​Limits and validation

​Webhooks (push delivery)

​When to use which

Two scopes, one analytics surface

Curated topics

Listing topics

Analytics endpoints on curated topics

Custom watchlists

Term types

Create a watchlist

Query a watchlist

Update or delete

Limits and validation

Webhooks (push delivery)

When to use which