> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getmatter.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Item

> Returns a single item from your library with full metadata.

## Path Parameters

<ParamField path="id" type="string" required>
  The item ID. Example: `itm_r9f3a`.
</ParamField>

## Query Parameters

<ParamField query="include" type="string">
  Comma-separated list of additional fields to include. Currently supported: `markdown`.

  When `markdown` is included, the response adds a `markdown` field with the parsed article body. These requests count against the [content rate limit](/api/rate-limits) (20/min).
</ParamField>

## Response

<ResponseField name="object" type="string" required>
  Always `"item"`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="id" type="string" required>
  The item ID.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="title" type="string" required>
  The item's title.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="url" type="string" required>
  The original URL of the item.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="site_name" type="string">
  The source website name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="author" type="object">
  The item's author, if known.

  <Expandable title="author properties">
    <ResponseField name="object" type="string">Always `"author"`.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">Author ID.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">Author display name.</ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="status" type="string" required>
  One of `inbox`, `queue`, or `archive`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="processing_status" type="string" required>
  Content extraction status. One of `processing`, `completed`, or `failed`. See [Save Item](/api/items/create) for details.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="is_favorite" type="boolean" required>
  Whether the item is favorited.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="content_type" type="string" required>
  One of `article`, `video`, `podcast`, `pdf`, `tweet`, `newsletter`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="word_count" type="integer">
  Estimated word count. `null` for non-text content.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="reading_progress" type="number" required>
  Reading progress as a float from `0.0` to `1.0`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="image_url" type="string">
  URL of the item's hero image, if available.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="markdown" type="string">
  The parsed article body as markdown. Only included when `?include=markdown` is set. `null` if the item hasn't been processed yet.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="excerpt" type="string">
  Short excerpt or description of the item, if available.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="library_position" type="integer">
  The item's position in the library (queue/archive). Non-null when the item has a library entry. Higher values are closer to the top. Use this to recreate library order locally.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="inbox_position" type="integer">
  The item's 0-based index in the inbox feed. Non-null when the item is in the inbox. Lower values are closer to the top. Use this to recreate inbox order locally.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="tags" type="array" required>
  Tags applied to this item.

  <Expandable title="tag properties">
    <ResponseField name="object" type="string">Always `"tag"`.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">Tag ID.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="name" type="string">Tag name.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="item_count" type="integer">Number of items with this tag.</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="created_at" type="string">ISO 8601 timestamp.</ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="updated_at" type="string" required>
  ISO 8601 timestamp of the last change to this item or its associated data (status, reading progress, favorites, tags, annotations, or content re-extraction). For inbox items with no interactions, this is the time the item appeared in your inbox.
</ResponseField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl https://api.getmatter.com/public/v1/items/itm_r9f3a \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer mat_your_token_here"
  ```

  ```bash "cURL (with markdown)" theme={null}
  curl "https://api.getmatter.com/public/v1/items/itm_r9f3a?include=markdown" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer mat_your_token_here"
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  response = requests.get(
      "https://api.getmatter.com/public/v1/items/itm_r9f3a",
      headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"},
      params={"include": "markdown"}
  )
  item = response.json()
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json 200 theme={null}
  {
    "object": "item",
    "id": "itm_r9f3a",
    "title": "How to Do Great Work",
    "url": "https://paulgraham.com/greatwork.html",
    "site_name": "paulgraham.com",
    "author": {
      "object": "author",
      "id": "aut_p4w7q",
      "name": "Paul Graham"
    },
    "status": "queue",
    "is_favorite": false,
    "content_type": "article",
    "word_count": 11842,
    "reading_progress": 0.35,
    "image_url": "https://cdn.getmatter.com/images/itm_r9f3a.jpg",
    "excerpt": "Paul Graham explores what it takes to do great work...",
    "library_position": 58974321000,
    "inbox_position": null,
    "tags": [
      {
        "object": "tag",
        "id": "tag_n5j2x",
        "name": "essays"
      }
    ],
    "updated_at": "2026-03-30T19:15:00Z"
  }
  ```

  ```json 404 theme={null}
  {
    "error": {
      "code": "not_found",
      "message": "No item found with ID itm_abc123."
    }
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>