Free forever A social project since 2011

The open data bus for animal identity

Free, secure APIs that let any clinic, PIMS, startup, or open-source project read and write to the world's pet registry — so lost animals get home faster.

Get a free API key Read the docs Connect via MCP

resolve-microchip.sh

# Look up a pet by microchip — HMAC-SHA256 signedcurl -s https://gw.animal-id.net/v1/partner/animals \
  --get --data-urlencode "identifier=981098100123456" \
  -H "X-Eternity-Public-Key: $PUBLIC_KEY" \
  -H "X-Eternity-Signature: $SIG"

200 OK · "nickname": "Charlie" · species: dog

Free forever for registration & core safety services
Self-serve sandbox — instant API key, no sales call
No revenue share — you keep what you build

What is it

Animal-ID is a free, open data bus for animal identity.

It lets veterinary software (PIMS), clinics, insurers, marketplaces, shelters, breeders, photo/nose-ID startups, researchers, and AI agents register animals, look them up by microchip or QR tag, attach vaccinations and procedures, and reunite lost pets with their owners — through one documented API. Registration and core safety services are free forever, because our mission is returning animals home, not gatekeeping data.

Who it's for

One API, every animal-data builder

From a one-person clinic to a global PIMS — if you build for animal health, the registry is open to you.

PIMS & clinic softwareVeterinariansTelemedicineInsurersMarketplaces & e-commerceShelters & rescueBreeders & kennel clubsPhoto / nose-ID startupsResearchers & academiaIndie devs & hackathonsAI agents & open-source projects

API at a glance

A documented contract, not a black box

Real base URL, real auth, real endpoints — everything a developer needs to evaluate in sixty seconds.

Base URLhttps://gw.animal-id.net — all paths prefixed /v1/partner

AuthHMAC-SHA256 request signing — examples in curl, Node.js, Python & PHP

DictionariesMultilingual reference data — species, breeds, procedure types

FormatsJSON over HTTPS · multipart for photo upload · OpenAPI 3.1 spec

PriceFree forever for registration & core safety services · no revenue share

Owners

POST/owners — create or resolve an owner

GET/owners/search — by exact email or phone

Animals

POST/animals — register (chip-based)

GET/animals?identifier= — look up by chip or QR tag

GET/animals/{id} — full animal card

PATCH/animals/{id} — patch · mark deceased

Procedures

POST/animals/{id}/procedures — record vaccination or visit

GET/animals/{id}/procedures — list & read

Photos

POST/animals/{id}/photos — upload (multipart)

DEL/animals/{id}/photos/{pid} — soft-delete

Dictionaries

GET/dictionaries — species, breeds, procedure types

See the full API reference

How to start

Three steps to your first call

A sandbox key is instant. Going live takes a free partner review — no contracts, no sales call.

1
Generate keys
Go to your Animal-ID profile → API keys → Generate keys. You get a sandbox key instantly.
2
Sign your first request
Copy the HMAC-SHA256 snippet for your language and call GET /v1/partner/dictionaries.
3
Go live
Submit your integration for a free Verified Partner review (1–2 business days) to get a production key and a listing in the partner directory.

Build with AI agents

Built for the agent era

Animal-ID is built for the agent era. Connect it to Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any OpenClaw-compatible agent:

MCP

MCP server

Add Animal-ID as a tool in one click; your assistant can look up a microchip or register an animal in conversation.

Add to your assistant

SKILL.md

Agent skill

Drop our SKILL.md into your OpenClaw workspace for registry-aware veterinary workflows.

Get the skill on GitHub

OpenAPI 3.1

OpenAPI 3.1 spec

A public, machine-readable contract for code generators and custom GPTs/tools.

View the spec

All public, all free, all on GitHub.

Built on Animal-ID

Real teams, real registry traffic

From a million-user consumer app to a network of veterinary clinics — these partners run on top of the Animal-ID Open Platform today.

Waudog

Pet-parent app on Animal-ID core

A consumer app for pet owners built directly on Animal-ID's identity and health-record APIs. Lookups, profiles, vaccinations — all reading and writing the registry.

1M+ usersConsumer app

Visit Waudog

Jetvet

PIMS · lifetime registration network

A veterinary PIMS using the Animal-ID integration so its clinics can register pets lifetime in Europetnet, petmax, and AAHA — directly from their daily workflow, no manual data entry.

100s of clinicsPIMS

Visit Jetvet

VetGreenPines

Clinic site + CRM + client PWA

A single-clinic stack — public site, CRM, and a branded PWA for their clients — all built on the Animal-ID API. Demonstrates the platform behind a fully bespoke vet-clinic product.

Site + CRM + PWASingle clinic

Visit vetgreenpines.com

Our mission

Animal-ID is a social project. Every microchip registered and every record shared is one more way a lost animal finds its way home.

That's why the core will always be free — for a one-person clinic, a student's hackathon project, or an open-source tool a business owner builds with AI. We fund the mission elsewhere, never by taxing the data that reunites pets with families.

Registration and core safety services are, and always will be, free.

FAQ

Questions, answered

What is the Animal-ID Open Platform?

A free, open API (a "data bus") for animal identity and health records. It lets clinics, PIMS, startups, AI agents, and open-source projects register animals, look them up by microchip or QR tag, attach vaccinations and procedures, and reunite lost pets — through one documented interface.

How much does it cost?

Registration and core safety services are free forever, with no revenue share. A self-serve sandbox is free; production access is also free after a quick partner review.

Who can use it?

Any organization or individual building for animal health: PIMS/clinic software, vets, telemedicine, insurers, marketplaces, shelters, breeders, photo/nose-ID startups, researchers, indie developers, and AI agents.

What's the base URL and how do I authenticate?

The base URL is https://gw.animal-id.net; all paths are prefixed with /v1/partner. Authentication uses HMAC-SHA256 request signing, with examples in curl, Node.js, Python, and PHP.

How do I get an API key?

Sign in to Animal-ID, open your profile's API keys tab, and click "Generate keys" to get a key pair bound to your organization. Sandbox keys are instant; production keys follow a 1–2 day Verified Partner review.

What endpoints are available?

Owners (create/resolve, search), Animals (register, look up by identifier or owner, full card, patch/mark deceased), Procedures (record/list/read), Photos (upload/soft-delete), and multilingual Dictionaries.

Can I connect it to an AI assistant like Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini?

Yes. Animal-ID publishes an MCP server (connect it as a tool in one click), an OpenClaw-compatible agent skill, and a public OpenAPI 3.1 specification, so AI agents can both cite and call the API.

Is there an OpenAPI specification?

Yes, a public, machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 spec is available, used to generate SDKs and connect code tools and custom AI assistants.

Can I look up a pet by microchip number?

Yes. The platform supports lookup by any identifier (microchip or QR tag), by specific identifier type, or across all identifier types at once, and lookup by owner contact.

How do you handle owner data and consent?

Owner contact is captured with explicit, multi-level consent (account, transactional, marketing) and an immutable audit trail, with one-click unsubscribe, aligned with GDPR.

Is the platform open source?

The reference connector, SDKs, MCP server, and agent skill are open source on GitHub. The hosted registry and AI knowledge layers are operated by Animal-ID.

The API I need doesn't exist — what do I do?

Tell us what you're building and what data you need via the contact form, and our team prioritizes and builds the most-requested APIs.