> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://agenticadvertisingorg-snap-format-preview-links.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creative Quick Reference

> Compact reference for executing AdCP Creative Protocol tasks. Use this when interacting with creative agents via call_adcp_agent.

Use the `call_adcp_agent` tool to execute these tasks against any AdCP creative agent.

## Task Overview

| Task                    | Purpose                         | Response Time |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------- |
| `list_creative_formats` | View format specifications      | \~1s          |
| `build_creative`        | Generate or transform creatives | \~30s-5m      |
| `preview_creative`      | Get visual previews             | \~5s          |

## Typical Workflow

1. **Discover formats**: `list_creative_formats` to see available format specs
2. **Build creative**: `build_creative` to generate or transform a manifest
3. **Preview**: `preview_creative` to see how it renders
4. **Sync**: Use `sync_creatives` (media-buy task) to traffic the creative

***

## Task Reference

### list\_creative\_formats

Discover creative formats and their specifications.

```json theme={null}
{
  "type": "video",
  "asset_types": ["image", "text"]
}
```

**Key fields:**

* `format_ids` (array, optional): Request specific format IDs
* `type` (string, optional): Filter by type: `video`, `display`, `audio`, `dooh`
* `asset_types` (array, optional): Filter by accepted asset types
* `max_width`, `max_height` (integer, optional): Dimension constraints
* `is_responsive` (boolean, optional): Filter for responsive formats
* `name_search` (string, optional): Search formats by name

**Response contains:**

* `formats`: Array of format definitions with `format_id`, `name`, `type`, `assets_required`, `renders`
* `creative_agents`: Optional array of other creative agents providing additional formats

***

### build\_creative

Generate a creative from scratch or transform an existing creative to a different format.

**Pure Generation (from brief):**

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "Create a banner promoting our winter sale with a warm, inviting feel",
  "target_format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250_generative"
  },
  "creative_manifest": {
    "format_id": {
      "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
      "id": "display_300x250_generative"
    },
    "assets": {
      "promoted_offerings": {
        "brand_manifest": {
          "url": "https://mybrand.com",
          "name": "My Brand",
          "colors": { "primary": "#FF5733" }
        },
        "inline_offerings": [
          {
            "name": "Winter Sale Collection",
            "description": "50% off all winter items"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Transformation (resize/reformat):**

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "Adapt this leaderboard to a 300x250 banner",
  "creative_manifest": {
    "format_id": {
      "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
      "id": "display_728x90"
    },
    "assets": {
      "banner_image": {
        "asset_type": "image",
        "url": "https://cdn.mybrand.com/leaderboard.png",
        "width": 728,
        "height": 90
      },
      "headline": {
        "asset_type": "text",
        "content": "Spring Sale - 30% Off"
      }
    }
  },
  "target_format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  }
}
```

**Key fields:**

* `message` (string, optional): Natural language instructions for generation/transformation
* `creative_manifest` (object, optional): Source manifest - minimal for generation, complete for transformation
* `target_format_id` (object, required): Format to generate - `{ agent_url, id }`

**Response contains:**

* `creative_manifest`: Complete manifest ready for `preview_creative` or `sync_creatives`

***

### preview\_creative

Generate visual previews of creative manifests.

**Single preview:**

```json theme={null}
{
  "request_type": "single",
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  },
  "creative_manifest": {
    "format_id": {
      "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
      "id": "display_300x250"
    },
    "assets": {
      "banner_image": {
        "asset_type": "image",
        "url": "https://cdn.example.com/banner.png",
        "width": 300,
        "height": 250
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**With device variants:**

```json theme={null}
{
  "request_type": "single",
  "format_id": { "agent_url": "...", "id": "native_responsive" },
  "creative_manifest": { },
  "inputs": [
    { "name": "Desktop", "macros": { "DEVICE_TYPE": "desktop" } },
    { "name": "Mobile", "macros": { "DEVICE_TYPE": "mobile" } }
  ]
}
```

**Batch preview (5-10x faster):**

```json theme={null}
{
  "request_type": "batch",
  "requests": [
    { "format_id": {}, "creative_manifest": { } },
    { "format_id": {}, "creative_manifest": { } }
  ]
}
```

**Key fields:**

* `request_type` (string, required): `"single"` or `"batch"`
* `format_id` (object, required for single): Format identifier
* `creative_manifest` (object, required): Complete creative manifest
* `inputs` (array, optional): Generate variants with different macros/contexts
* `output_format` (string, optional): `"url"` (default) or `"html"`

**Response contains:**

* `previews`: Array of preview objects with `preview_url` or `preview_html`
* `expires_at`: When preview URLs expire

***

## Key Concepts

### Format IDs

All format references use structured objects:

```json theme={null}
{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  }
}
```

The `agent_url` specifies the creative agent authoritative for this format.

### Creative Manifests

Manifests pair format specifications with actual assets:

```json theme={null}
{
  "format_id": {
    "agent_url": "https://creative.adcontextprotocol.org",
    "id": "display_300x250"
  },
  "assets": {
    "banner_image": {
      "asset_type": "image",
      "url": "https://cdn.example.com/banner.png",
      "width": 300,
      "height": 250
    },
    "headline": {
      "asset_type": "text",
      "content": "Shop Now"
    },
    "clickthrough_url": {
      "asset_type": "url",
      "url": "https://brand.com/sale"
    }
  }
}
```

### Asset Types

Common asset types:

* `image`: Static images (JPEG, PNG, WebP)
* `video`: Video files (MP4, WebM) or VAST tags
* `audio`: Audio files (MP3, M4A) or DAAST tags
* `text`: Headlines, descriptions, CTAs
* `html`: HTML5 creatives or third-party tags
* `javascript`: JavaScript tags
* `url`: Tracking pixels, clickthrough URLs

### Brand Manifest

For generative creatives, provide brand context:

```json theme={null}
{
  "brand_manifest": {
    "url": "https://brand.com",
    "name": "Brand Name",
    "colors": { "primary": "#FF0000", "secondary": "#0000FF" }
  }
}
```

### Generative vs Transformation

* **Pure Generation**: Minimal manifest with `promoted_offerings` in assets. Creative agent generates all output assets from scratch.
* **Transformation**: Complete manifest with existing assets. Creative agent adapts to target format, following `message` guidance.

***

## Error Handling

Common error patterns:

* **400 Bad Request**: Invalid manifest or format\_id
* **404 Not Found**: Format not supported by this agent
* **422 Validation Error**: Manifest doesn't match format requirements

Error responses include:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_FORMAT_ID",
    "message": "format_id must be a structured object with 'agent_url' and 'id' fields"
  }
}
```