Alpha Developer Documentation

Alpha is the independent verification organization (IVO) for AI governance. This page documents all integration paths: the REST API, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, authentication, rate limits, and response schemas.

EU AI Act Deadline: August 2, 2026. Alpha's attestation endpoints provide article-level gap analysis and board action items. See /assess-governance and the MCP alpha-attestation-check tool.

Base URL

https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1

Authentication

All endpoints accept an API key via either header. Free-tier tools work without a key.

MethodHeaderExample
API key headerx-api-keyx-api-key: alpha_k_xxxxxx
Bearer tokenAuthorizationAuthorization: Bearer alpha_k_xxxxxx

Get an API key at alpha.ac/radar. Free tier: search_companies, get_platform_stats, and Epoch AI compute tools. Premium tier: full AGR scores, GEH, AGIQ, regulatory intelligence.

Rate Limits

100 requests per minute per IP. Every response includes rate limit headers:

HeaderValue
X-RateLimit-Limit100 (requests per minute)
X-RateLimit-RemainingRequests remaining in current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix timestamp when the window resets
Retry-AfterSeconds to wait (on 429 responses only)

When you receive a 429, wait for the Retry-After value before retrying.

REST API Endpoints

GET /check-alpha

Returns Alpha Governance Rating (AGR), GEH, AART tier, trajectory, and top risk flags for a company.

curl "https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/check-alpha?ticker=MSFT" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"
ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
tickerstringYesStock ticker (e.g. MSFT, BRK.B)
include_dimensionsbooleanNoInclude full D1-D12 scores (premium)

GET /assess-governance

Full D1-D12 dimension scores, D2R Map (regulatory citations), and Disclosure-Practice Divergence (DPD). Premium only.

curl "https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/assess-governance?ticker=AAPL" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"

GET /assess-materiality

Peer governance comparison for 2-10 companies. Returns ranked delta scores and trajectory analysis.

curl "https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/assess-materiality?tickers=MSFT,AAPL,GOOG" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"

GET /credential-verify Free

Verifies ACD.AI or ACE.AI director certification status. No authentication required.

curl "https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/credential-verify?credential_id=ACD-2026-00142"

MCP Server

Alpha's Model Context Protocol server implements Streamable HTTP transport (JSON-RPC 2.0). It exposes 18 governance tools, 7 alpha:// resource templates, 3 ui:// interactive UI resources, and 5 governance prompts.

Endpoint: https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/mcp-server

Quick Start

# Step 1: Initialize
curl -X POST https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/mcp-server \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-03-26","clientInfo":{"name":"my-agent","version":"1.0"}}}'

# Step 2: List available tools
curl -X POST https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/mcp-server \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}'

# Step 3: Score a company (premium)
curl -X POST https://api.alpha.ac/functions/v1/mcp-server \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"score_ai_governance_risk","arguments":{"ticker":"MSFT"}}}'

Free Tools (no API key)

ToolDescription
search_companiesSearch 9,700+ companies by name or ticker
get_platform_statsAlpha coverage statistics (company count, director count, outcomes)
get_epoch_model_contextEpoch AI model capability data (training compute, parameters)
get_compute_tierAI compute tier for a rated company (frontier/advanced/standard)
get_frontier_models_timelineFrontier model release history (≥10²⁵ FLOPs)

Premium Tools (API key required)

score_ai_governance_risk get_board_profile compare_companies get_director_profile get_governance_signals get_regulatory_intelligence benchmark_board_ai_readiness find_ai_governance_signals verify_credential get_governance_rating get_governance_debt compare_capability_velocity get_governance_scaling_index

UI Resources (MCP Apps)

The MCP server exposes interactive ui:// resources that agents can render as inline cards. Tool results include a _meta.ui.resourceUri field pointing to the relevant UI resource.

Resource URIDescription
ui://alpha/governance-dashboardInteractive governance rating card — AGR grade, D1-D12 scores, GEH, trajectory
ui://alpha/director-cardDirector AGIQ profile card — score, expertise band, board seats, committees
ui://alpha/regulatory-timelineEU AI Act compliance tracker — article-level gaps, enforcement countdown

Resources & Prompts

Resource templates (alpha:// scheme): alpha://company/{ticker}/board, alpha://company/{ticker}/ai-governance-profile, alpha://company/{ticker}/risk-score, alpha://company/{ticker}/filings, alpha://company/{ticker}/committees, alpha://regulations/{region}, alpha://director/{name}/profile

Prompts: board_brief, director_gap, regulatory_readiness, governance_comparison, audit_committee_memo

Claude Code / Cowork Plugin Integration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpha-radar": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@alpha-ac/cowork-plugin"],
      "env": {
        "ALPHA_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Machine-Readable Resources

ResourceURLFormat
OpenAPI Specification/openapi.jsonOpenAPI 3.0 JSON
LLM Site Guide/llms.txtMarkdown (llms.txt spec)
Extended LLM Guide/llms-full.txtMarkdown (full detail)
Cowork Plugin ManifestGitHubJSON

Response Schemas

Governance Rating

{
  "ticker":       "MSFT",
  "company":      "Microsoft Corporation",
  "agr":          "A",           // AAA | AA | A | BBB | BB | B | CCC | CC | C | D | NR
  "agr_tier":     "leaders",
  "geh":          "23%",          // 12-month governance failure probability
  "geh_ci":       "±8pp, 90% CI",
  "aart":         3,              // Agentic AI Readiness Tier (1-4)
  "trajectory":   "stable",       // advancing | stable | declining
  "watch_status": null,           // positive_watch | negative_watch | null
  "top_risks":    ["D12 Corrigibility gap", "Vendor concentration"],
  "rated_at":     "2026-04-01T00:00:00Z"
}

MCP Tool Result (with UI resource)

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 3,
  "result": {
    "content": [{ "type": "text", "text": "{ ...governance data... }" }],
    "_meta": {
      "ui": {
        "resourceUri": "ui://alpha/governance-dashboard?ticker=MSFT",
        "renderHint": "card"
      }
    }
  }
}

Support

Questions: info@alpha.ac

API key: alpha.ac/radar

Full methodology: alpha.ac/institute/methodology