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

# Start a room

> Open a room for a deck: a six-digit code the audience joins with, and a presenter link that carries the host's key. The room waits in the lobby until the presenter (or `room_action` with `start`) begins. Decks with uploaded slide pages start from the editor for now, because pages are rendered in the browser; decks of blank slides and polls start here.

Needs the `rooms:start` scope.



## OpenAPI

````yaml https://test.polltheroom.com/openapi.json post /api/v1/rooms
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Poll the Room API
  version: '1'
  description: >-
    Live polls on a presenter's own slides. A presenter (or an agent acting for
    one) builds a deck; the audience joins on their phones with a six-digit code
    and never signs up.


    Keys are made under Settings › API and sent as `Authorization: Bearer
    ptr_…`. A key belongs to a team, carries scopes, and is rate limited per
    hour. Plans: Free may decks:read, decks:write, rooms:read, results:read at
    60 requests an hour; Pro may decks:read, decks:write, rooms:read,
    rooms:start, results:read at 1000 requests an hour.


    The same verbs are MCP tools at https://test.polltheroom.com/api/mcp. The
    full reference is at https://test.polltheroom.com/llms-full.txt.
servers:
  - url: https://test.polltheroom.com
security:
  - apiKey: []
tags:
  - name: decks
    description: A deck is a document the editor and the API both read and write.
  - name: rooms
    description: A room is one live session of a deck.
paths:
  /api/v1/rooms:
    post:
      tags:
        - rooms
      summary: Start a room
      description: >-
        Open a room for a deck: a six-digit code the audience joins with, and a
        presenter link that carries the host's key. The room waits in the lobby
        until the presenter (or `room_action` with `start`) begins. Decks with
        uploaded slide pages start from the editor for now, because pages are
        rendered in the browser; decks of blank slides and polls start here.


        Needs the `rooms:start` scope.
      operationId: start_room
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              properties:
                deckId:
                  type: string
                  minLength: 1
                  description: The deck's id
              required:
                - deckId
      responses:
        '201':
          description: OK
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  code:
                    type: string
                    description: The six-digit join code
                  hostToken:
                    type: string
                    description: >-
                      The host's key for this room; whoever holds it drives the
                      session
                  joinUrl:
                    type: string
                    description: Where the audience joins
                  presentUrl:
                    type: string
                    description: >-
                      The presenter's view, with the host key in the fragment so
                      a person can take over
                required:
                  - code
                  - hostToken
                  - joinUrl
                  - presentUrl
                additionalProperties: false
        '400':
          description: The body did not fit. `fix` names the field.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
        '401':
          description: No usable key.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
        '403':
          description: The key lacks the scope, or the plan does not sell it.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
        '409':
          description: The deck has slide pages, which only the editor can render today.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
        '429':
          description: Over the key's hourly limit.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
components:
  schemas:
    Error:
      type: object
      properties:
        error:
          type: string
          description: What went wrong, in a sentence
        fix:
          description: What to do about it, when we can tell
          type: string
      required:
        - error
      additionalProperties: false
  securitySchemes:
    apiKey:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: >-
        An API key from Settings › API, sent as `Authorization: Bearer ptr_…`.
        Shown once when made; only a hash is stored.

````