Operator API

The Operator API provides aggregated, read-only views designed for shop floor workstations. These endpoints combine data from jobs, paths, serials, users, and notes to power the Parts View, Step View, and Operator Work Queue pages. They are optimized for display — computing serial counts, grouping work by operator, and providing navigation context (previous/next step) in a single response.

Concepts

Parts View vs. Step View

The operator experience is split into two complementary views:

• Parts View (GET /api/operator/:stepName) — Shows all parts across all jobs that are at a named process step (e.g. "Assembly"). Groups parts into three buckets: current (at the step), coming soon (one step before), and backlog (two+ steps before). This is the entry point for operators who work at a specific station.
• Step View (GET /api/operator/step/:stepId) — Shows detailed data for a single step instance within a specific job/path. Includes the serial list, notes, and navigation to previous/next steps. This is the detail page operators land on when they click into a specific step from the Parts View.

Work Queue

The work queue provides a higher-level view of all active work across the shop:

• Grouped queue (GET /api/operator/work-queue) — Groups all active steps by assigned operator, showing each operator's workload with part counts. Unassigned work is grouped under "Unassigned".
• All queue items (GET /api/operator/queue/_all) — Flat list of all active step/job/path combinations with serial counts. Includes first steps with zero serials (for serial creation).
• User queue (GET /api/operator/queue/:userId) — Filtered view showing only steps assigned to a specific operator. Used for the operator kiosk mode.

WorkQueueJob Shape

All queue and step view endpoints return data using the WorkQueueJob type, which provides a denormalized view of a step within a job/path context:

• Job and path identifiers and names
• Step details (ID, name, order, location)
• Serial IDs and count at the step
• Navigation context (previous/next step names and locations)
• Whether this is the final step in the path

Zero-Serial Steps

The _all queue endpoint includes first steps (order 0) even when they have zero serials. This ensures the serial creation panel is accessible for paths that haven't had any serials created yet. Other queue endpoints only include steps with at least one serial.

Common Use Cases

• Operator kiosk — An operator logs in, views their personal queue, and clicks into a step to advance parts.
• Supervisor dashboard — View the grouped work queue to see workload distribution across operators and identify unassigned work.
• Station monitor — Display the Parts View for a specific step name on a wall-mounted screen to show real-time part flow.

Endpoints

Related

• Steps API — Assign operators to steps and configure step properties
• Users API — Manage operator profiles
• Serials API — Serial numbers displayed in operator views
• Notes API — Notes included in the step view response