{"uid":"cap_v2MElGNBUTm6ILGdJckmn","slug":"truthbear-gauge-ruler-official-band-threshold-ladder-620a04c6","name":"TruthBear Gauge Ruler – Official Band & Threshold Ladder","description":"Add-on, the official ruler: the band and threshold ladder published by the source agency, its classification, and distance-to-action. NOT every line has an official ruler - pure market quotes do not. When it does not, you get 422 with no_charge:true and reason:no-ruler-for-this-line and you are NOT billed. Never a bag of nulls you paid for. Every record carries an offline-recomputable record_hash. $0.0050 per call.","url":"https://api.truthbear.co/gauge/ruler","method":"GET","headers":{},"bodySchema":{"$schema":"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema","properties":{"input":{"type":"object","required":["type","method","queryParams"],"properties":{"type":{"const":"http"},"method":{"enum":["GET"],"type":"string"},"queryParams":{"type":"object","required":["signal_id","entity"],"properties":{"entity":{"type":"string","examples":["07010000"],"description":"required - monitored object id, paired with signal_id; free list at GET /gauge/catalog?signal_id=<signal_id> -> signals[0].entities[]"},"signal_id":{"type":"string","examples":["hydrology.river-level"],"description":"required - signal id (genus.species); free list at GET /gauge/catalog (paged; ?all=1 for every line)"}},"additionalProperties":false}}},"output":{"type":"object","required":["type"],"properties":{"type":{"const":"json"},"example":{}}}}},"responseSchema":{"type":"json","example":{"dim":"ruler","grade":"screening-level, not decision-grade","ruler":{"band":"below_action","unit":"ft","scale":"flood_stage","metric":"gauge_height_ft","source":"NOAA NWS/NWPS","standard":"NWS flood category thresholds (official; not judged by this API)","thresholds":{"major":65,"minor":52,"action":40,"moderate":56},"official_category":"no_flooding","distance_to_action":9.31},"scope":{"full":"https://api.truthbear.co/scope/v1","verifiability":"via-endpoint","monitoring_not_forecast":true,"intelligence_not_command":true},"entity":"03255000","nature":"This API supplies data organisation and trend description only. It is not a recommendation to act; the decision is yours. Purely descriptive - no judgement, no prediction.Official source plus record_hash; verify with the free /gauge/verify.","signal_id":"hydrology.river-level","provenance":{"freshness":"fresh","age_hours_now":23,"freshness_basis":"cadence=daily; fresh<=24h; recent<=192h; dead_source>1440h; age_basis=request-time(now minus observed_at)"},"source_ref":"https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/03255000/","entity_name":"Ohio River at Cincinnati, OH","observed_at":"2026-08-25T04:00:00.000Z","record_hash":"sha256:5969b8a147f438254edadf246ed1d7801a77c29babb5d725e17870320d620dd7","record_hash_verifiable":{"mode":"via-endpoint","note":"This response is a projected delivery (some core fields are omitted to control size). Cross-check record_hash with the free /gauge/verify, or buy /gauge to get the complete core for offline recomputation."}}},"example":null,"exampleRequest":null,"tags":["x402"],"displayCostAmount":"0.005","displayCostAsset":"USDC","priceDynamic":false,"priceHint":null,"priceStatus":"priced","priceSource":"probe","requiresHandshake":false,"reviewCount":0,"rating":{"score":"0.00","successRate":"0.00","reviews":0,"stars":null,"state":"unrated"},"availabilityStatus":"unknown","priceObserved":null,"sessionDeposit":null,"pricing":{"kind":"static","summary":"$0.005/call","primary":{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.005","per":"call","confidence":"exact"},"accepted":[{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.005","per":"call","confidence":"exact"}]},"paymentMethods":[{"uid":"pm_F79HAiPB_6sz847d34zgQ","protocol":"x402","methodType":"crypto","chain":"base","mode":"charge","costAmount":"0.005","costPer":"request","priority":0,"asset":"0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913","unit":"request","depositMicros":null,"planRef":null}],"brandName":null,"brandSlug":null,"brandBaseUrl":null,"brandDocsUrl":null,"whatItDoes":"Returns the official regulatory band/threshold ladder, classification, and distance-to-action for a gauge line, or a free 422 if no official ruler exists for that line.","exampleAgentPrompt":"Can you pull the official regulatory ruler for the USGS gauge line on the Colorado River near Austin — I need to see the band thresholds, what classification it's currently in, and how far it is from the next action threshold?","exampleUseCases":[{"title":"River flood action threshold check","prompt":"Look up the official ruler for the USGS river gauge at station 08158000 — show me the band ladder, what stage it's classified at right now, and how many feet it is from the flood action threshold."},{"title":"Grid reliability threshold classification","prompt":"Pull the official agency ruler for the ERCOT balancing authority grid gauge line and tell me what reliability band it's in and how far it is from triggering an action."},{"title":"Air quality regulatory band lookup","prompt":"What's the official AQI ruler and threshold ladder for the EPA gauge line covering Houston, TX? I need to know the current band classification and the distance to the next action level."}],"resultDescription":"A structured record containing the source-agency-published band ladder (ordered threshold tiers), the current classification of the gauge line within that ladder, and a numeric distance-to-action value. Every response includes an offline-recomputable record_hash for integrity verification. If no official ruler exists for the requested line, the endpoint returns HTTP 422 with no_charge:true and reason:'no-ruler-for-this-line' — no billing occurs.","failureModes":["HTTP 422 with no_charge:true and reason:'no-ruler-for-this-line' when the requested gauge line has no official agency-published ruler (pure market quotes); caller is not billed","Invalid or missing gauge line identifier returns an error","Source agency data temporarily unavailable may cause upstream fetch failure","Malformed request parameters return a client error"],"whenToPreferThis":"Choose this endpoint when you need the authoritative, source-agency-published threshold ladder and classification for a specific gauge line — particularly for regulatory compliance, environmental monitoring, or grid reliability contexts. It is uniquely safe to call speculatively because lines without an official ruler return a free 422 rather than a billable null response. Prefer it over generic data feeds when you need structured band tiers, distance-to-action, and a verifiable record_hash for audit purposes.","instructions":null,"reviewSummary":null,"reviewSummaryHighlights":null,"reviewSummaryConcerns":null,"reviewSummaryGeneratedAt":null,"activationCount":0,"lastUsedAt":null,"lastSuccessfullyRanAt":null,"lastHealthCheckAt":"2026-09-15T00:31:42.354Z","isFirstParty":false}