CargoDocs

CargoDocs, operated by EssDocs, is a digital trade documentation platform that eliminates paper-based shipping documents by letting carriers, shippers, banks, and partner platforms issue, sign, transfer, and surrender original electronic bills of lading (eBoL), sea waybills (SWB), warehouse warrants (eWW), and supporting trade documents. CargoDocs DocEx is used by container lines, NVOCCs, bulk/tanker carriers, commodity shippers, and trade finance banks to move documents in minutes rather than days while retaining negotiability and legal effect. Developers interact with CargoDocs through three OpenAPI-described REST APIs hosted on ReadMe - the Partner API (embed DocEx in third-party platforms), the Issuer API (carrier/NVOCC issuance and amendments), and the Customer Data/Docs API (exporter drafting and back-office integration).

CargoDocs publishes 7 APIs on the APIs.io network, including Common API, Documents API, Exchange API, and 4 more. Tagged areas include Bills of Lading, Documentation, eBoL, EssDocs, and MLETR.

The CargoDocs catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 1 Spectral governance ruleset.

CargoDocs’ developer surface includes authentication, engineering blog, and 13 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub

33.1/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 20/100 agent aware saas Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

AccessEnterprise

3 APIs

Bills of LadingDocumentationeBoLEssDocsMLETRShipping Supply Chain Trade Trade FinanceWarehouse Warrants

Kin Score

Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-09-08 · rubric v0.20.0

Composite quality — 33.1/100 · thin

Contract Quality 15.2 / 23

Developer Ergonomics 4.5 / 18

Access Clarity 2.4 / 18

Operational Transparency 0.6 / 12

Contract Governance 1.1 / 11

Discoverability 6.7 / 9

Create-or-Update Ergonomics 0.0 / 10

Agent readiness — 20/100 · agent aware

Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18

Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10

Documented Reversibility 0 / 6

MCP Server 0 / 12

Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10

Idempotency 0 / 9

Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8

Request/Response Examples 0 / 7

Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7

Typed Event Surface 0 / 6

Agent Skills 0 / 5

Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4

Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3

A2A Agent Card 0 / 8

Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4

Delegated User Identity 0 / 6

Protected Resource Metadata 0 / 5

Registration Without a Human 0 / 6

Agentic Commerce Well-Known Document 0 / 5

Create-or-Update Ergonomics applies to this provider. This API accepts writes, so it carries 10 points of the composite. It is scored from the published contracts themselves: whether a caller can create-or-update in one call, whether the write accepts a key the caller already holds, and whether the response says which branch ran. Without that, every write needs a search-and-branch in front of it, and the first time that check is skipped a duplicate record is created. Scored against the observed mean rather than raw — a provider at the catalog average is unchanged by this facet, not penalised by it.

Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. Every facet and dimension name above is a link: it opens that measurement's own page — what it means, the exact checks that feed it, how the whole catalog distributes on it, and the providers at the top of it. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/cargodocs: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Submit an artifact on GitHub — free → Manage your own listing — the Influence plan, $499/mo →

APIs 7

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

CargoDocs Common API

Common API endpoints shared across partner operations

CargoDocs Documents API

Endpoints for retrieving and downloading documents

CargoDocs Exchange API

Partner Exchange API endpoints for customer and employee data

CargoDocs Import API

Endpoints for importing shipment data to create documents

CargoDocs Issuance API

Endpoints for drafting, issuing, and re-issuing electronic bills of lading

CargoDocs Surrender API

Endpoints for receiving surrendered electronic bills of lading

CargoDocs Transactions API

Endpoints for finding and managing transactions

Scroll for all 7

Open Collections 11

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

API Collection

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Documents API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Exchange API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Import API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Issuance API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Issuer API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Partner API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Surrender API

OPEN COLLECTION

CargoDocs Customer Data/Docs Common Transactions API

OPEN COLLECTION

Scroll for all 11

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Cargodocs Plans Pricing

1 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Cargodocs Rate Limits

1 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Cargodocs Finops

FINOPS

Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Cargodocs Context

0 classes · 5 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 1

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

CargoDocs API Rules

5 rules · 3 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 5

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

CargoDocs Bill of Lading

10 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CargoDocs Counterparty

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CargoDocs Customer

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CargoDocs Document

4 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CargoDocs Transaction

4 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Cargodocs Authentication

http · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Cargodocs Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Cargodocs Agentic Access

12 operations · 5 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Documentation 3

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Partner Docs

Partner Docs

Issuer Docs

Issuer Docs

Customer Docs

Customer Docs

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess

AgenticAccess

Design & Contract 1

Pagination, idempotency, versioning, errors, and events

JSONLDContext

JSONLDContext

Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity

DomainSecurity

Authentication

Authentication

Operate 1

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

Contact

Contact

Commercial 2

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

TermsOfService

TermsOfService

PrivacyPolicy

PrivacyPolicy

Company 3

The organization behind the API

Website

Website

Blog

Blog

LinkedIn

Other 2

Properties that don't map to a standard resource type

CapabilityMap

CapabilityMap

Product

Product

Source (apis.yml)

aid: cargodocs
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/cargodocs/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: CargoDocs
description: CargoDocs, operated by EssDocs, is a digital trade documentation platform that eliminates paper-based shipping
  documents by letting carriers, shippers, banks, and partner platforms issue, sign, transfer, and surrender original electronic
  bills of lading (eBoL), sea waybills (SWB), warehouse warrants (eWW), and supporting trade documents. CargoDocs DocEx is
  used by container lines, NVOCCs, bulk/tanker carriers, commodity shippers, and trade finance banks to move documents in
  minutes rather than days while retaining negotiability and legal effect. Developers interact with CargoDocs through three
  OpenAPI-described REST APIs hosted on ReadMe - the Partner API (embed DocEx in third-party platforms), the Issuer API (carrier/NVOCC
  issuance and amendments), and the Customer Data/Docs API (exporter drafting and back-office integration).
type: Index
kind: company
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: high
  source:
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: enterprise
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Enterprise
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  - security
  generated: '2026-09-03'
  method: derived
position: Consuming
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/cargodocs.png
tags:
- Bills of Lading
- Documentation
- eBoL
- EssDocs
- MLETR
- Shipping
- Supply Chain
- Trade
- Trade Finance
- Warehouse Warrants
tags_raw:
- Bills of Lading
- Documentation
- eBoL
- EssDocs
- MLETR
- Shipping
- Supply Chain
- Trade
- Trade Finance
- Warehouse Warrants
created: '2025-01-08'
modified: '2026-05-19'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
apis:
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-common-api
  name: CargoDocs Common API
  description: Common API endpoints shared across partner operations
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Common
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-common-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-documents-api
  name: CargoDocs Documents API
  description: Endpoints for retrieving and downloading documents
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Documents
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-documents-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-exchange-api
  name: CargoDocs Exchange API
  description: Partner Exchange API endpoints for customer and employee data
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Exchange
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-exchange-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-import-api
  name: CargoDocs Import API
  description: Endpoints for importing shipment data to create documents
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Import
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-import-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-issuance-api
  name: CargoDocs Issuance API
  description: Endpoints for drafting, issuing, and re-issuing electronic bills of lading
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Issuance
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-issuance-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-surrender-api
  name: CargoDocs Surrender API
  description: Endpoints for receiving surrendered electronic bills of lading
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Surrender
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-surrender-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
- aid: cargodocs:cargodocs-transactions-api
  name: CargoDocs Transactions API
  description: Endpoints for finding and managing transactions
  humanURL: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  baseURL: https://api.essdocs.com
  tags:
  - Transaction
  tags_raw:
  - Transactions
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/cargodocs-transactions-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/docs/api-environments
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-customer.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-counterparty.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/docs/first-api-call
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-bill-of-lading.json
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-transaction.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cargodocs-document.json
common:
- type: CapabilityMap
  url: capabilities/cargodocs-capability-edges.yml
  name: CargoDocs Business Capability Map
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/cargodocs-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/cargodocs-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/cargodocs-authentication.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/
- type: Product
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/cargodocs
- url: json-ld/cargodocs-context.jsonld
  name: CargoDocs JSON-LD Context
  type: JSONLDContext
  description: JSON-LD context document for CargoDocs domain entities.
- type: Partner Docs
  url: https://cargodocs-partner.readme.io/
- type: Issuer Docs
  url: https://cargodocs-issuer.readme.io/
- type: Customer Docs
  url: https://cargodocs-customer.readme.io/
- type: Blog
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/blog
- type: Contact
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/contact
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/terms
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://www.essdocs.com/privacy
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/essdocs
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com

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