= API Method: StartAction

This is the method the OliveTin web UI uses to start actions, and is probably the best method to use if you are writing scripts.

* **HTTP Method**: `POST`
* **Request Type**: OliveTin request object
* **Response Type**: Execution Tracking ID

There are several variants of this API call available which might be easier for scripts (or humans) to work with:

include::partial$api/start_action_methods.adoc[]

== Example API call: Start an action using `StartAction`

[source,bash]
.curl
----
user@host: curl "http://olivetin.webapps.teratan.lan/api/StartAction" --json '{"bindingId": "nuclear_reactor_shutdown"}'
----

[source,powershell]
.Powershell
----
PS C:\Users\xcons> $json = '{"bindingId": "deploy_attack_gnomes"}'
PS C:\Users\xcons> Invoke-RestMethod -Method "Post" -Uri "http://olivetinServer:1337/api/StartAction" -Body $json 
----

== Example API call: Start an action using `StartAction` with arguments

[source,bash]
.curl
----
user:host: curl 'http://olivetin.example.com/api/StartAction' --json '{"bindingId": "Ping_host", "arguments": [{"name": "host", "value": "example.com"},{"name": "count", "value": "1"}]}'
----