> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.visualradioassist.live/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# AutomationLink ingest
> Push now playing and upcoming items into a studio through the Cloud GraphQL API when your radio automation cannot reach the Core directly.
The `ingestAutomationLinkData` mutation feeds AutomationLink from the cloud side. You send the current and upcoming items to a station, VRA Cloud hands them to the Core of each targeted studio, and the Core publishes them exactly like a locally linked radio automation. Use it when the automation runs outside the studio network, in a cloud playout system for example, and cannot post to the [Core Control API](/develop-with-vra/core-control-api) or the [generic HTTP link](/develop-with-vra/generic-http-radio-automation-link).
## How it works
1. Your automation calls `ingestAutomationLinkData` with the station, optionally one studio, and the `current` and `upcoming` sets.
2. VRA Cloud normalises each item and sends the sets to the Core of every targeted studio over the studio bus.
3. The Core publishes the items as now playing and upcoming, runs [Item Groups](/radio-automation-data) and updates the studio state.
4. For `MUSIC` items without `music_meta`, VRA Cloud looks up [Music Track Meta](/radio-automation-data) in the background and sends the enriched sets a moment later.
The studio needs a running Core. The Core owns the AutomationLink state, so ingested data reaches [visuals](/visual-variables), the Live Switcher and the studio dashboard through the same path as any other radio automation.
## Authentication
Authenticate as a [Machine User](/develop-with-vra/cloud-graphql-api/machine-users) of the station, or as a cloud user who has the station active. A machine user bound to another station is rejected with `Not authorized for this station`.
## Targeting studios
* `station_id` is required.
* `studio_id` targets one studio of the station. Omit it to send the same sets to every studio of the station.
* Omit `current` or `upcoming` to leave that set untouched on the Core. Send an empty list to clear it.
## Items
Each item in `current` and `upcoming` follows the `RadioAutomationItem` shape the Core uses for every automation:
* **id** - unique identifier from your automation. Use an md5 of artist and title if your system has none. The Core uses it to detect a new item, so a changed id means a new track.
* **title** and **artist** - the display values. Both must be at least 2 characters for Music Track Meta lookup.
* **category** - `MUSIC`, `TRACK`, `STATION` or `UNKNOWN`. Defaults to `MUSIC`. Only `MUSIC` items are enriched.
* **timestamp** - start of the item as a datetime with offset, normalised to UTC.
* **duration** and **offset** - in milliseconds.
* **end\_timestamp** and **completed** - mark an item that already ended.
* **igroups** - item group identifiers, when your automation already classifies items.
* **meta** - free-form source metadata like item codes, bpm or key, as a JSON encoded string. Stored as the item's meta string and available in visuals.
* **music\_meta** - artist, title and album details you already have. Any value here, even a cover URL alone, counts as supplied and skips the Music Track Meta lookup.
`meta` is a `JSON` scalar and must be sent as a JSON encoded string, not as a GraphQL object literal. Write `meta: "{ \"item_code\": \"M-48213\" }"` or pass the string through a variable. An object literal is rejected by the schema.
## Example
Push one current track and two upcoming tracks to a single studio. The current item ships its own cover and artist image, so VRA Cloud does not look it up. The upcoming items have no `music_meta` and are enriched in the background.
```graphql theme={null}
mutation {
ingestAutomationLinkData(input: {
station_id: "94bf2c80-2fb6-4c0a-b33d-5d2d1bb888e7"
studio_id: "99abda79-9c21-42a2-bb17-08f7886de136"
current: [{
id: "tame-impala-dracula"
category: MUSIC
artist: "Tame Impala"
title: "Dracula (with JENNIE)"
timestamp: "2026-08-14T08:12:30+02:00"
duration: 209000
completed: false
meta: "{ \"item_code\": \"M-48213\", \"bpm\": 118 }"
music_meta: {
title: "Dracula (with JENNIE)"
artists: [{
name: "Tame Impala"
image: {
regular: "https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/artist/879015e713cc6ad6ffaeec154c027505/250x250-000000-80-0-0.jpg"
lg: "https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/artist/879015e713cc6ad6ffaeec154c027505/500x500-000000-80-0-0.jpg"
}
}]
album: {
title: "Dracula (with JENNIE)"
cover: {
source: "deezer"
variants: {
sm: "https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/b868399da682f34dcd7d98af1c0de80b/250x250-000000-80-0-0.jpg"
regular: "https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/b868399da682f34dcd7d98af1c0de80b/500x500-000000-80-0-0.jpg"
lg: "https://cdn-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/b868399da682f34dcd7d98af1c0de80b/1000x1000-000000-80-0-0.jpg"
}
}
}
}
}]
upcoming: [
{
id: "olivia-dean-man-i-need"
category: MUSIC
artist: "Olivia Dean"
title: "Man I Need"
timestamp: "2026-08-14T08:15:59+02:00"
duration: 184000
},
{
id: "ariana-grande-hate-that-i-made-you-love-me"
category: MUSIC
artist: "Ariana Grande"
title: "hate that i made you love me"
timestamp: "2026-08-14T08:19:03+02:00"
duration: 198000
}
]
}) {
ok
studios
enrichment_queued
}
}
```
Response:
```json theme={null}
{
"data": {
"ingestAutomationLinkData": {
"ok": true,
"studios": 1,
"enrichment_queued": 2
}
}
}
```
* **studios** - number of studios the sets were sent to.
* **enrichment\_queued** - number of unique `MUSIC` items queued for Music Track Meta lookup. The enriched sets follow on the same path once the lookup finishes, so expect a second update on the studio a few seconds later.
## Clearing the current item
Send an empty `current` list when the automation stops or goes to a non-music item you do not want on screen. `upcoming` stays as it was.
```graphql theme={null}
mutation {
ingestAutomationLinkData(input: {
station_id: "94bf2c80-2fb6-4c0a-b33d-5d2d1bb888e7"
studio_id: "99abda79-9c21-42a2-bb17-08f7886de136"
current: []
}) {
ok
}
}
```
## Related
* [Studio control](/develop-with-vra/cloud-graphql-api/studio-control) to put a studio on air or activate its Core from the same API.
* [Connecting with AutomationLink](/develop-with-vra/connecting-with-automationlink) for the fields VRA needs from any radio automation.
* [Radio automation data](/radio-automation-data) for Music Track Meta and Item Groups.