add_to_thread asks a follow-up in an existing Thread. The research agent reads the earlier turns and can reuse the papers it already found, so you can refer to them directly. Like create_thread, it returns right away, and your assistant polls get_thread for the new answer.
Use it for a new question you raise after seeing an answer: narrow the evidence, extend the scope, or act on the papers it cited, such as “save these to my Sleep collection”. It isn’t for splitting one request into steps. Put the whole request in the original create_thread brief instead.
Requires a signed-in Consensus account, over OAuth or an API key as a Bearer token. You can add only to your own Threads.
Parameters
Response
The same dispatch result ascreate_thread, with the new interaction_id and status: "running". Pass the interaction_id to get_thread to read only the new answer.
Example prompts
- “Of the trials you cited, keep only RCTs with more than 100 participants. Does the conclusion change?”
- “Do the results differ for adults over 60?”
- “Save the papers you cited to my Creatine collection.”
Good to know
- Wait for the last run. Call
add_to_threadonly onceget_threadreports the Threadidleorfailed. While the latest interaction is stillrunning, it returns an error. Keep polling, then send the follow-up. - Cost: each follow-up is charged like a new run, by the amount of work the agent does. A failed run costs nothing. See plans and access.
- Rate limit: one
add_to_threadcall per second.