> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.memorylake.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Actor

> Retrieve a single actor by ID or custom ID

```
GET /openapi/memorylake/api/v3/actors/{id}
```

Returns the full details of a single actor. By default, `{id}` is treated as the MemoryLake actor ID. Set `by_custom_id=true` to look up the actor by its `custom_id` instead.

<Note>
  **Permission required:** `actor:read`
</Note>

### Path Parameters

<ParamField path="id" type="string" required>
  Actor ID, or the actor's `custom_id` when `by_custom_id` is `true`.
</ParamField>

### Query Parameters

<ParamField query="by_custom_id" type="boolean" default="false">
  When `true`, the path parameter is interpreted as the actor's `custom_id` rather than its MemoryLake ID.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash By actor ID theme={null}
  curl -X GET 'https://app.memorylake.ai/openapi/memorylake/api/v3/actors/act-a1b2c3d4e5f6' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer sk_xxxxxx'
  ```

  ```bash By custom ID theme={null}
  curl -X GET 'https://app.memorylake.ai/openapi/memorylake/api/v3/actors/user-ext-001?by_custom_id=true' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer sk_xxxxxx'
  ```
</RequestExample>

### Response

<ResponseField name="data" type="object">
  <Expandable title="Actor">
    <ResponseField name="id" type="string">Actor ID</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="custom_id" type="string">Caller-defined external identifier</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="actor_type" type="string">Actor type: `HUMAN` or `ASSISTANT`</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="display_name" type="string">Human-readable display name</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="description" type="string">Actor description</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="metadata" type="object">Caller-defined metadata</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="created_at" type="string">Creation timestamp</ResponseField>
    <ResponseField name="updated_at" type="string">Last update timestamp</ResponseField>
  </Expandable>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Success (200) theme={null}
  {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "id": "act-a1b2c3d4e5f6",
      "custom_id": "user-ext-001",
      "actor_type": "HUMAN",
      "display_name": "Alice Chen",
      "description": "Primary end user for the mobile app",
      "metadata": {
        "tier": "premium",
        "region": "us-west"
      },
      "created_at": "2025-03-10T08:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2025-03-10T08:00:00Z"
    }
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>