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

# Recognize cigar text

> Read visible cigar-band text and rank catalog candidates.

Use text recognition when a band has readable brand, series, vitola, or barcode text.

<ParamField header="x-boxpressd-key" type="string" required>
  Your developer application key with the `api.ai` entitlement.
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="Idempotency-Key" type="string" required>
  A unique key for this paid operation.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="imageUrl" type="string">
  One retrievable cigar-band image URL.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="imageUrls" type="string[]">
  Up to eight retrievable images. Supply this instead of `imageUrl`.
</ParamField>

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://api.boxpressd.com/v1/ai/cigars/text/recognize" \
  --request POST \
  --header "x-boxpressd-key: $BOXPRESSD_DEVELOPER_API_KEY" \
  --header "Idempotency-Key: text-scan-7f52b86d" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data "{\"imageUrl\":\"$CIGAR_BAND_IMAGE_URL\"}"
```

The response includes recognized text, catalog queries, and ranked candidates. An exact barcode can produce a unique match. Ambiguous product barcodes remain candidates because a sampler can contain several cigars.