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

# Response Formats

> The text formats the body endpoint returns and the source URL fields that deep-link back to official government text

A section can come back in more than one form. The API gives you rendered text
directly, plus links to the original files the source publishes. Which formats
exist depends on what the underlying government source makes available, so any
given field may be `null`.

## Text from the body endpoint

`GET /statutes/section/{actId}/body` returns the section's full text in two
forms:

| Field       | Contains                                                                |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `html`      | The section rendered as HTML (string or `null`)                         |
| `plain`     | The section as plain text (string or `null`)                            |
| `source`    | Where the text was sourced from (string or `null`)                      |
| `available` | Whether text was returned at all (bool)                                 |
| `note`      | An optional note when text is partial or unavailable (string or `null`) |

Use `html` when you are displaying the section in a UI and want its structure
preserved. Use `plain` when you are feeding the text to an LLM in your stack or
doing plain-text processing. Always check `available` first.

## Source URL fields

Search results and the section metadata object carry a set of source URL fields.
These point at the original files the publisher hosts. Any of them may be `null`
depending on what that source offers:

| Field            | Points to                             |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| `htmlUrl`        | HTML version of the section           |
| `pdfUrl`         | PDF version                           |
| `xmlUrl`         | XML version                           |
| `textUrl`        | Plain-text version                    |
| `docxUrl`        | DOCX version                          |
| `stateHtmlUrl`   | The state legislature's own HTML page |
| `govInfoHtmlUrl` | The section on govinfo.gov (HTML)     |
| `govInfoPdfUrl`  | The section on govinfo.gov (PDF)      |
| `externalUrl`    | Another authoritative external link   |

<Info>
  The government links (`stateHtmlUrl`, `govInfoHtmlUrl`, `govInfoPdfUrl`) let
  you deep-link users straight back to authoritative text on the state
  legislature's site or govinfo.gov. That is the recommended way to cite a
  source in your product.
</Info>

## Picking the best available format

Because fields can be `null`, choose the best format that is present rather than
assuming one exists. This helper prefers an official government link, then falls
back through the other formats:

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
  def best_source_url(result):
      for field in (
          "govInfoHtmlUrl",
          "stateHtmlUrl",
          "htmlUrl",
          "govInfoPdfUrl",
          "pdfUrl",
          "textUrl",
          "xmlUrl",
          "docxUrl",
          "externalUrl",
      ):
          url = result.get(field)
          if url:
              return url
      return None
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
  function bestSourceUrl(result) {
    const order = [
      "govInfoHtmlUrl",
      "stateHtmlUrl",
      "htmlUrl",
      "govInfoPdfUrl",
      "pdfUrl",
      "textUrl",
      "xmlUrl",
      "docxUrl",
      "externalUrl",
    ];
    for (const field of order) {
      if (result[field]) return result[field];
    }
    return null;
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Tip>
  For displaying the text itself, prefer `html` from the `/body` endpoint. For
  citing where it came from, prefer an official government link
  (`govInfoHtmlUrl` or `stateHtmlUrl`) so readers can verify against the
  authoritative source.
</Tip>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Section Identifiers" icon="hashtag" href="/docs/api-guide/concepts/section-ids">
    How to get an actId and fetch a section's metadata and body.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Corpus Types" icon="layer-group" href="/docs/api-guide/concepts/corpus-types">
    The corpusType tokens you filter a search by.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>